Talk:Impossible trident/Archive 1

I think it appeared in Mad many times besides its 1965 cover appearance. In fact, it's second only to the grinning idiotic face of Alfred E. Neumann (in my mind) as being the Mad mascot. --Ed Poor


 * I would have thought that would be the veeblefetzer. :) --Furrykef 11:26, 5 Jun 2004 (UTC)

The multi-pronged object in the article is called a "poiuyt" by Mad magazine.

A "blivet" is 10 pounds of feces in a bag made to hold only 5 pounds. The word "blivet" also can be used metaphorically, but I'm not sure of the correct usage. --User:Juuitchan


 * In case anyone hadn't noticed, "poiuyt" is the last six letters on the top row of a standard English keyboard from right to left.

68.194.161.90 wrote:


 * It's also thought to be a WWll term for "ten lbs of manure in a 5 lb bag" I must look further but I may have run across the word in a Dickens novel. Contextualy it indicated a meaning of something completely useless.

In working with UAVs (in army aviation), we use the word "blivet" for two completely different uses - the aforementioned fuel bladder, and to reference a heavy (300 pounds or so) iron disk used to test the launcher for our planes. --User:Mathmannix —Preceding undated comment added 21:09, 6 September 2009 (UTC).

Alluding To M. C. Escher
changed 'painting' to 'print' in the M.C. Escher comparison. Escher was a printmaker, not a painter. -Cory

I'm aware of Escher prints using other impossible figures, for example the Penrose Triangle and the Necker Cube. But I can't recall any using this object. Until I see an example of an Escher print using a poiuyt, I am skeptical of the claim. - Hop

As per Hop's concern, I've moved out this line of text:

The artist M. C. Escher was famous for utilizing this object in many of his drawings, lithographs, woodcuts and many such other media.

While Escher definitely used illusionary imagery in his prints, I've never seen a picture attributed to him with this specific "image cliché." (And I actually have a hardcover catalog of his work, so I'm pretty certain.) --DLWormwood 17:07, 5 September 2007 (UTC)

Agree with DLWormwood above. It was Hayward, not Escher. Hayward incorporated the blivet into a picture of Greek columns as cited in J.O. Robinson's book, The Psychology of Visual Illusion pp. 176 and 178. --Wikphilia (talk) 16:53, 18 January 2009 (UTC)

"Common Southern Usage"?
Deleted this section, since


 * 1) it certainly isn't a common Southern usage
 * 2) can't find any mention of it in standard reference sources
 * 3) it's had a fact tag for 18 months now

--Otterfan (talk) 21:23, 29 November 2008 (UTC)

D.H. Schuster
Wasn't D.H. Schuster (who I do not believe there is a Wikipedia page for) the man who created this image in 1964? If so, I will soon add a section entitled History on that. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Panther991 (talk • contribs) 13:05, 30 June 2009 (UTC)