Chapter IV
Two standing tracks, a rotating cabinet of specialist prizes, and the seasonal challenges. Names are entered in the ledger as sources are verified.
Points earned finding sources.
Points earned adding & curating.
Beyond raw points, the archive awards named prizes for particular feats of research. A single contributor may hold several at once; a prize passes hands only when another entry displaces it.
Most citations from independent, verified primary sources.
Current holder
R. O'Donnell
'Glass of Milk' — 11 corroborating pre-1920 clippings.
Earliest confirmed printed appearance surfaced this year.
Current holder
P. Marchetti
Alexander anecdote traced to a 1543 Venetian homiletic.
First verified source located within a nation's archives.
Current holder
S. Adekunle
First Nigerian pulpit-printing of the beggar tale (1897).
Story unresolved the longest before a verified source landed.
Current holder
M. Halberstam
'Footprints in the Sand' — open 4 years, 7 months.
Disproved a famous attribution with documentary evidence.
Current holder
A. Chen
Showed a common Twain quote first appeared in 1948.
First source uncovered in a language previously unrepresented.
Current holder
T. Yamada
First Japanese-language source added to the archive.
Most credible variants added across distinct stories.
Current holder
J. Kowalski
27 variants across 9 tales.
Most careful, well-annotated moderation this quarter.
Current holder
H. Bakker
Merged 42 duplicates without a single reversal.
Traced a story across two distinct religious or cultural traditions.
Current holder
A. Chen
Linked the beggar tale from Talmudic to Sufi sources.
Most 'where I first heard it' entries with location + date.
Current holder
L. Silva
310 first-hearing reports across four continents.
Trace any Alexander-attributed anecdote to a documented primary source before September 30.
Prize
Wax-sealed printed certificate + double points
Untangle the tangled attributions of the 'Glass of Milk' / Howard Kelly variants.
Prize
Featured contributor essay in the archive
Match five popular pulpit stories to their earliest known printed sermons.
Prize
Named commendation in the front matter
Sample ledgers shown. Live rankings appear once accounts are wired up.