Professor tests dictionary with fruit
( 2003-12-11 17:08) (China Daily)
A 72-year-old retired professor who delights in finding fault with
authoritative dictionaries, vomited four times in one night after eating the
fruit of a sago cycad plant to challenge the "Cihai", a famous Chinese
dictionary, in Shenzhen on Tuesday, reports Guangzhou Daily.
Hu, a professor of ancient Chinese literature, proposed a new definition for
the fruit in the wake of his vomiting spell: "Be cautious in eating the fruit of
the sago cycad".
Hu's granddaughter gave him two sago cycad fruits she picked from the
beautiful palm-like plants at a park last Sunday.
By consulting the "Cihai", Hu learned that the fruit of the plant can be
eaten, so he sampled one to challenge the dictionary on Tuesday night.
Hu is said to have found more than 10 faulty definitions in different
dictionaries over the past eight years.
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