Kilroy — a sign of sanity — and WikiWorld

September 4, 2011

Greg Williams produces more cartoons than newspapers can print (or do print) — he’s got a blog called WikiWorld as an outlet for some of them.  At WikiWorld, he does a one-panel cartoon to accompany some article he found at Wikipedia.  It’s much cooler than it sounds.

Do our history students appreciate the significance of Kilroy?  Williams offers a quick cartoon to explain.

Greg Williams cartoon on the Wikipedia entry for Kilroy

Would this make a good poster for a classroom? Greg Williams cartoon, Wikipedia information

In my studies of rhetoric at the University of Arizona, one class turned to a long discussion on Kilroy.  Without the internet, we had to make do with memory, logic, argument, and a quick trip to the library to see what we could find quickly.

My thesis, which I still hold, is that the presence of Kilroy marks the existence of sanity in otherwise crazy world, and that the rise of Kilroy, or Kilroyism, in war, demonstrates the spirit necessary to win.  Kilroy didn’t win the war singlehandedly, of course — but it was that spirit of Kilroy that turned the tide to victory for the Americans and allies so many times, in so many places.

Why isn’t Kilroy in the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) list?

More, resources:

Kilroy, at the World War II Memorial, Washington, D.C.

Kilroy, in granite, at the World War II Memorial, Washington, D.C. - Wikimedia image, photo by Luis Rubio

1 Comment | Cartoons, History, Kilroy Was Here, World War II | Tagged: , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

“Massive populations of misquotes” said to kill millions

March 5, 2011

“Over 1 million people a year die because of the massive populations of misquotes.”

I preserve it here just because it gives me a smile; here is the sentence above with what I presume is a typographical error that carries great humor, in its natural habitat:

While there is a a discussion going on whether DDT should be used or not in America, it is undeniable that It should be used in 3rd world countries like in Africa to stop the spread of Malaria. Over 1 million people a year die because of the massive populations of misquotes. No doubt that this number could be lowered dramatically. Not only is DDT a type of pesticide, it is a pest repellent, meaning that even if the bug has grown immunity to the pesticide, it will invariably avoid area’s where DDT is sprayed. To use it to a maximum effect, it would be a good idea to spray it on 1 wall inside a home. That’s all that is required to stop the malaria epidemic in Africa. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Delata38 (talk • contribs) 14:48, 10 August 2010 (UTC)

From Wikipedia’s discussion of the article on DDT.

I have no idea who Delata38 is, and hope she or he is not offended at my preservation of the typo.  The error may have been caused by an over-enthusiastic autocorrect function, and no fault of the author at all.  The statement may be completely correct in a few other contexts, something that should give all journalists pause and cause to strive harder for greater accuracy.

Heck, this should be a candidate for inclusion in the next edition of Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations.

In typographical error, truth.

5 Comments | DDT, Humor | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell