What’s Up, Doc? - 71123
“Dialogue gags are a dime a dozen, but a good sight gag is hard to come by." - Tex Avery
Sufferin’ succotash, it’s seven eleven!
The Daily Rabbit Hole: A brief history of Bugs Bunny
Getting real literal with today’s rabbit hole.
I’d contend that more American kids than not were once staring at a plate full of carrots that looked repulsive, only to be told by their parents to eat them because they’d make their eyesight better. It may have even been stretched to say that if you ate enough of them you might develop night vision.
So do carrots make your eyesight better?
Carrots contain vitamin A, or retinol, and this is required for your body to synthesize rhodopsin, which is the pigment in your eyes that operates in low-light conditions. If you have a vitamin A deficiency, you will develop nyctalopia or night blindness. Eating carrots would correct this and improve your night vision, but only to the point of an ordinary healthy person – it won’t ever let you see in complete darkness.
To be extremely clear, the only data we have that carrots make your eyesight better is thin at best and was only studied after everyone was saying carrots made your eyesight better.
The ‘Wait, What?’ Vortex: The Looney Toons are fading into obscurity.
“By the mid-90s, the Looney Tunes reached peak relevancy for the first time in 30 years off the back of solely being featured in commercials as spokesmen - not original episodes.”
I did not expect to get sucked into a 45 minute video essay about the cultural significance of 2D animated characters but highly recommend this based on the takeaway alone.
Orange ya glad to see me? …
In contention for the greatest lie/trick/deceit in human history is this carrot ordeal. If you’re unfamiliar with what happened, or if you are familiar, you’re bound to keep reading because it’s just too good to be true.
The British Army used propaganda to trick the Germans in World War II that the reason they suddenly got better at shooting down nazi aircraft flying over London at night was because British pilots were eating a surplus of carrots to improve their eyesight and develop night vision. This was to hide the fact that they had invented and put to good use Airborne Interception Radar. Having the Germans know that they had developed this new technology would give the Germans the opportunity to use that knowledge to their own advantage. So Churchill and the Brits … lied.
The public ate it up (literally), and it disseminated far and wide.
Yet at most, carrots can get people with bad night vision slightly back to normal. Plus they certainly are not the only source of vitamin A. If only we knew that as kids, then we wouldn’t have eaten those extra carrots.
Dear Netflix: Please make an entire series on just the propaganda battles that have occurred throughout history.
Dear you: let me know if this already exists in the comments.