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The Mystery of Hitler’s Heavy Leg

And other odd questions from the NYPL’s pre-Internet days

by
Elon Green
December 26, 2014
(NYPL)
(NYPL)

Mental Floss has a marvelous compendium of questions New York Pubic Library employees were asked in the pre-Internet era. They range from the naive (“Do you have any books on human beings?”) to the strange (“Can I get a book telling me how to be a mistress of ceremonies at a musical orgy?”). Then there’s this question, called in on June 6, 1947…

“I would like to know something about the physical characteristics of Adolph Hitler. I think I’ve found him – he walks heavier on one foot and everything.”

Oooookay.

For the record, Adolph Hitler took some shrapnel to his leg. Whether that affected his gait I have no idea.

Elon Green is a writer in New York.