Yes, another sign of the academic apocalypse: proper nouns are now legal in the next edition of Scrabble.

Mattel, creator of the 70+ year-old board game, decided that capitalized names will drive kids with limited vocabulary toward a game consisting entirely of tiny wooden blocks. Previously, only a few proper nouns listed in the Collins English dictionary were legit.

In the BBC News story, Mattel said there would be “no hard and fast rule over whether a proper noun was correct or not.”

Continuing to justify their decision, they point out high-scoring rappers N-Dubz (17 points) and Jay-Z (23 points.) I counter with folk extravaganza “CrosbyStillsNashYoung.” Just plop down one name each turn, building onto that original construction, and you’ll end up with a whopping 35 points. 105 points if on a triple word score.

The new edition with amended rules hits stores this July.

AFTER WE WENT TO PRESS… Salon.com had this important tidbit of information:

Writing in Slate, Stefan Fatsis, author of “Word Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and Obsession in the World of Competitive Scrabble Players,” told lexicon addicts across the land to call off their dogs. The poorly disseminated real story was that “Mattel, which owns the rights to Scrabble outside of North America, is introducing a game this summer called Scrabble Trickster. The game will include cards that allow players to spell words backward, use proper nouns, and steal letters from opponents.” In other words — it’s just a spinoff. And American Scrabble, which is owned by Hasbro, isn’t even affected.

So nevermind.

(originally posted at The Buzz on pjstar.com)