Thes ridiculus

From an old THES:

What's your poison?


4 October 2002

A novel nomination in the search for outstandingly obscure journals has arrived. Chris Borthwick, a journal editor for the Australian VicHealth organisation, writes: "My nomination would be the Journal of Conspiracy Studies mentioned in a work by Thomas Pynchon; he referenced an article from it with the footnote: 'Unfortunately, back files of this journal have mysteriously disappeared from all major libraries.' Even more suspicious, a rapid riffle through all my Pynchons has failed to come up with the actual quotation."

Meanwhile, two entries have been disqualified. The Journal of Bee Venom Therapy is a personal diary rather than an academic journal, while Esperanto Sub La Suda Kruco is simply the newsletter of the Esperanto association of Australia.

To submit an entry, send pertinent information to steve.farrar@thes.co.uk or marca@ chem2.harvard.edu . They are also looking for a Japanese translator to enable them to contact the publishers of the Journal of Fish Sausage .

Can't find it on Google, either. Proof positive.