Radio Shack
-Started in 1921
-Was international in scope
-Known by everybody
-The first major chain store to closed
Quintessential talk show host
nm. ninja’ed
Johnny Carson was THE quintessential talk show host.
- hosted the Tonight Show for 30 years
- many of the fixtures with the format were introduced on his show, (e.g. opening monologue, sidekicks, studio orchestras)
- anyone that was ever anybody appeared at least once on his show
- he is the benchmark by which every subsequent late night talk show host is measured
- made the job look effortless
- other talk show hosts cut their teeth as guest hosts on his show, (e.g. Dave Letterman and Joan Rivers)
Quintessential African nation
Ethiopia
Below is from memory, so might be wrong(ish)
- Oldest country in Africa
- One of the largest countries in Africa
- One of the locations of our oldest ancestors remains
- Central Africa(sort of), not way north or south
Next:
Quintessential Ripoff
Bottled water
- same price as soda for something that’s normally free
- it’s not collected from virgin spring water; maybe it did come from the same river further downstream after runoff and sewage are mixed in with it, but that’s as close as it gets
- empty bottles are less likely to be thrown away because of buyer’s remorse
Next: Quintessential cover girl
Marilyn Monroe.
- She was the go-to choice to get across the idea of PLAYBOY right at #1.
- And, repeatedly, the cover of TIME (and LIFE; and VANITY FAIR; and so on).
- But never mind ‘then’; folks still put her on the cover to sell magazines ‘now’.
Quintessential SNL castmember.
Jon Lovitz
- was cast member for 5 seasons. A comparable stint to other SNL alumni such as Adam Sandler, Eddie Murphy, Bill Murray and Laraine Newman
- created a host of memorable and hilarious characters that routinely make the ‘best of SNL’ compilations
- like other SNL cast members, he went on to pursue a career in film and tv, however, his subsequent body of work never eclipsed his accomplishments on SNL
Quintessential sports-related injury
Joe Theismann, Washington Redskins QB, 1985
- got sacked by 4 of the NY Giants defense, resulting in a career-ending compound fracture of his leg
- voted the NFL’s “Most Shocking Moment in History” by viewers in an ESPN poll
- tackle was dubbed “The Hit That No One Who Saw It Can Ever Forget” by The Washington Post.
- exactly 33 years later on the same date, the same injury happened to Alex Smith, current Washington Redskins QB
next: quintessential computer virus
The Morris Worm
-Considered one of the first worms ever released and the inspiration for many that followed
-Unlike viruses designed to infect boot sectors/drivers/etc., which usually require direct action by a person to copy the virus, worms spread on their own, both creating multiple instances of themselves on the same computer and spreading to any other connected computers, frequently bypassing security measures
-Most viruses up to that point infected isolated systems within a machine which with care could be scrubbed clean, rather than basically overloading all functionality and turning the computer into a paperweight as worms would.
-Wasn’t actually intended to be malicious, but the graduate student who created it to “benignly” show security flaws misprogrammed the reproduction rate
-Total economic impact hard to quantify, but was placed somewhere between $100,000 and $10,000,000 in 1988 terms.
-First case prosecuted under the 1986 Computer Fraud and Abuse Act
-Probably the first major exploit of security weaknesses inherent in the Internet
-Prompted DARPA to fund the establishment of the CERT/CC at Carnegie Mellon University, the first government funded organization dedicated to holistic internet security
next: Quintessential computer RPG
World of Warcraft
- has the most registered players of any MMORPG
- been around since 2004 and has won numerous awards
- parodied by South Park
- inspired the Warcraft movie
- gold farming and account trading makes for high real money transactions
- a bug in a new release resulted in a DOT plague that infected all the players and killed the newbies. After the bug was fixed, scientists started looking at using the WoW engine to predict the effects of real-life outbreaks.
next: Quintessential silent film star
Charlie Chaplin*
- certainly the most famous star from the era
- used the silent medium to convey emotions
- directed his own movies
- eventually became a “talky” star as well(Great Dictator may be his greatest)
- lived long enough to see his own fame become iconic
- just the image of him in the hat and the mustache is enough to be recognized world-wide
*Buster Keaton is obviously his equal and almost everything could be said about him and he also did insane stunts. I just think Chaplin has remained even more famous for some reason.
Next up:
Quintessential world leader
FDR.
- Stood up to the Nazis.
- While confined to a wheelchair.
That’s beyond iconic. I mean, that’s some comic-book stuff right there.
- He spearheaded the creation of the United Nations.
- Also spearheaded the creation of the Manhattan Project.
His handpicked successor had to carry those out; but, still, that’s, what, the only time such horrifying weapons have been used in war — promptly followed by a peace that redefined the international system in terms of that organization?
Quintessential Bond Girl.
Pussy Galore.
Just the name. It’s not even subtle enough to be a double entendre, and she’s probably the only Bond Girl who casual Bond fans could name. Plus, her name was spoofed in the original Austin Powers film with “Alotta Fagina.”
Next: quintessential kids’ board game.
Candyland
- still in production
- the most basic of all boardgames
- kids learn the basics of how boardgames work from it
- goes back to 1949
Next up:
Quintessential movie death
The Melting of the Wicked Witch
Because The Wizard of Oz is a kids’ movie, that’s probably one of the first movie death many see and really pay attention to
Been melting since the 1930s, still oozing on
It’s a big culminating point in the movie
Procuring the death is the penultimate accomplishment of a hero’s journey ( “There’s no place like home” being the ultimate)
Met with compassionate regret ( rather than distasteful gloating or vengefulness) by said hero
Quintessential movie birth
I could go with the birth of Jesus because it’s Christmas, but instead I’m going with ALIEN!
- first look at the H.R. Giger-inspired movie monster that spawned nearly 40 years of franchises
- one of the scariest scenes in cinema
- proud papa John Hurt went on to a stellar TV & movie career
- parodied in Spaceballs
next: Quintessential hand tool
Hammer
- oldest known tool
- tool and weapon
- responsible for the invention of the nail
Next: Quintessential clown?
Gotta be Bozo
Created 70+ years ago, still clowning around
Character adopted and played by actors in TV markets all over tje nation and in numerous foreign countries, including Mississippi
Basic appearance has become the standard for a clown
Became a franchise appearing in many different formats
The name Bozo has become a word in many languages
Quintessential piece of advice passed from parent to child that always goes unheeded
Alcohol in moderation. I don’t know anyone who hasn’t been drop dead drunk at least once.
Quintessential Beatles song?
Wow, so many choices.
A Day in the Life
- Considered by many as the “ultimate” Lennon-McCartney collaboration
- Final track on the iconic album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
- Memorable and catchy tune crescendos at the end with a 40 piece orchestra
Next: Quintessential Ramones song