A man in Scranton and his lawn flamingo
Nineteen years of putting the same flamingo out every spring is a real commitment. The nominee described it as a decoration, and the Committee does not recognize decorations.
Office of the Registrar
From the Registrar’s Desk
Items from the files, posted by Ms. Tilley’s office. Most of them are the ones that prompted questions.
Office hours
The Office of the Registrar is open Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and by arrangement. Mr. Kettering is in on Tuesdays as well and is happy to be asked anything.
Minutes of the Board
From the most recent meeting, 9 October 2026, item 6.
The Subcommittee for the Reconsideration of Previous Decisions reported that it had nothing to report. Mr. Kettering asked that this be recorded as a report. The Chair ruled it out of order.
Nominations declined
Every nomination gets a finding, including the ones that don’t go anywhere.
A regional mattress chain
Self-nominations are welcome. Self-nominations written in the third person by an eleven-person marketing department are not.
A woman who has returned the same library book to four different branches since 2009
The Committee was delighted. The library declined to confirm the book exists. Dr. Pruitt asked that the file stay open.
A man who says he has never been wrong
He was asked for one counterexample and did not send one. The Committee took that as a withdrawal. The Subcommittee for the Reconsideration of Previous Decisions was told, and did not meet.
A woman in Allentown with a spreadsheet of every sandwich she has eaten since 2003
The Committee went through 7,100 rows and wanted to give her the award. Dr. Pruitt found that 2011 was missing. The nominee said she had been sick that year. Endurance does not make allowances for illness.
A man who has left a one-star review of the same lighthouse every week for eleven years
Conviction and Thoroughness were both Exemplary. The Committee does not honor harassment of a lighthouse.
A man in Easton who has been about to finish a model of the Lehigh Valley Railroad since 1991
The Committee asked to see the layout. The nominee said it is at a stage. Mr. Ostrowski asked what stage. The nominee has not replied.
“You know who”
The Committee does not know who. Please resubmit with a name.
Correspondence
A selection. Names are withheld where requested.
To Dr. Elmer V. Spooner, Founding Field Director
Re: Public Record award, requested corrections
Dr. Spooner,
The Office of the Registrar acknowledges receipt of your memorandum and its enclosure. Your requested corrections are under review. The review has no scheduled end date. Terminology Review 7-B/1998 was read in full.
C. Tilley, Registrar
To the Department of Laureate Relations
From a laureate, name withheld at the laureate’s request
I put the statuette in the dishwasher. It came out clean. Was that wrong?
Reply from the Department of Laureate Relations
Thank you for writing. It was wrong. We are glad it came out clean, and we have updated our notice.
D. Haas, Director