Beginning July 14, every other Monday (or every Monday, if it becomes popular), I will post an APES. To participate in the experiment, you will read the APES and determine if it is 1) a historical fact–this absurd thing really happened; 2) a historical belief–people really did once held this absurd belief; 3) a historical fiction–this absurd thing only happened in fiction; or 4) something I made up myself. You will have until Friday at midnight to post your answer. On Saturday, I will reveal the correct answer with my source and award points. See Awards for more detail.

For the first 48 hours after the APES is posted, all comments will be held in moderation. This means that you may submit your comment, but it will not immediately appear on the blog. This is to allow you to comment without being influenced by others. After those 48 hours have passed, I will post all comments that abide by the rules given. Comments posted during the 48-hour blind period will receive more points than those posts once comments are openly available. See Awards for more detail.

Nothing about the current political situation can be included in your comment. We are escaping the absurdities of today into the absurdities of the past.

All of my research for APES will come from physical books that I have held in my hands. Other physical books, the only other resources I will resort to is my own memory or my own creativity. I will write or rewrite the story myself without any assistance from AI or the use of any electronic assistance aside from spell check. I may, however, have other humans read the APES before posting and incorporate given feedback in revising.

You, on the other hand, may do as little or as much research as you desire in whatever manner you desire to do it. However, along with your determination, you must also post how you came to that determination, i.e., what source(s) did you use? If you did no research and just guessed, this is an acceptable answer, just say so in your post. If you remember hearing about this somewhere from someone, but you can’t remember how or when, this is also acceptable. Just say so. If you do research, explain what research you did and what your source(s) you used. Points will be awarded both for a correct answer and for how you came to this determination. See Awards for more detail.

Additional points will be awarded if you can add context to the APES. If it is a historical event, give context not provided about who, when, or where said thing happened. If it is a historical belief, give context not provided about when and who believed this. If it is historical fiction, who wrote it and when? If I made it up, why made you think so? See Awards for more detail.

Some APES will include allusions. If you accurately identify an allusions and its source, you can receive additional points. See Awards for more detail.

You may also use or not use AI or other electronic assistance in your answer. However, the use of such may effect how many points you receive. See Awards for more detail.

Remember the first APES will be coming on July 14. Subscribe to my newsletter using the form in the sidebar to be sure not to miss updates, and spread the word. Use the hashtag, #APES.