# "I'm ready to go, Z-12!" How's your Perlinger-fu? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 30, 2012, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-ready-to-go-z-12-hows-your-perlinger-fu/633203 "2012-08-30T23:26:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-ready-to-go-z-12-hows-your-perlinger-fu/633203/1 "2012-08-30T23:26:43Z")
Does anyone besides me (and some nice people on another message board which was the sole relevant though fruitless Google return on “PSA physical fitness head in box”) remember a public service TV spot from the late 60’s - early 70’s? To jog your memory, it started with a shot of automatons shambling through bare corridors, each one carrying a hat box. One set its box in a kiosk, and it was revealed to contain a living human head. The head read off some math formula as the voice-over made the ad’s appeal for us to get some exercise. Then the spot ended with the head calling out in vain for the automaton, Z-12, to carry it away. ---
**Author:** ![sfartist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f9ae1b/32.png) [@sfartist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sfartist)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-ready-to-go-z-12-hows-your-perlinger-fu/633203/2 "2012-10-12T01:35:42Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > Does anyone besides me (and some nice people on another message board which was the sole relevant though fruitless Google return on “PSA physical fitness head in box”) remember a public service TV spot from the late 60’s - early 70’s? > > To jog your memory, it started with a shot of automatons shambling through bare corridors, each one carrying a hat box. One set its box in a kiosk, and it was revealed to contain a living human head. The head read off some math formula as the voice-over made the ad’s appeal for us to get some exercise. Then the spot ended with the head calling out in vain for the automaton, Z-12, to carry it away. YES! I thought my brother and I were the only ones who remembered it! I actually called D.C. to see if it was archived. I would LOVE a video file of it. I quote it all the time in my head. I believe it was for the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and yes, I am ready to go now Z-12…take me away…I’m a busy man Z-12! I can’t wait to tell my brother that our home was not the only one that got that commercial. I guess it wasn’t far off now that we have Skype. I saw a commercial today in which the grandparents and someone else attends a kid’s concert via tablet screens and hear him play sour notes on the tuba! ---
**Author:** ![khughes1963](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/48db29/32.png) [@khughes1963](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/khughes1963)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2012, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-ready-to-go-z-12-hows-your-perlinger-fu/633203/3 "2012-12-29T01:57:15Z")
I remember seeing this commercial when I was very young (about 6-7 years old) and have been looking for it for years. I recall this as a PSA also. I remember another PSA (Red Cross) or Safety Council with a completely trashed house, and the Hurricane Camille PSAs with the tag line “Camille was no lady.” The trashed house one and the disembodied head are definitely nightmare inducing. I also remember “Like Father, Like Son” from when I was a kid. ---
**Author:** ![bradley.whitney\_gmail.com](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bradley.whitney_gmail.com/32/7212_2.png) [@bradley.whitney\_gmail.com](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bradley.whitney_gmail.com)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-ready-to-go-z-12-hows-your-perlinger-fu/633203/4 "2014-05-01T21:56:54Z")
As I recall the announcer ends with “Because a mind is a terrible thing to waste.” The head then says at the end after what sfarist quotes: “Z-12! Is any one there?!?!?” I contacted the Ad council about this. They said others had requested information about this ad, but they had nothing in the archives for it. Bulk of message follows. Thank you for contacting the Ad Council Archives at the University of Illinois. We have received requests for the “Z 12” television PSA before - apparently it is very memorable! However, there is nothing in the Archives related to the spot. Unfortunately, our television holdings from that era are not complete, and not every PSA is issued by the Ad Council, so for the time being this spot has escaped our holdings. I have attached a short list of other repositories of television commercials, in hopes that one of them can help you. In fact, if you DO turn up the ad, we would appreciate knowing where. Good luck in your research. Best Regards, Rory Grennan Ad Council Archives Assistant University of Illinois Archives Room 19, Main Library MC-522 1408 W. Gregory Dr. Urbana, IL 61801 ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-ready-to-go-z-12-hows-your-perlinger-fu/633203/5 "2014-05-01T22:05:40Z")
I think I’m gonna get some well-deserved flak here because I’m probably conflating two different things: Wasn’t “Because a mind is a terrible thing to waste.” the slogan of the United Negro College Fund? Wasn’t another of those commercials Abe Lincoln trying to get a job and the interviewer (Arthur O’Connell) says **You ain’t going nowhere without that sheepskin, fella**? ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-ready-to-go-z-12-hows-your-perlinger-fu/633203/6 "2014-05-01T22:47:00Z")
I remember the Abe Lincoln one, too. Oh well, at least the Nilssonesque “VS Is For Everybody” PSA hasn’t been lost. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-ready-to-go-z-12-hows-your-perlinger-fu/633203/7 "2014-05-01T23:07:29Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > I remember the Abe Lincoln one, too. > > Oh well, at least the Nilssonesque “ **VS** Is For Everybody” PSA hasn’t been lost. I hope you didn’t mean “VD.” ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2014, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-ready-to-go-z-12-hows-your-perlinger-fu/633203/8 "2014-05-02T01:16:19Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > I think I’m gonna get some well-deserved flak here because I’m probably conflating two different things: > > Wasn’t “Because a mind is a terrible thing to waste.” the slogan of the United Negro College Fund? > > Wasn’t another of those commercials Abe Lincoln trying to get a job and the interviewer (Arthur O’Connell) says **You ain’t going nowhere without that sheepskin, fella**? The Lincoln one was for a college program that gave you credit for life experience. He’d done “A lot of reading and studying, sort of on my own.” ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2014, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-ready-to-go-z-12-hows-your-perlinger-fu/633203/9 "2014-05-02T02:49:34Z")
> [@Bill\_Door](#): > > The Lincoln one was for a college program that gave you credit for life experience. He’d done “A lot of reading and studying, sort of on my own.” Holy crap! Google is better than I thought! [Here’s](http://http://filmscoremonthly.com/board/posts.cfm?threadID=93332&forumID=7&archive=0) the Lincoln commercial. For CLEP. I was dead wrong about Arthur O’Connell. :o But I got that part of the quote on the money. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![dfwtvman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f04885/32.png) [@dfwtvman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dfwtvman)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2016, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-ready-to-go-z-12-hows-your-perlinger-fu/633203/10 "2016-01-30T01:37:47Z")
Hey, One other thing: has anyone tried The Smithsonian? ---
**Author:** ![bradley.whitney\_gmail.com](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bradley.whitney_gmail.com/32/7212_2.png) [@bradley.whitney\_gmail.com](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bradley.whitney_gmail.com)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-ready-to-go-z-12-hows-your-perlinger-fu/633203/11 "2018-01-05T23:44:21Z")
> [@bradley.whitney\_gmail.com](#): > > As I recall the announcer ends with “Because a mind is a terrible thing to waste.” The head then says at the end after what sfarist quotes: “Z-12! Is any one there?!?!?” > > I contacted the Ad council about this. They said others had requested information about this ad, but they had nothing in the archives for it. Bulk of message follows. > > Thank you for contacting the Ad Council Archives at the University of Illinois. > > We have received requests for the “Z 12” television PSA before - apparently it is very memorable! However, there is nothing in the Archives related to the spot. Unfortunately, our television holdings from that era are not complete, and not every PSA is issued by the Ad Council, so for the time being this spot has escaped our holdings. > > I have attached a short list of other repositories of television commercials, in hopes that one of them can help you. In fact, if you DO turn up the ad, we would appreciate knowing where. > > Good luck in your research. > > Best Regards, > > Rory Grennan > Ad Council Archives Assistant > University of Illinois Archives > Room 19, Main Library > MC-522 > 1408 W. Gregory Dr. > Urbana, IL 61801 Here it is, uploaded by someone on Oct 16th, 2016: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJXeSkBDiTo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJXeSkBDiTo) ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2018, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-ready-to-go-z-12-hows-your-perlinger-fu/633203/12 "2018-01-06T00:54:37Z")
“Perlinger-fu?” I mean, I _get_ the -fu part, but Perlinger means nothing to me. A little help? TIA ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2018, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-ready-to-go-z-12-hows-your-perlinger-fu/633203/13 "2018-01-06T01:49:46Z")
Tying up loose ends: > [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > I remember the Abe Lincoln one, too. > > Oh well, at least the Nilssonesque “VS Is For Everybody” PSA hasn’t been lost. > [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > I hope you didn’t mean “VD.” [He _did_ mean VD](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-jqZtqtboE). ---
**Author:** ![Cayuga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Cayuga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cayuga)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2018, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-ready-to-go-z-12-hows-your-perlinger-fu/633203/14 "2018-01-06T20:27:43Z")
I often — well, sometimes — say, “I have things to do. I would like to go,” in real life. > [@bradley.whitney\_gmail.com](#): > > Here it is, uploaded by someone on Oct 16th, 2016: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJXeSkBDiTo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJXeSkBDiTo) Turns out I remembered just about all of this spot … except for the fact that it’s set in the far-off year 2000. ---
**Author:** ![bradley.whitney\_gmail.com](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bradley.whitney_gmail.com/32/7212_2.png) [@bradley.whitney\_gmail.com](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bradley.whitney_gmail.com)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2021, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-ready-to-go-z-12-hows-your-perlinger-fu/633203/15 "2021-03-19T01:34:18Z")
Here it is. Uploaded in 2016, from 1971. I did have the ending wrong, mixing up 2 different commercials. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/FJXeSkBDiTo/hqdefault.jpg "The President's Council On Physical Fitness And Sports PSA 1971") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJXeSkBDiTo)