According to a 1996 Seattle Times article, Robert Shields, 77, of Dayton, Wash., is the author of perhaps the longest personal diary in history, nearly 38 million words on paper stored in 81 cardboard boxes covering the previous 24 years, in five-minute segments. Example: July 25, 1993, 7 a.m.: "I cleaned out the tub and scraped my feet with my fingernails to remove layers of dead skin." 7:05 a.m.: "Passed a large, firm stool, and a pint of urine. Used 5 sheets of paper."
Imagine if Mr. Shields had discovered LiveJournal..
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Friday evening update:
more on that note:
I went to see "The Dazzle" at the Jungle Theater tonight..it is, as desribed in the director's notes, "a stunning meditation on the lives of the eccentric Collyer Brothers, the famous (or infamous) recluses who lived in New York City during the first half of the 20th century.".
The brothers grew old together, in their parents' mansion, and hoarded things. Any things. Used things, garbage, found things.
In March of 1947, an anonymous phone call saying there was a dead body at 2078 Fifth Avenue brought the Fire Dept to their door. Deep inside an impossible maze of tunnels, they found the body of Homer, but there was no sign of Langley. The workmen had to cut throught the roof and lift out hundreds of tons of junk. Digging floor by floor they uncovered the body of Langley 18 days later, lying just 10 feet from where his brother was found.
It took over three weeks to sift though the estimated 136 tons of junk with which the house was filled. The objects included 14 grand pianos, two organs and a clavichord, human medical specimens preserved in glass jars, the chassis of a Model T Ford, a library of thousands fo medical and engineering books, an armory of weapons, the top of a carriage, 6 US flags and 1 Union Jack, a primitive xray machine, and 34 bank deposit books with the balance totaling $3,007.18.
Today, the house is gone, and the lot is a park.
Imagine if Mr. Shields had discovered LiveJournal..
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Friday evening update:
more on that note:
I went to see "The Dazzle" at the Jungle Theater tonight..it is, as desribed in the director's notes, "a stunning meditation on the lives of the eccentric Collyer Brothers, the famous (or infamous) recluses who lived in New York City during the first half of the 20th century.".
The brothers grew old together, in their parents' mansion, and hoarded things. Any things. Used things, garbage, found things.
In March of 1947, an anonymous phone call saying there was a dead body at 2078 Fifth Avenue brought the Fire Dept to their door. Deep inside an impossible maze of tunnels, they found the body of Homer, but there was no sign of Langley. The workmen had to cut throught the roof and lift out hundreds of tons of junk. Digging floor by floor they uncovered the body of Langley 18 days later, lying just 10 feet from where his brother was found.
It took over three weeks to sift though the estimated 136 tons of junk with which the house was filled. The objects included 14 grand pianos, two organs and a clavichord, human medical specimens preserved in glass jars, the chassis of a Model T Ford, a library of thousands fo medical and engineering books, an armory of weapons, the top of a carriage, 6 US flags and 1 Union Jack, a primitive xray machine, and 34 bank deposit books with the balance totaling $3,007.18.
Today, the house is gone, and the lot is a park.
VIEW 8 of 8 COMMENTS
_alice_:
that sounds like quite the show. i`m going to have to do some digging and see if it`s come out here yet. my guess would be no, since i`ve seen nothing on the subject. blasted canada! 
jakesattic:
Damn, thats crazy. Makes you wonder if they were clowns or geniuses, maybe both.