Sinking of the Britannica

This messes up my routine a bit as I had been in the habit of carrying an entire set with me out to the parade route so I could understand the Krewe of Hermes' theme each year. If only there were a quicker more convenient method of looking stuff up on the fly.

After 244 years, the Encyclopaedia Britannica is going out of print.

Those coolly authoritative, gold-lettered sets of reference books that were once sold door to door by a fleet of traveling salesmen and displayed as proud fixtures in American homes will be discontinued, the company is expected to announce on Wednesday.