14 September 2004
Year of Glad
David Foster Wallace would be proud. Or scared.
Infinite Jest takes place in the not-too-distant future. In fact, it was written in 1997, so I think we're in that future now. In the novel, the US (which had taken over Canada and was renamed the Organization of North American Nations, get it? [Wictionary]), was strapped for cash and created something called subsidized time. In it, years were sold to corporations to name as they wished. The government got the money and the corporation got free advertising. There's the Year of the Whopper, the Year of Glad, the Year of the Trial-Size Dove Bar, and of course the Year of the Depends Adult Undergarment.
Not to leave a scarey idea lie wasting in good literature, Illinois is considering naming an official state beverage. This is really something I would expect from California more than the midwest.
[ via BoingBoing -> ACS -> STLtoday ]
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