Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Here's a Challenge for You...

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~PLEASE scroll down for MAXINE ON SATURDAY~


HERE'S A CHALLENGE FOR YOU:

ANSWER ONE OF THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS, WHICHEVER ONE YOU CHOOSE.

1. In some books, why are there blank pages at the very end?
2. If you set out to invent a new sport that people would really enjoy playing, what features would it have?


Leave your answers in a comment. Your answers will be judged on correctness (question 1) originality, clarity of thought, and interest (question 2)

The winning answers will be published here in this blog next Wednesday, April 14.

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Description

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Looking forward to your answers!

15 comments:

Kranky Granny said...

I certainly do not know the correct answer for the first question. But, I am always glad to see those blank pages in the books I own.

I would never deface a book that was not mine and I even have a hard time writing in the margin of one I do own. Therefore, I like to make notations of memorable quotes, items to research or places to check out etc. so it is always nice to have them attached to the book than on a loose page that somehow always gets lost. Besides it makes my thoughts available to anyone else that reads my book.

I wish I would find more notes in the used books I buy.

concretenprimroses said...

I'm guessing on number one that blank pages at the back of a book are found more often in older books (at least more than one page) when production may have started before the lay out was totally complete. So the final signature (group of sewed together pages - each one being double sized folded and sewn down the middle) may have had more pages than necessary. Even with modern books that have sewn signatures, there is necessarily an even number so the book may end up with one extra page (or one side of a page).
I like having them there too. Related question: why are there extra blank pages in the front of older books sometimes? (I have no clue but like finding them also.)
Kathy

Putz said...

this is really really true, in all my books wirh blank pages i have personnal note and sometimes dates or events, but everyone of them are full, honest< i cq't help writing in a blook , but i have to say i try to keep it on the topic that the author originally started out with, and myny times i write the author letters within the book, but alasas never mail them, with the internet i will usaually write to you the originator, butr there are so many of you out there i find that very hard, but do you know what? i honestly would like to be married to all of you or at least live int the same house with you so i could talk and talk and talk to you>>>.honestnow i am embarassed by all those poplpolpe that don/t write in books like RTITA

Annesphamily said...

I know there is some book binding protocol to the real true answer but I like blank pages in books so I can make notes and I would never write in a book that was not mine personally! Just wanted to clarify that! If your book ends up at the thrift store just think of the person who buys that copy. They have your original thoughts on paper! Cool!

Annesphamily said...

If I could create a new sport that people would enjoy I think I would combine cycling with walking or running and set the arena in a very beautiful and very eco friendly place. It would be a fun and safe environment for families and would have an adult area with a nice divider so singles could play without noisy tykes running a muck! No offense I have a big family but I think sometime you have to separate the kids from the adults in some sporting situations! I also think I would have an area for those of us with pets! You could always involve your pets if you choose and it would be a huge area so everyone could enjoy something just perfected for them! Wouldn't life be grand? You would never have to wait in long lines for 2nd rate food! Or bathrooms for that matter! I would have a circle of restrooms and rest stops circling the entire sporting center. You could stop and buy a pair of new running shoes or stop and get a massage! I like to think of everything! I think we would leave the alcohol at home! LOL! Thanks for sharing with me Mary! Anne

maryt/theteach said...

Thanks everyone for your answers so far! :)

Anonymous said...

Okay I'm going way out on a limb here but I think those blank pages are for anyone to make notes about what they are reading. I actually have no clue and never thought of it before until I read this and can so see those blank pages :)

Kramer said...

Book binding, there needs to be an even number of pages in the book, used to be folded over, and then over again, hence the nomenclature "quatro," and with most print runs, even to this day, the number of pages in total have be a multiple of four.

Maude Lynn said...

I'm guessing that the blank pages are necessary for the printing process (an even number of pages).

maryt/theteach said...

Thanks guys, you're doing so well! Thanks for participating! I'll announce the winners tomorrow around 11:00 AM :)

Jim said...

Thank you, Mary, for doing this. I came to sign in on Ruby Tuesday but her I got stuck.
It seems that everyone has chosen my answer to the first of allowing a place write notes.

I will head off now to the library and P.O. and will BE THINKING all the way driving (ten miles one way) of a new game. I have some of the requirements in mind but not the mechanics so far.
..

Sara Chapman in Seattle, USA said...

I can answer #1. The reason that books sometimes had blank pages on the end is because the pages were printed on big sheets, set up in a special way (imposed) so that when the big sheets were folded up just so and trimmed at the outside edges, voila!, a whole bunch of book pages in order would result.

These would usually be in groups of 16 or 32 finished book pages, and that bunch was/is called a signature. They did it this way because it was far cheaper to run one big sheet through the press than many smaller sheets.

So, since books often did not end up with a page count that was exactly divisible by 16, say, to make up the difference, empty pages were sometimes added at the back, sometimes at the front, sometimes artfully interspersed throughout the book. It's quite a demanding calculation to get everything to turn out right!

I'll also mention that this is for sewn bindings. When individual pages are glued to a spine, and especially now with copy machine pages, there is no need for signatures or extra blank pages.

Quilt Works said...

Hi! Just heads up that there is something not quite right with the way the page displays in Internet Explore.
1. It took a very long time to load, I thought it was down
2. When it displayed it shows a big black box as a banner. Your normally have such good looking banners that I wonder if this is how you designed it.
If you would like me to send you a screen shot of what I see let me know.

Spadoman said...

Blank pages. I think other readers may have it. The paper the books are printed on are all the same. If the words didn't fill all the space, the sheet still had to be used, like someine mentioned, a double page folded in half. If not filled, it would be blank, but still needed to be used to make the book symetrical.

Muy real interest is in the sporting event question. I played a game in grade school called speedball. It was soccer, played on an asphalt "field". We used tall pins, stood up on white painted lines on the plkayground to mark the goal. Out-of-bounds and end lines were also painmted on the asphalt.
Later in life, I brought this game to a adolescent treatment facility where I worked in the 1980's. We played indoors on a basketball court and utilized the same principles of the outside game.
My deviation was to let the sidewalls fo the building come into play and a player could actually play a carom off the wall to his or her self or another player.
The aspect I would incorporate into baseball would be to add the play off the sides of the stadium as "in play". That would mean all four sides and the ceiling in domed stadiums. The possibility would also have obstacles in the field of play to be reckoned with and used to carom hits, (or throws) off of.
I think I moght need more room to explain more fully, but you get the idea.
Thanks for letting us share.

Peace.

Candy said...

I used to hate blank pages in school,I never knew how to start.
But I would think they are a nice place to jot down some thoughts about the book...cause ya know I can't remember much.
Enjoyed reading what others had to say.
Happy Busy Tuesday ;-)