Librarians like Google before the Internet era. Unusual requests from the middle of the last century

If today Google is unable to answer your question, who will you call? Ghostbusters Librarians, of course.

Librarian is cool. Now on TNT there is a show “ The Librarians ”, where they hunt for ancient artifacts as well as Indiana Jones. Over the past couple of years, the “librarian” has appeared on the Forbes list of “least stressful jobs”. And even in our time, search engines, librarians make new discoveries.
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A few weeks ago, employees of the New York Public Library (the third largest in the world) found a box with old customer requests from 1940 to 1980. A representative of the library, Angela Montefinis, called these questions "irresistible." And in its own way naive, reflecting the spirit of the era.

Angela: “Some of them are quite difficult. Others are interesting from a historical point of view, while others are just funny. ”

Can I divorce myself (alone)? (1945)

I just saw a mouse in the kitchen. Can I use DDT? (1946)

How long does a lash last? Answer: According to the book "Your hair and care for them", 150 days (1946)

What does a dream mean in which an elephant pursues you? (1947)

Where can I hire a hound for hunting? (1963)

What is the thickness of the postage stamp with glue? Answer: We can not immediately answer you. Why don't you ask by mail? Reaction: So this is the mail! (1963)

Is there a computer in the library accessible to visitors? Answer: No! (1966)

And here is another note typed on the catalog card:
A phone call on New Year’s Day, 1967. Uncertain female voice: “I have two questions. The first is about etiquette. I went to the New Year's party and suddenly stayed overnight. But I do not know the owners. Do I need to send a thank-you card? And the second. If I met a man whose fortune is estimated at twenty seven million dollars (I was told so), and I know his nationality — how can I know his name? ”

The library plans to post some of the old questions in its Instagram.

“We were a replacement for Google before it appeared,” explains Angela. “If you needed to know if a poisonous snake would die, if you bit yourself, you came or called us. Yes, such a question was also asked. ”

Even with Google, Siri, OnStar, DuckDuckGo and all the others, the library continues to answer questions. “We receive about 1,700 requests per month via chat, by e-mail or phone,” says Angela. Some questions are difficult to answer even now - it happens that the Internet contains a lot of conflicting information. And here you can be helped by a well-read librarian.