Plenty of Nothing

Roman Glassware

Roman glassware at the museum of the Department of Classics and Religious Studies, University of Ottawa.

Have you ever wondered why Roman glassware always looks dirty? It's because it is. An agricultural society like the Romans' maintained a very close relationship to the soil. Today a wine expert can speak authoritatively about the terroir that produced a vintage. The peasantry of the Roman Empire could identify the terroir of pork, egg, mussel or even bread. Their intimate understanding of the soil sprang from the farming practice of tasting the earth to learn its mineral content. The soils of particular estuaries were considered especially healthful. Taverniers bottled earth from these favoured spots with natural spring water and sold it as a refreshing beverage. The dirt you see in Roman glassware is a residue of this soft drink, trademarked Agri-Cola.

Broke

In 1814 the merchants of Halifax addressed the shortage of coin circulating in Nova Scotia by striking this half penny commemorating the recent victory of HMS Shannon over USS Chesapeake in the ongoing War of 1812. In the place of George III the coin featured the victorious Captain Philip Broke of the Shannon. The coin quickly lost its value and by 1825 was considered worthless.

Chapman Bit His Lip

October 5th, 2011 marked the hundredth anniversary of the birth of Brian O'Nolan, the non pareil of 20th-century comedic prose style. You may know him as Flann O'Brien, or Myles na gCopaleen. The Irish Times has been running a series of essays on his life and influence, with extracts from his Cruiskeen Lawn column, here. He was conversant in four or five languages and at his best when using one to hammer puns off another.

For example:

Which omnibus line is best augured?

Fortuna favat 40 Bus.

To the novice I recommend The Best of Myles, an anthology of comic devices collected from Cruiskeen Lawn. Key sections include "The Brother" (reported stories), "Keats and Chapman" (egregious puns), and, for my money the best, "For Steam Men" (specialist and obsessive language). I challenge you to find a better example of comic pacing than his WAAMA League book-handling scheme.

Here is a Flann O'Brien bibliography. D

Anhalter Bahnhof

Peter Falk in Wings of Desire. In this scene Falk pauses to look at the ruined facade of the Anhalter Bahnhof, where Berliners used to catch the train in the direction of the state of Anhalt. There's a pun on the verb anhalten, "to stop", which leads to the line "Not the station where the train stopped, but the station where the station stopped."

Otaku/Otoko

Alan Tudyk To Play David Cameron In Biopic

 

Not So Apropos, TSN.ca!

 

Argh!  The only appropriate use of the headline "The Pens Are Mightier" would be when they beat the Sabres.

Toss It Up!

Good Pun Bad Pun

A pun is a verbal construction that simultaneously conveys two distinct meanings.  A good, well-turned pun contains two senses that co-operate and reinforce one another, inculcating delight.

Figure 1 is an example of a good pun, specifically the Home Depot ad at the Braves' home field.  "Drill one here."  Yes!

Figure 2 is an example of a stupid pun.  The Ottawa CBC station has an arts program called "Creative Block", because, you see, it's about creative people, and also, it occupies a block of time.  You'll recall that Ottawa seriously considered adopting the slogan "Ottawa: Technically Beautiful", because, you know, the city is beautiful and has a lot of high tech industry. "Creative Block" and "Ottawa: Technically Beautiful" are akin to the driver who has turned the wrong way onto a one-way street, and is honking at the other cars.  (I've seen this.)  (In Ottawa.)  Dumb, and broadcasting the fact.

Check here for the Atlanta picture.

Bluestockings

Puns are structured into the universe on a subatomic level.  If you think of a pun, like, "Bluestockings would be the perfect name for a 19th-century women's baseball team," chances are in the 95 to 100 percent range that someone else has already thought it, done it, and posed for the picture.