Long story short, my wife is not a Star Trek fan, but is an American who has lived in the world for a few decades. We watched Star Trek: Into Darkness on Netflix last night and she recognized Klingons from The Next Generation but had never heard of Tribbles. She knew “Damnit Jim, I’m a doctor, not a…” but didn’t recognize “Khaaaaannnn!” So hopefully that gives you some perspective on her familiarity w/ the canon.
I found this surprising, thinking they’re at least at parity with being known by non-fans. Am I wrong? Are tribbles relatively unknown to the general public?
Klingons by far. People don’t dress up as tribbles and go to conventions. Klingons always show up as one of those 30 second spots at the end of the local news.
In 1983 I went to a convention in Kansas City. Each year they raised money for a local charity, that year they did it by holding “The Intergalactic Tribble Breeding Contest”
Folks made their own versions of tribbles and they were placed on long tables with a jar in front of each one. You put money in the jar of the tribble(s) you liked best, with all the money going to charity. The winner would be whoever had the most money in their jar.
I saw Siamese tribbles, two linked together. There was Isaac Asatribble, wearing a big pair of glasses. There was Mr.** T**ribble. He was brown and mostly bald, with one strip of hair in a Mohawk. His card said he usually won any contest he entered because the other contestants would drop out.
Tribbles only appeared in one episode of the original series, an episode which also featured Klingons. They were also in one episode of the animated series. Maybe a couple other appearances, but not a major part of the Star Trek universe.
Klingons feature prominently in more than one of the movies, and one of the main characters of New Trek was a Klingon (Worf).
The thread title, “Which is better know: Klingon or Tribble?” made me think the thread was asking which language it was better for a person to know: Klingon or Tribble. (Which made me wonder, “Tribble” is a language?)
I think their only other appearance was the Deep Space 9 episode (“Trials and Tribble-ations”) that had the characters interacting with scenes from the original '60s episode.
I’m not even sure Tribbles were even mentioned in any episode where they weren’t shown. By contrast, Klingons were featured in many episodes of the original Star Trek, and talked about frequently in other episodes.
Thanks to the typo, I’m thinking the Letterman “Know Your Current Events” bit with your options of Know Your Current Events, Know Your Cuts of Meat, Know Your Klingon, or Know Your Tribble.
I’d say Klingons are easily better known, but that tribbles are probably still better known than a lot of actual sentient species from the Star Trek universe.
Objection! My wife dressed as a tribble and went to a convention … a few years ago … and her picture was taken and it ran in Newsweek Magazine. She had (and has) very nice legs.
That said, not that many people dress as tribbles. Klingons are far better known, if only because knowing the Klingon language is the standard for out-there geekery.
