The Wager Books of Cambridge

Over the centuries, the faculty at Cambridge have challenged one another with wagers — betting each other about points of debate, doubting one another on whatever uncertain topic their brandy-addled minds could find to discuss during after-hours meetings between professors. The wagers weren't purely rhetorical; they were documented for posterity in blank-paged 'wager books', so anyone (most likely the winner) could refer to their original bet with confidence that they remembered the wager correctly. Alexander Rose, director of The Long Now Foundation, met these books during a visit to the venerable institution.