# Obsure printing term in Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoon **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 7, 2020, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsure-printing-term-in-rocky-and-bullwinkle-cartoon/924989 "2020-11-07T17:07:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Hakushon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hakushon/32/5503_2.png) [@Hakushon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hakushon)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2020, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsure-printing-term-in-rocky-and-bullwinkle-cartoon/924989/22 "2020-11-07T21:41:09Z")
Yes, it sounded like “black pacca” to me as well. What they meant by that, it’s hard to tell. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2020, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsure-printing-term-in-rocky-and-bullwinkle-cartoon/924989/23 "2020-11-07T21:51:59Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > When I was in college, we always made sure to type our term papers on an elite typewriter, to pad out the page count. A newspaper might use pica, to pack more words into a smaller space. I always understood the opposite – pica was the larger type (10 characters per inch versus elite, 12 characters per inch). So one would prefer pica to pad out your term papers. The quoted wiki excerpt seems to agree with that. ---
**Author:** ![Hakushon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hakushon/32/5503_2.png) [@Hakushon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hakushon)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2020, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsure-printing-term-in-rocky-and-bullwinkle-cartoon/924989/24 "2020-11-07T21:57:23Z")
…because Jay Ward might’ve used an obscure word like “pukka.” ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2020, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsure-printing-term-in-rocky-and-bullwinkle-cartoon/924989/25 "2020-11-07T22:34:01Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > > [@mbh](#): > > > > When I was in college, we always made sure to type our term papers on an elite typewriter, to pad out the page count. A newspaper might use pica, to pack more words into a smaller space. > > I always understood the opposite – pica was the larger type (10 characters per inch versus elite, 12 characters per inch). So one would prefer pica to pad out your term papers. The quoted wiki excerpt seems to agree with that. I may have gotten that backwards. It’s been 3 decades. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2020, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsure-printing-term-in-rocky-and-bullwinkle-cartoon/924989/26 "2020-11-07T22:57:50Z")
Sounds to me like “pica”. Vowel pronunciation can vary quite a bit regionally and it sounds very much to me like a New England long i. I would be curious to know where the voiceover guy was from. ---
**Author:** ![Hakushon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hakushon/32/5503_2.png) [@Hakushon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hakushon)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2020, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsure-printing-term-in-rocky-and-bullwinkle-cartoon/924989/27 "2020-11-07T23:28:51Z")
The VO guy was William Conrad, who was from Louisville, KY…but here he was putting on a fake accent. ---
**Author:** ![Hakushon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hakushon/32/5503_2.png) [@Hakushon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hakushon)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2020, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsure-printing-term-in-rocky-and-bullwinkle-cartoon/924989/28 "2020-11-07T23:45:33Z")
Starting at 0:12 in the link in my original post, there is this joke: “…it wasn’t long before they were bombarding every spot on the globe \ generally causing a _terrible_ nuisance!” (City is blown up, leaving only a crater.) That’s a similar brand of humor to: “…and there in black Pica…” (describing giant headline as using a very small font). So that’s another supporting argument for “Pica.” ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2020, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsure-printing-term-in-rocky-and-bullwinkle-cartoon/924989/29 "2020-11-08T00:21:15Z")
You’re kidding. William Conrad as in “Cannon”? ---
**Author:** ![Hakushon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hakushon/32/5503_2.png) [@Hakushon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hakushon)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2020, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsure-printing-term-in-rocky-and-bullwinkle-cartoon/924989/30 "2020-11-08T00:29:22Z")
Yes! The very same. ---
**Author:** ![Vesicant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/43a26b/32.png) [@Vesicant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vesicant)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2020, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsure-printing-term-in-rocky-and-bullwinkle-cartoon/924989/31 "2020-11-08T01:04:01Z")
The point is, “black pica” is a joke. It’s an oxymoron. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2020, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsure-printing-term-in-rocky-and-bullwinkle-cartoon/924989/32 "2020-11-08T03:15:41Z")
If he’s referring to the headline, no definition of “pica” makes any sense whatsoever. “Pica” is not so much a font as a font in a particular size, that would not be used in a headline. “Black” doesn’t change that. ---
**Author:** ![Hatchie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hatchie/32/3983_2.png) [@Hatchie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hatchie)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2020, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsure-printing-term-in-rocky-and-bullwinkle-cartoon/924989/33 "2020-11-08T04:46:49Z")
Obscure joke, fine. Let’s move on. How about an even more baffling joke, which can be found in the same linked video around 18:30. Rocky: “Monte Cristo was here”. Do you know what that means? Bullwinkle: Yeah, it means someone was in here making sandwiches! Explain. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2020, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsure-printing-term-in-rocky-and-bullwinkle-cartoon/924989/34 "2020-11-08T05:00:10Z")
> **[Monte Cristo sandwich](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monte_Cristo_sandwich)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > A Monte Cristo sandwich is an egg-dipped or batter-dipped ham and cheese sandwich that is pan or deep fried. It is a variation of the French croque monsieur. > From the 1930s to the 1960s, American cookbooks had recipes for this sandwich under such names as "French sandwich", "toasted ham sandwich", and "French toasted cheese sandwich". The Monte Cristo sandwich supposedly entered the scene in the 1960s in Southern California, and exploded in popul... Cmdr. Peter Quincy Taggart’s favorite! ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2020, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsure-printing-term-in-rocky-and-bullwinkle-cartoon/924989/35 "2020-11-08T05:05:18Z")
My guess: the writers wanted a typeface but only knew that typewriters use “pica” without knowing exactly what it meant. They misremembered it as “paca” (or something similar) and put that into the script. The show wasn’t like the NY Times or CNN, where they have layers of editors and fact checkers. Slip-ups can happen at any stage. In 1955 the SF radio program “X Minus 1” dramatized a story called “Man’s Best Friend” (no, no dogs). I listened to a tape recording of it many times when I was young. In the program, a character clearly says, “The polo will probably be around to hail their new leader soon.” For many years I had no idea what “polo” could mean here, but it seemed to refer to crowds of people. Finally I located the story in Galaxy magazine at the Internet Archive. A line in the story from the same character is (italics in the magazine) "The _polloi_ are coming to hail their new Leader.” As in “hoi polloi”. What happened? Was “polloi” in the script but the actor misread or mispronounced it? Was “polo” or “pollo” in the script? No way to tell now. ---
**Author:** ![Hatchie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hatchie/32/3983_2.png) [@Hatchie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hatchie)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2020, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsure-printing-term-in-rocky-and-bullwinkle-cartoon/924989/36 "2020-11-08T05:06:11Z")
Well there ya go. Ignorance fought. Except for the Monte Cristo part. Whence the name? ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2020, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsure-printing-term-in-rocky-and-bullwinkle-cartoon/924989/37 "2020-11-08T05:09:03Z")
> [@Hatchie](#): > > Whence the name? Gotta be the Count from the novel by Dumas. ---
**Author:** ![Hatchie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hatchie/32/3983_2.png) [@Hatchie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hatchie)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2020, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsure-printing-term-in-rocky-and-bullwinkle-cartoon/924989/38 "2020-11-08T05:10:49Z")
Who was known to be fond of egg-dipped sandwiches? ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2020, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsure-printing-term-in-rocky-and-bullwinkle-cartoon/924989/39 "2020-11-08T05:14:21Z")
Oh, the name of the _sandwich_. I don’t think anyone really knows other than it first surfaced in print in 1923. > **[The Monte Cristo: The fried American sandwich that’s a little bit French](https://www.denverpost.com/2017/04/04/recipe-monte-cristo-sandwich/)** > > If the French croque monsieur and the American grilled cheese had a child, it would be the Monte Cristo: a sandwich filled with cheese and sliced meat, battered and often deep-fried. ---
**Author:** ![Hakushon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hakushon/32/5503_2.png) [@Hakushon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hakushon)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2020, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsure-printing-term-in-rocky-and-bullwinkle-cartoon/924989/40 "2020-11-08T06:15:30Z")
OK, I just listened to that “Guns of Abalone” soundbite about 7 times in a row. He’s saying “black Pica,” now I’m sure of it! (It’s just a very strange pronunciation/reading by the narrator.) ---
**Author:** ![Hakushon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hakushon/32/5503_2.png) [@Hakushon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hakushon)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2020, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsure-printing-term-in-rocky-and-bullwinkle-cartoon/924989/41 "2020-11-08T06:18:47Z")
By the way: thanks to everybody who responded to my original post! I appreciate all your input, as not knowing this was driving me crazy! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsure-printing-term-in-rocky-and-bullwinkle-cartoon/924989.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsure-printing-term-in-rocky-and-bullwinkle-cartoon/924989.md?page=3)