BBB Geek-toid

You may recall Professor Harold Hill warning parents about "dime novels hidden in the corn crib". Well, no less an austere institution than Stanford University has been collecting and cataloging dime novels (and "penny dreadfuls" as they were known in England). You, too can scan the catalog and view covers from such classics as "Dick Dobbs Detective Weekly" and "Old Sleuth Weekly" and many, many more. You can even read selected texts. Enjoy, but don't forget what Professor Hill said about such activity leading to...

Fritterin' away their noon time, supper time, chore time, too!
Get the ball in the pocket!
Never mind gettin' dandelions pulled
Or the screen door patched
Or the beefsteak pounded.
Never mind pumpin' any water
Til your parents are caught
with a cistern empty on a Saturday night,
and that's trouble.