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Words Matter

The True Story of the Backward Index

These people needed a computer


There it sits, hidden in plain view on a set of shelves in the basement of the Merriam-Webster offices: the Backward Index. But why would anyone type out 315,000 words spelled in reverse?

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The True Story of the Backward Index

 

These people needed a computer

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A simple way to keep them apart. (Most of the time.)

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The best way to find information in the dictionary

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Pictures in the Dictionary

 

The story of those iconic illustrations.