Talk:Smokey Stover

Notary Sojac
Got some new info about the origin of Notary Sojac -- I have my own theory about it, but just ran across this: http://bobbuethe.tripod.com/cartoonacy/qanda/q_smokey.htm

;Bear 18:16, 2004 May 16 (UTC)

Segway?
Am I just crazy? How does a gasoline-powered truck in any way "presage" a human-powered scooter? This has been added twice. Just having two wheels is not enough of a link. Any opinions on this? --  Sampo Torgo  [talk]
 * No- you are not crazy, merely ignorant (note: this is not an insult). The point is that the two wheels are side-by-side, an unstable configuration. This was not realised as a practical configuration until the Segway's employment of gyroscopes, accelerometers, and computers. By the way, the Segway is NOT human powered. - Leonard G. 03:40, 30 August 2006 (UTC)
 * That is not a valid link between the two. Saying it "presages" a Segway is basically saying that a comic strip was seriously attempting to predict future concepts, rather than putting forth a comical idea. But, hey, whatever gets you off. Oh, and you're pedantic (note: this is not an insult). —  Sampo Torgo  [talk]  [[Image:Flag of Acadia.svg|20px|]] @ 06:52, 13 September 2006 (UTC)

I plead guilty to using the word "presage" without knowing precisely what it meant. "Presage" means to have foreknowledge, as in prophecy. Smokey's vehicle was a mere comical antecedent to the Segway.Lestrade 12:13, 13 September 2006 (UTC)Lestrade
 * OK, that makes a lot more sense. I knew 'presage' wasn't right, but couldn't think of what phrase would accurately reflect the connection. —  Sampo Torgo  [talk]  [[Image:Flag of Acadia.svg|20px|]] @ 16:33, 18 September 2006 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:Smokey tv stover.jpg
Image:Smokey tv stover.jpg is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If there is other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images lacking such an explanation can be deleted one week after being tagged, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.

BetacommandBot (talk) 05:35, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

Mad Poiuyt
Perhaps there's no need to explain this one*, but I was baffled by it for some time as a youngster (I'm 75, as I type). It's simply most of the top row of a conventional keyboard, read from right to left. (It's not a Dutch word!) *Except in European countries that use the QWERTZ letter arrangement

Flat Foot Flanagan with the Foo Foo
The 1946 strip included here has "Gravy Boat Co.", which suggests that "gravy ain't wavey" might be a pun on "gravy boat". The "poiuyt" explained above is something I never would have guessed, and I know about etaoin shrdlu. I think 'sojac' must mean something.

I also noticed that one 1938 comic, Fire Escape, makes a foo reference to a contemporary song that also used a supposedly nonsense word. "It sounds like Flat Foot Flanagan with the Foo Foo" almost certainly refers to Flat Foot Floogie (with a Floy Floy), a 1938 jazz song by Slim Gaillard. "The floy floy" is a seemingly-nonsense word that was a slang term for gonorrhea, although this has nothing to do with "foo". I added the reference to the song's article, but not to this one. Roches (talk) 04:41, 14 August 2015 (UTC)
 * That's very interesting. Slim Gaillard was a maniac himself, and very talented, and it wouldn't surprise me if he connected to Smokey Stover. As we all know, or should know, "foo" is used for the name of an imaginary file or process in computer science, and "bar" is the name of another file if one needs it to complete a proof of concept. This supposedly comes from "FUBAR" which is short for "F***ed Up Beyond All Recognition" and is said to come from military lingo in WW2. However, "foo" was around before that, and as the article says, Smokey Stover was painted on WW2 airplanes. What are we to make of this? Wastrel Way (talk) Eric