From our friends over at Boing Boing comes this sweet little idea: Write a poem, or a story, or whatever, using only the words that appear in the Dr. Seuss classic “The Cat in the Hat.” Ready, set... GO!
But what are those words? And how many are there (articles cited either/or/and 223 or 236 words). And though I did (eventually) find an online list, I needed something better.
My solution? Type every word of the book into a spreadsheet, run a couple of filters and functions on the prose and ... voila! I got an alphabetized, numbered list of every word Dr. Seuss used to write his easy-reader. And yes, I eventually came up with 236.
You can find that list on Charleston.net, or as a numbered list right here, or as a single-page, printable PDF. And if you do bother to try this little challenge, please send me the results (if snail-mail suits your results better, try: Dan Conover, The Post and Courier, 134 Columbus St., Charleston, SC, 29403).
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