# Encyclopedia Britannica stops printing **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 14, 2012, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encyclopedia-britannica-stops-printing/615708 "2012-03-14T01:04:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encyclopedia-britannica-stops-printing/615708/41 "2012-03-14T16:30:49Z")
I have several one-volume encyclopedias, from between 1870 and 1910. Fascinating! I love paging through (they are all lushly illustrated) and reading about what the states and countries were then; how to clean a nubia; how to make gooseberry jam; all about the new automobiles and aeroplanes; all the recent popular books and plays; who died that year. Constantly updated websites will never have that kind of historical charm. ---
**Author:** ![jacobsta811](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jacobsta811/32/2893_2.png) [@jacobsta811](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jacobsta811)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encyclopedia-britannica-stops-printing/615708/42 "2012-03-14T17:28:13Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > … One was the kind that you could buy from the supermarket for a few dollars for each volume.. .. That reminds me of my childhood - we never had a full set of encyclopedias. But as an elementary schooler I can remember having two or three different “A” volumes of the encyclopedia because they sold the “A” volume at the supermarket for like $1 and then the rest of the set was far more expensive. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encyclopedia-britannica-stops-printing/615708/43 "2012-03-14T19:35:44Z")
> [@Eve](#): > > The Encyclopedia Britannica will continue to publish online, just like Wikipedia (which did not, if I am correct, ever have a print version). Jorge Cauz, the president of Encyclopedia Britannica Inc., tells the _NY Times,_ "We cannot deal with every single cartoon character, we cannot deal with every love life of every celebrity. But we need to have an alternative where facts really matter. Britannica won’t be able to be as large, but it will always be factually correct.” You’re right, Wiki didn’t win as EB still exists. But to pretend that the EB doesn’t deal with pop culture is just plain ignorant: > **[Buffy the Vampire Slayer | Whedon’s TV Cult Classic, Sarah Michelle Gellar |...](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Buffy-the-Vampire-Slayer)** > > Buffy the Vampire Slayer, American television show that combined elements of comedy, drama, and horror and developed a cult following in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Buffy the Vampire Slayer initially aired on the Warner Bros. (WB) network for... > **[Sarah Michelle Gellar | Biography, Films, TV Shows, & Facts | Britannica](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Sarah-Michelle-Gellar)** > > Sarah Michelle Gellar, American actress and entrepreneur who was best known for starring in the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003). She also appeared in such movies as I Know What You Did Last Summer, Cruel Intentions, Scream 2, and... > **[The Simpsons | Creators, Characters, Synopsis, & Facts | Britannica](https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Simpsons)** > > The Simpsons, longest-running animated television series and longest-running scripted prime-time TV show in U.S. history (1989– ), broadcast in many languages to audiences around the world. Created by cartoonist Matt Groening and set in the... > **[Conan O’Brien | Oscars, Needs a Friend, Must Go, & Facts | Britannica](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Conan-OBrien)** > > Conan O’Brien is an American late-night talk-show host and comedian best known for his irreverent and offbeat humor. He hosted Late Night with Conan O’Brien, The Tonight Show, and Conan and was a writer for Saturday Night Live and The Simpsons. Learn... > **[Batman | Story, TV Show, Movies, Actors, & Animated Series | Britannica](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Batman-fictional-character)** > > Batman, American comic book superhero created for DC Comics by writer Bill Finger and artist Bob Kane. One of DC’s most profitable and enduring characters, Batman debuted in May 1939 in Detective Comics no. 27 and has since appeared in thousands of... > **[Joker | Story, Movies, Actors, & Facts | Britannica](https://www.britannica.com/topic/the-Joker-fictional-character)** > > The Joker, comic-book villain created for DC Comics in 1940 by writer Bill Finger and illustrator Bob Kane; their collaborator Jerry Robinson also claimed credit for the character’s inspiration. The Joker is noted for his clownlike appearance and... Also, Wiki is incredibly accurate. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encyclopedia-britannica-stops-printing/615708/44 "2012-03-14T19:40:53Z")
But speaking of errors, the EB entry on Batman lists incorrect dates for Batman: The Animated Series. The show didn’t stop running in 1995, it just received a name change. The final episode actually aired in 1999. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encyclopedia-britannica-stops-printing/615708/45 "2012-03-14T20:08:07Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > You’re right, Wiki didn’t win as EB still exists. But to pretend that the EB doesn’t deal with pop culture is just plain ignorant. Hey, don’t tell me, tell Jorge Cauz, the president of Encyclopedia Britannica Inc.! ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encyclopedia-britannica-stops-printing/615708/46 "2012-03-14T20:14:49Z")
> [@Eve](#): > > just like Wikipedia (which did not, if I am correct, ever have a print version). Someone came out with a [condensed version](http://www.labnol.org/internet/wikipedia-printed-book/9136/) ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encyclopedia-britannica-stops-printing/615708/47 "2012-03-14T20:47:36Z")
My mother loves to tell people that I read the EB as a kid. I didn’t think there was anything odd about doing that at the time. I have to be careful about clicking extra links when going to Wikipedia. Can waste a lot of time that way. Is just browsing Wikipedia considered odd? Have an EB and an old children’s encyclopedia\* in the basement. Don’t know what to do with them. I don’t think thrift stores like them anymore. Just to check on things: MS killed the disc version of Encarta a long time ago and the online version in 2009. Now there was a waste of money. (Remember when Slate used to link to Encarta all the time?) MS bought the online rights to Colliers to use for Encarta. So they killed that too. (\*Don’t remember the brand. It’s the “one with red covers”.) ---
**Author:** ![Kozmik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8dc957/32.png) [@Kozmik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kozmik)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encyclopedia-britannica-stops-printing/615708/48 "2012-03-14T20:54:23Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > First, you read the article from the New York Times incorrectly. It said that of the last printing, 8,000 copies have already been sold while 4,000 remain in inventory. Sorry. The sentence in the article was written awkwardly. It should have been written: “Of 12,000 sets printed, 8,000 sets have already been sold; 4,000 sets remain to be sold.” Is it relevant that the sets have been stored in a warehouse? > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Second, Mr. Cauz did _not_ mean that “Wikipedia is continuously edited” but that the EB website is continuously edited. I was being sarcastic. Note the smilie. ---
**Author:** ![Damfino](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Damfino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damfino)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encyclopedia-britannica-stops-printing/615708/49 "2012-03-14T21:39:01Z")
We had a set of Childrens Britannica, published in the UK, when I was a kid (late 60’s). Much of my knowledge of the world comes from there. We still have it, and it’s still worth browsing through. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encyclopedia-britannica-stops-printing/615708/50 "2012-03-15T00:32:02Z")
We had a set of Encyclopedia Britannica and Britannica Junior when I was growing up. The latter lived on a bookshelf on the stairway landing and looked like [this](http://ia600809.us.archive.org/zipview.php?zip=/14/items/olcovers638/olcovers638-L.zip&file=6385621-L.jpg), and at times I was known to dip into a volume for a little light reading, though I never read anywhere near the whole thing. ETA: Is that the one you were remembering, **ftg**? ---
**Author:** ![Suil\_Dubh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85f322/32.png) [@Suil\_Dubh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suil_Dubh)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encyclopedia-britannica-stops-printing/615708/51 "2012-03-15T00:49:41Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > [Here’s](http://chronicle.com/article/The-Undue-Weight-of-Truth-on/130704/?sid=cr&utm_source=cr&utm_medium=en) an article by historian Timothy Messer-Kruse regarding his experience with Wikipedia. Thanks for that. Both the article, and the comment section, were very interesting to read. > [@jacobsta811](#): > > That reminds me of my childhood - we never had a full set of encyclopedias. But as an elementary schooler I can remember having two or three different “A” volumes of the encyclopedia because they sold the “A” volume at the supermarket for like $1 and then the rest of the set was far more expensive. Was it the “Funk and Wagnalls” encyclopedia? I had a set of the supermarket Funk and Wagnalls as a kid too. While I did read though them quite a lot, or referenced them for homework, I also used them as building blocks for whatever toys I was playing with at the time. You can build a pretty impressive fortress using Funk and Wagnalls. > [@Shalmanese](#): > > Someone came out with a [condensed version](http://www.labnol.org/internet/wikipedia-printed-book/9136/) There’s a company that spams Amazon with “print on demand” versions of Wikipedia articles. They attempt to make money off of people who are not aware that these “books” are just copy-and-paste versions of wiki articles. I wish Amazon would do something about this. > **[Criticism of Amazon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon.com_controversies#Sale_of_Wikipedia.27s_material_as_books)** > > Amazon has been criticized on many issues, including anti-competitive business practices, its treatment of workers, offering counterfeit or plagiarized products, objectionable content of its books, and its tax and subsidy deals with governments. > The company has been criticized for its alleged use of patents as a competitive hindrance; its "1-Click patent" may be the best-known example. Amazon's use of the 1-click patent against competitor Barnes & Noble's website led the Free Software Foundati... ---
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encyclopedia-britannica-stops-printing/615708/52 "2012-03-15T02:24:09Z")
I must have been the king of encyclopedias as a kid. We couldn’t afford much as kids so stuff others would have thrown away I kept. I had –full set of Funk and Wagnalls from 1954 with about 20 years’ worth of yearbooks. –full set of American People’s Encyclopedia from the same time plus a dozen years of yearbooks –full set of some encyclopedia from 1945 that started with “C” but wasn’t Colliers’ –assorted volumes of EB, Junior Britannica, World Book, and Colliers’ ---
**Author:** ![gardentraveler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gardentraveler/32/3576_2.png) [@gardentraveler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gardentraveler)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2012, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encyclopedia-britannica-stops-printing/615708/54 "2012-03-16T01:55:22Z")
We had the Funk & Wagnalls set as well, probably from the early '60s. A&P sold it to us. In the early seventies, Mom splurged on the Britannica. Wish I’d kept something from either one of them. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2012, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encyclopedia-britannica-stops-printing/615708/55 "2012-03-16T03:10:09Z")
“Look _that_ up in your Funk & Wagnall’s!” ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2012, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encyclopedia-britannica-stops-printing/615708/56 "2012-03-19T11:52:25Z")
My grandparents had a Britanica set, but I never really liked it. They seemed to have too much information for me, and they were so dense. I liked World Book better. Less is sometimes more. EDIT: I mean literally dense. Too many words on the same page, with little space between lines. And the only pictures were line drawings that barely even looked like what they were talking about. The World Books just looked better. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encyclopedia-britannica-stops-printing/615708.md?page=2)