Five and a half and a quarter shorter.

[heartbreak]

1) Location: Spine. Distance from the bottom of "Leaves" to the top of the Pantheon logo is 5 1/2 inches.

2) Location: Title Page. The title House of Leaves is 5 1/2 inches long. Also, "with introduction and notes by" is 5 1/2 inches from the bottom of the page.

3) Location: Contents Page. The Contents are 5 1/4 inches long.

4) Location: Dedication. "This is not for you." starts 5 1/4 inches from the right side of the page.

5) Location: Muss es sein? "Muss es sein?" starts 5 1/4 inches from the right side of the page.

6) Location: Throughout book: Footnote text seems to have a max width of 5 1/2 inches. One exception found on page 434 where the footnote stretches across onto the next page for a length of 11 inches (5 1/2 + 5 1/2).

7) Location: Page 110. The blade of the red key is 5 1/2 inches long.

8) Location: Pages 120-143. Distance between the blue boxes is 5 1/4 inches. They are also 5 1/4 inches from the bottom of the page. As well as being 5 1/2 centimeters square.

9) Location: Pages 294 and 295. Distance between "Sn-" and "-a-" is 5 1/2 inches.

10) Location: Pages 464 and 465. The distance between the bottom of the text on page 464 and the bottom of the text on page 465 is 5 1/2 inches.

11) Location: Page 549-552. ... and Pieces all have a common width of about 5 1/4 inches.

12) Location: Page 564. The text of La Feuille is 5 1/2 inches long.

13) Location: Page 569-572. Sketches & Polaroids all have a common width of about 5 1/4 inches.

14) Location. Pages 582 and 583. Collages #1 and #2 each have a width of about 5 1/4 inches.

15) Location: Page 658-662. Appendix III all have a common width of about 5 1/4 inches.

16) Location: Yggdrasil. Yggdrasil is 5 1/2 inches tall.

17) Location: Throughout book. Paragraphs start roughly 5 1/4 inches from the right side of the page. (found by Ellimist)

18) Location: Page 513: The bottom of "Here's what the title page said:" is 5 1/2 inches from the top of the page. The band Liberty Bell and Johnny also talk about their song "The Five and a Half Minute Hallway." (Courtesy of FallingQuarters)

19) Location: The beginning to the end of The Navidson Record is 554 pages. Roughly one quarter short of the entire book.

I don't believe any of this has been posted before. Honestly I looked only briefly. If you have seen some of this already and can find links, please link the posts here so we can give credit to those who have found it previously.

[Ellimist]

Um... neat!

Not to be a spoilsport, but could some of these just be due to regular formatting?

Like, does "Muss es sein?" begin in the same place a normal paragraph would?

And in that case, does that mean all text is formatted that way?

[Slow Dog Noodle]

That's really good stuff heartbreak. I would imagine that there was a conscious effort by MZD involving these measurements, given the uncharacteristic size of the book.

[heartbreak]

Originally Posted by Ellimist

Um... neat!

Not to be a spoilsport, but could some of these just be due to regular formatting?

Like, does "Muss es sein?" begin in the same place a normal paragraph would?

And in that case, does that mean all text is formatted that way?

Good question. Let me check.

Yup, it looks like each paragraph starts at about 5 1/4 inches from the right side of the page.

Good eye. I'll add it to the list.

[heartbreak]

Originally Posted by Slow Dog Noodle

That's really good stuff heartbreak. I would imagine that there was a conscious effort by MZD involving these measurements, given the uncharacteristic size of the book.

That was my thought exactly.

[fatwoul]

I don't have anything helpful to add, but good work, heartbreak. I am tempted to go disect my UK/Eire in the same way, but I have too much work this week. Maybe soon though, if someone reminds me. I have no memory.

[heartbreak]

Originally Posted by fatwoul

I don't have anything helpful to add, but good work, heartbreak. I am tempted to go disect my UK/Eire in the same way, but I have too much work this week. Maybe soon though, if someone reminds me. I have no memory.

Thanks.

Let us know if you find anything.

Who are you again?

[hello?]

This is indeed a very interesting find, although I think most of the examples given are probably unintentional because 5 1/2 referred to the length of the footage, in minutes, of the hallway, and the measurement 5 1/4 is never mentioned, as far as I can remember. I know there was a big deal about some missing/added quarters of inches, but it was all unrelated to the number 5 1/2. On the other hand...

I like how it raises the possibility that the 5 1/2 minutes of the five and a half minute hallway are a measurement of space, not time (or maybe both?). In minutes of arc, for instance, that's 6.325 miles at sea level.

Though of course you don't have to be so literal, converting minutes to miles; the 5 1/2 measurement could be an illustration of the inseperability of space and time, which are measurements we tend to think of as distinct and unrelated. Don't we? And although I can't think of any examples, doesn't Danielewski tend to use time and space terms almost interchangeably?

Anyway... good find!

[heartbreak]

Originally Posted by hello?

This is indeed a very interesting find, although I think most of the examples given are probably unintentional because 5 1/2 referred to the length of the footage, in minutes, of the hallway, and the measurement 5 1/4 is never mentioned, as far as I can remember. I know there was a big deal about some missing/added quarters of inches, but it was all unrelated to the number 5 1/2. On the other hand...

I would have to disagree that they are unintentional. With the odd size that House of Leaves is. Some, as Ellimist points out, can possibly be the result of the same layout requirement. For instance, things being alligned from the right hand side of the page. The lengths of different passages all being five and a half or five and a quarter gets to be too much of a coincidence for it not to be intentional. As well as the space between things. Like with sn- and -a- the fact that they are on two separate pages and at different locations on their pages, yet they are still five and a half inches apart. That had to be laid out that way.

Originally Posted by heartbreak

6) Location: Throughout book: Footnote text seems to have a max width of 5 1/2 inches.

Originally Posted by hello?

5 1/2 referred to the length of the footage

Nice wording.

Originally Posted by hello?

I like how it raises the possibility that the 5 1/2 minutes of the five and a half minute hallway are a measurement of space, not time (or maybe both?). In minutes of arc, for instance, that's 6.325 miles at sea level.

Though of course you don't have to be so literal, converting minutes to miles; the 5 1/2 measurement could be an illustration of the inseperability of space and time, which are measurements we tend to think of as distinct and unrelated. Don't we? And although I can't think of any examples, doesn't Danielewski tend to use time and space terms almost interchangeably?

This is good.

I think do to Poe's song 5 and a 1/2 Minute Hallway, I've always thought of the hallway as one that took 5 and a 1/2 minutes to walk down. Then, as an afterthought, I remember that it refers to the length of the film Navidson shot.

Originally Posted by hello?

Anyway... good find!

Thank you. I'm hoping that these last couple finds might quench the theory that everything has been found and that we should continue exploring.

[FallingQuarters]

August 28, 1999

[heartbreak]

Originally Posted by FallingQuarters

August 28, 1999

Nice find. I've added it to the list.

[beanmarine101]

This entire debate of what "5 and 1/2 Minute Hallway" really refers to could probably be taken to the D-Structure topic.

[heartbreak]

What debate? I didn't think there was any debate going on here.

[beanmarine101]

Well, it was really just one post, but it'd be an interesting tidbit to add to the D-Structure topic. The entire topic is about secondary meanings of words, different subjects in a sentence, etc. Minutes could be in terms of arc, time, angle, or "minute" as in small. It's pretty much about more intense play on words.

[heartbreak]

Oddly enough the ball point pens I use to take notes with are five and a half inches long sans cap...

[Key2GB]

I believe Holloway brings a 5th and a half jug of wine...

EDIT: he drinks that much

[heartbreak]

The Navidson Record ends on page 528, which is the 554th page of the book.

554/736 is approximately 0.752.

A quarter short of the whole.

[heartbreak]

The blue boxes are 5 1/2 centimeters square.

[no-genius]

I was hoping that would be 5 1/2 square inches, but its more like 4 1/2. :(

[heartbreak]

Originally Posted by no-genius

I was hoping that would be 5 1/2 square inches, but its more like 4 1/2. :(

4 1/2 what? Not centimeters, just checked the measurement again and definitely not inches.

[no-genius]

When you say 5 1/2 centimetres square, do you mean each side is 5 1/2 centimetres, or the area is 5 1/2 centimetres? Because I was assuming the first one. Its just a bit odd that everything else is 5 1/2 or 5 1/4 inches, and this one is 5 1/2 centimetres, so I was just trying to see if it would be 5 1/2 or 5 1/4 square inches, ie (side length) * (side length) = 5 1/2 square inches. But it doesn't.

[heartbreak]

Ah okay I see. Yes the sides are each 5 and a half centimeters. I didn't follow that you had converted the side length to inches and then squared it to get the area of four and a half inches.

[Ellimist]

Berrump.

[Paradiso]

I like that MZD may be equating space and time together.
5 1/2 inches=5 1/2 minutes.

[Short_Fuse]

walk in a straight line for 5 1/2 minutes. you will go very far