I remember as a youngster envisioning myself as a famous scientist, peering intently at test tubes and unravelling the secrets of genetic engineering, with beautiful woman clinging to my white lab coat, or a world-famous androgynous rock singer à la David Bowie, with beautiful women clamoring at my hotel room door, or the mathematician that solved Fermat’s last conjecture (mathematical theorem that evaded thinkers for centuries), with beautiful (female) coeds gazing adoringly when I demonstrate the proof on the blackboard in a large lecture hall, or a variety of other things (with the common theme being the large group of adoring women - at least that part came true! )
Imagine my dismay when I go to the Straight Dope home page today, and see that the advertisment banner is for:
Is this the demographic I fit in? Is this how the world at large sees Arnold Winkelried? Where are the solicitations to fly first class (on my way to accept my Nobel Prize), or to buy a supercomputer (to unravel the DNA of T-Rex), or to buy a Rolls Royce limousine (that I would then paint in psychedelic colours, of course, in homage to John Lennon)?
Instead my demographic and my interests peg me as the kind of person whose idea of happiness is to bring silly putty to the office.
(sobbing uncontrollably)
Don’t great thinkers generally like to play? I watched the “Space Station” IMAX film, and those astronauts had toys all over the place! I think that when a workplace (such as my husband’s from time to time) bans such things as “monitor pets”, it says something about the place, and not necessarily something good. It’s tough to think great thoughts (and my husband, as an engineer, is supposedly paid to do just that) in a sterile space.
Something about playing with putty, playdough, clay, etc. frees your mind to think in different ways. Maybe, as we Dopers are playing with that putty, we will solve those unsolved theorems, find the cure for cancer, write the next hot single, or just come up with a witty response to a post.
So, yeah, if I were marketing silly putty to adults, I’d market it to Dopers. Boring, unimaginative people think, “Duh, silly putty’s for kids!” Not too many of those people around here.
These D&D dice on my desk aren’t cutting it anymore. I need some glow-in-the-dark silly putty NOW!!! Those colors are awesome! Damn, that’s expensive! Cheaper than a psychadelic Rolls Royce, though.
I was going to say “better than penis-enlargers” – but then started thinking about the possibilities of using glow-in-the-dark putty as a penis enlarger and got distracted.
My boss is a pretty famous economist. He doesn’t fly first class (only fat members of staff may avoid economy). Fast computers are provided. He seems to do well with women. But he does fiddle Queeg-like with balls of Blu Tack in the office, so when I saw Crazy Aaron’s site I thought “What a great gift for my hugely successful boss”.
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