Fortune at Your Fingertips

Needing some answers? No problem! We tested this set of Mystical Fortune Teller pencils offered by Snifty. Yes, for a mere $10, you have the opportunity for 10 unique answers to your most burning queries.

The pencils appear solid black, but when you ask your question and rub them, the answer slowly appears (along with some mystical stars and moon graphics!). It did take a fair amount of rubbing to get the message to appear, so be a bit patient and persistent!

Eventually, the message fades back to its original state. The packaging also warns you not to put the pencils in direct sunlight. So of COURSE I ran outside and did that very thing. The pencils are essentially heat activated – so the hot sun made the messages appear. I also accidentally left them in my hot car and the same thing happened.

I gave these pencils to my 12 year-old and she LOVED them and shared them with her friends. Lots of questions and giggles going on. These would be great in a gift basket, goody bag, prize bin, mystery party, or magic program. They are fun, and I definitely recommended them!

Survival of the LOUDEST

Librarians aren’t classically considered the loud type, but we found a squad of very willing ones to test drive “Really Loud Librarians,” a hilarious word association board game from the company that brought you Exploding Kittens. Spoiler alert: we had FUN!

The game is available for $20 both online through the company and Target. So I swung by the toy section on my weekly grocery run to pick one up.

The box contains a game board, pieces, category cards, and a timer. It looks very snazzy and I absolutely love the font the designers used. Very librarily.

The object of the game is to split into two teams (Team Gertrude Birdwhistle and Team Wilfred Dankworth, respectfully). Taking turns, each team draws a category card and circles the board until the timer runs out, shouting words that fit in that certain category, all of which must start with the matching letter on the game board. An example catagory would be “Desserts,” and the words as you progress around the board might be chocolate, flan, licorice, pie, sundae, tart, etc. The first team to reach 12 points wins.

Really Loud Librarians is for ages 8+ and two or more people can play at a time. So we rounded up some talented Princeton University librarians. We put on our toughest game faces, choose our field names, and got ready to (very) competitively categorize things.

Well, this was a total blast. It’s amazing how your mind can go blank when the timer is running out and you’re trying to think of a kitchen appliance that starts with “C.” There was a lot of laughter, cheering, good-natured ribbing, suspenseful moments, and yes…it got LOUD.

Some of the card categories are hard though! One team might get “Colors,” and then the next gets “Phone Apps.” That’s a tough category! You’ll need to access the board during your turn, so make sure to play on a small to mid-size table. It also gets a little difficult to keep track of your laps, so we suggest one person act as MC to count laps, turn the timer, and step in to decide whether what you shouted out is a qualifying word.

Also…and this might just be us…but whoever played Team Wilfred always won. Probably a fluke, but if you’re reading this and taking the game to a party, it might just give you an magical edge.

Really Loud Librarians was fun, lively, easy to play, and just an all around good time. Highly recommended!


Special thanks to librarians Neggin Keshavarzian, Beth Kushner, Hilary Murusmith, and Amy Vo for lending their extraordinary word-smithing abilities!

FEELING JUST CAPITAL

TODAY IS NATIONAL CAPS LOCKS DAY, AND WE ARE CELEBRATING IN STYLE!

FOR STARTERS, WE COMMISSIONED HOUSE OF CUPCAKES, AN AMAZING LOCAL BAKERY, TO MAKE THESE ADORABLE UPPER CASE LETTER ‘P’ COOKIES. SINCE ‘P’ ALSO STANDS FOR ‘PRINCETON UNIVERSITY,’ THE COOKIES WERE TIGER STRIPED. THEN KATIE AND I HIT THE STREETS, HANDING OUT COOKIES. DRESSED AS TIGERS, NATURALLY.

HILARIOUSLY, AS WE WERE GETTING READY TO EMBARK ON OUR JOURNEY, THE LIBRARY HAD AN UNSCHEDULED FIRE DRILL. WHICH MEANT THAT ALL OUR COLLEAGUES POURED OUT OF THE BUILDING, MOST LIKELY WONDERING WHY WE WERE DRESSED IN TIGER ONESIES, HOLDING COOKIES ON A TUESDAY MORNING.

WE DID, HOWEVER, GET A PHOTO WITH ANNE JARVIS, THE UNIVERSITY LIBRARIAN!

Anne Jarvis, Robert H. Taylor 1930 University Librarian

A FEW OTHER STAFF AND FACULTY CELEBRATED WITH US BEFORE WE VENTURED INTO CAMPUS AND GAVE COOKIES TO KIDS. WE MIGHT SHOW UP ON A FACEBOOK PAGE OR TWO!

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HAPPY CAPS LOCKS DAY! GO FORTH AND SHOUT IT FROM THE ROOFTOPS!