The Smithsonian needs your help transcribing Phyllis Diller's gag file
by Mark Frauenfelder from on (#2EGYV)
Right now, you can apply your brain power towards helping the Smithsonian transcribe the 52,000 jokes from Phyllis Diller's gag file. It's fun way to spend a few minutes!
Phyllis Diller's groundbreaking career as a stand-up comic spanned almost 50 years. Throughout her career she used a gag file to organize her material. Diller's gag file consists of a steel cabinet with 48 drawers (along with a 3 drawer expansion) containing over 52,000 3-by-5 inch index cards, each holding a typewritten joke or gag. These index cards are organized alphabetically by subject, ranging from accessories to world affairs and covering almost everything in between.