# Who was more influential in American culture: Eugene O'Neill or The Noid? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 24, 2010, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-more-influential-in-american-culture-eugene-oneill-or-the-noid/561728 "2010-11-24T01:29:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Indyellen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/indyellen/32/4176_2.png) [@Indyellen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indyellen)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-more-influential-in-american-culture-eugene-oneill-or-the-noid/561728/21 "2010-11-24T18:06:31Z")
> [@A Monkey With a Gun](#): > > I think a better question would be would we even have the Noid If Eugene O’Neil didn’t pave the way ahead of time. Just as you can’t discuss Spuds McKenzie without mentioning the obvious influence of Tennessee Williams, we can’t speak of the Noid or Oneil without acknowledging that the two are inextricably intertwined. Sure, Oneil’s work may have come before the Noid’s, but would we have the same understanding of O’Neill without looking through the cut-glass window on our cultural heritage that the Noid gave us? :eek: Thread Win! ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-more-influential-in-american-culture-eugene-oneill-or-the-noid/561728/22 "2010-11-24T18:14:26Z")
> [@CaveMike](#): > > **Enderw24** , I take it you argued for The Noid? The Noid needs no arguments for. He just is and his being becomes self evident towards the conclusions necessary for them to reach. In short: Not even Chuck Norris could avoid The Noid. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-more-influential-in-american-culture-eugene-oneill-or-the-noid/561728/23 "2010-11-24T20:31:57Z")
> [@Enderw24](#): > > But how many times did you order pizza in 12th grade? I’d hazzard to guess eighteen million and one. Probably zero times. Freshman year of college, now, that would be a different story… ---
**Author:** ![lavenderviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cdc98d/32.png) [@lavenderviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lavenderviolet)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2010, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-more-influential-in-american-culture-eugene-oneill-or-the-noid/561728/24 "2010-11-25T04:54:20Z")
> [@Eonwe](#): > > I think this is wrong, and every day that passes will see fewer and fewer people percentage-wise who know who the Noid is. > > If you were a kid while the Noid was current marketing (I’m 30 and remember it/him clearly from TV ads), then you know who the Noid is. If you were a grown-up who watched a lot of TV, or ate at Domino’s a lot, you might remember who the Noid is, but maybe not. If you were born after '86 or so you would have had no experience of the Noid, and really no reason to know what it is. I guess the way I see it though is this: How often does Eugene O’Neill come up in pop culture? My experience has been pretty much never (with this thread being the one exception). Even though references to the Iceman Cometh are common I doubt most people could tell you anything about where exactly the reference came from and who Eugene O’Neill was, unless they were somewhat well-read or educated. I think that while the number of people aware of the Noid may be waning, it is likely that the number of people aware of Eugene O’neill is smaller and likely waning just as fast or faster. It’s not like he is being discussed in People Magazine or anything. Those with an interest in literature may know him but most people don’t care about old literature nowadays. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2010, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-more-influential-in-american-culture-eugene-oneill-or-the-noid/561728/25 "2010-11-25T05:11:57Z")
I would have no idea who the Noid is without that episode of Family Guy. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2010, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-more-influential-in-american-culture-eugene-oneill-or-the-noid/561728/26 "2010-11-25T05:26:05Z")
> [@lavenderviolet](#): > > I think that while the number of people aware of the Noid may be waning, it is likely that the number of people aware of Eugene O’neill is smaller and likely waning just as fast or faster. It’s not like he is being discussed in People Magazine or anything. Those with an interest in literature may know him but most people don’t care about old literature nowadays. How do any of the factors you applied to Eugene O’Neill not applicable to the Noid (btw, I can’t believe I just typed that sentence)? The number of people aware of the Noid is waning. The Noid is not discussed in People magazine. Is there anyone with any interest at all in old ad campaigns from the early 90s? I don’t even know that these are useful factors for discussing how culturally relevant something is. I mean, I bet Lady Gaga is mentioned more in People magazine than is Shakespeare. But that doesn’t mean she’s more culturally relevant. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-more-influential-in-american-culture-eugene-oneill-or-the-noid/561728.md?page=1)