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Crazy Literary Fact of the Day: The Story Behind "Fahrenheit 451"

Jeevan Sivasubramaniam Posted by Jeevan Sivasubramaniam, Managing Director, Editorial, Berrett-Koehler Publishers Inc.



Ray Bradbury originally titled Fahrenheit 451 as The Fireman, but he and his editors found the name boring. After calling the physics and chemistry departments of several universities to find out what temperature paper burnt at and receiving no clear answer, they called a local fire station and asked what temperature book paper burnt at. The firemen put Bradbury on hold, burnt a book, and reported that the temperature it burnt at was “Fahrenheit 451”

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