# What the Children Wanted (office cartoon) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 9, 2001, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-children-wanted-office-cartoon/49220 "2001-01-09T21:22:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2001, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-children-wanted-office-cartoon/49220/1 "2001-01-09T21:22:57Z")
I’m looking for an old office cartoon that poked fun at design-by-committee. It depicted the design and implementation of a playground swing set. Its panels depicted increasingly ridiculous and useless renditions of a child’s plank-bench swing suspended from a tree, with titles like “What the board voted for”, “What Supplies Dept requisitioned”, “What the Laborers Assembled”, etc… The swing set appeared in one panel with its chains attached to limbs on OPPOSITE sides of the tree trunk, which was shown with a space sawed through it to let the swing pass through, and crutches on the branches to hold up the upper portion of the tree; in another, there were three chains (left, middle, and right) attached to the swing seat; one panel showed a vertically oriented seat with the chains attached to the trunk instead of going overhead to a tree limb; and so on. The final panel, titled “What the Children Wanted”, showed a tire swing tied to the tree limb. I need this cartoon for my office wall, of course. Any leads would be appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2001, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-children-wanted-office-cartoon/49220/2 "2001-01-10T18:37:32Z")
OK, then, any suggestions that would help me in my search for leads would ALSO be appreciated! ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2001, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-children-wanted-office-cartoon/49220/3 "2001-01-10T20:43:02Z")
After returning nothing useful with various searches on swing, swingset, tire, committee, planning, etc., Google finally surrendered its hoarded knowledge when I entered “what the customer wanted” (in quotes): [Communication in Business - Burridge](http://linux.burridge.nscc.ns.ca/extension/comm/97-98comm/ch1/index.htm) ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2001, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-children-wanted-office-cartoon/49220/4 "2001-01-10T20:53:45Z")
Sorry, I popped back the the beginning and didn’t notice that there was a whole lecture between the beginning and the slides: [As Marketing requested it.](http://linux.burridge.nscc.ns.ca/extension/comm/97-98comm/ch1/sld024.htm) [As Sales ordered it.](http://linux.burridge.nscc.ns.ca/extension/comm/97-98comm/ch1/sld025.htm) [As Engineering designed it.](http://linux.burridge.nscc.ns.ca/extension/comm/97-98comm/ch1/sld026.htm) [As Production manufactured it.](http://linux.burridge.nscc.ns.ca/extension/comm/97-98comm/ch1/sld027.htm) [As Maintenance installed it.](http://linux.burridge.nscc.ns.ca/extension/comm/97-98comm/ch1/sld028.htm) [What the Customer wanted.](http://linux.burridge.nscc.ns.ca/extension/comm/97-98comm/ch1/sld029.htm) ---
**Author:** ![jb\_farley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9d8465/32.png) [@jb\_farley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jb_farley)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2001, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-children-wanted-office-cartoon/49220/5 "2001-01-10T21:21:19Z")
**tomndebb** , this wasn’t my question, but you are the capital EM AY EN! MAN! jb ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2001, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-children-wanted-office-cartoon/49220/6 "2001-01-10T22:04:49Z")
Damn, you’re good!!! Thank you!!! ---
**Author:** ![zut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zut/32/2875_2.png) [@zut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zut)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2001, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-children-wanted-office-cartoon/49220/7 "2001-01-10T22:34:48Z")
Y’know, I’ve seen a few different versions of this cartoon; some of them had more panels than the six from the site that **tomndebb** found. The additional panels were more of the same, like “As management approved it” and “As purchasing bought it” and “As customer support fixed it” ---
**Author:** ![rubyfey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@rubyfey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rubyfey)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2010, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-children-wanted-office-cartoon/49220/8 "2010-06-25T04:07:46Z")
(Hi–a newbie here) I tried to find the above mentioned cartoon, which one of my college professors used to keep on her door and I’ve loved it ever since. I’d LOVE to find it again, but the links given above (9 years ago now) are no longer good. Can anyone help me find it? My own searches so far have not yielded any results. Thank you, Rubyfey ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2010, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-children-wanted-office-cartoon/49220/9 "2010-06-25T04:14:47Z")
Googling “what the customer wanted” yielded several: [![](https://centralvacuum.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/10/16/tireswingcartoon.png) ](https://centralvacuum.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/10/16/tireswingcartoon.png) [![](https://johngushue.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451f25369e20120a513810c970b-800wi) ](https://johngushue.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451f25369e20120a513810c970b-800wi) [http://www.soloseo.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/what-the-customer-actually-wanted.jpg](http://www.soloseo.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/what-the-customer-actually-wanted.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![rubyfey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@rubyfey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rubyfey)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2010, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-children-wanted-office-cartoon/49220/10 "2010-06-25T04:34:25Z")
Thanks—I should have started with the punch line!! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2010, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-children-wanted-office-cartoon/49220/11 "2010-06-25T05:01:25Z")
Is there a version for “how the zombies used it”? ---
**Author:** ![DogRatCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8e8cbc/32.png) [@DogRatCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DogRatCat)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2010, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-children-wanted-office-cartoon/49220/12 "2010-06-25T15:01:04Z")
> [@postcards](#): > > Is there a version for “how the zombies used it”? Based on [http://www.soloseo.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/what-the-customer-actually-wanted.jpg](http://www.soloseo.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/what-the-customer-actually-wanted.jpg) I humbly submit: [http://img821.imageshack.us/img821/3007/zombiesdidwithit.jpg](http://img821.imageshack.us/i/zombiesdidwithit.jpg/) alt link: [http://www.freeimagehosting.net/image.php?f56947ffdb.jpg](http://www.freeimagehosting.net/image.php?f56947ffdb.jpg) I’m sure you’d get a bit more talented/dedicated results from [fark.com](http://fark.com) but this is what 15 minutes of my life gets you 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2010, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-children-wanted-office-cartoon/49220/13 "2010-06-25T15:19:42Z")
Another place you can find that graphic, along with several variations (which I recently mentioned in a [post=12527322]recent post on this issue[/post]) is here: [http://www.projectcartoon.com/cartoon/3](http://www.projectcartoon.com/cartoon/3) ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2010, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-children-wanted-office-cartoon/49220/14 "2010-06-25T15:25:55Z")
I’ve seen versions where the panel with the ropes tied to the trunk/swing on the ground was " how the legal dept. wanted it." ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2010, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-children-wanted-office-cartoon/49220/15 "2010-06-25T15:26:44Z")
You guys freak me out sometimes. I used this in a presentation just last week! ---
**Author:** ![DogRatCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8e8cbc/32.png) [@DogRatCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DogRatCat)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2010, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-children-wanted-office-cartoon/49220/16 "2010-06-25T15:30:43Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > You guys freak me out sometimes. I used this in a presentation just last week! The Matrix has you. Follow the white rabbit! ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2010, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-children-wanted-office-cartoon/49220/17 "2010-06-25T20:29:13Z")
Pretty much every version of this cartoon I’ve seen lately has been fucked up by tech-industry people who think the world began sometime in the 1980s. The cartoon was old when I first saw it in the late '70s, and it said nothing about “project managers” or programmers. Every caption was logically related to the picture above it, and named a department typically found in a government bureaucracy. The first drawing, of a swing with three seats in a vertical row, was labeled with a department (that I can’t remember) that would be expected to demand additional capacity and equal access – urban development, maybe. The next drawing, with three ropes, was about a department covering its ass with excessive safety features – probably lawyers. The rest of the drawings lampooned other features of the bureaucratic mind, and the cartoon ended with “what was really wanted.” ---
**Author:** ![UncleFred](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f0a364/32.png) [@UncleFred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleFred)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2010, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-children-wanted-office-cartoon/49220/18 "2010-06-25T21:41:13Z")
In my office the motto is “the customer is always wrong.” And that is right about 90% of the time. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2010, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-children-wanted-office-cartoon/49220/19 "2010-06-27T12:24:47Z")
> [@UncleFred](#): > > In my office the motto is “the customer is always wrong.” > > And that is right about 90% of the time. You must be in IT. . . 😉 ---
**Author:** ![DogRatCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8e8cbc/32.png) [@DogRatCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DogRatCat)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-children-wanted-office-cartoon/49220/20 "2010-06-28T16:20:44Z")
PICNIC and PEBKAC are some of my most frequently used terms for common issues we deal with. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User\_error#Acronyms\_and\_other\_names\_for\_a\_user\_error](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_error#Acronyms_and_other_names_for_a_user_error)