Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s…
And at present this is the last Andy cartoon (for now), so here’s an extra special surprise fact about the man I bet you didn’t know.
From the 1950s through to the 70s Andy created mini time capsule boxes which he kept by his desk and filled with bits and bobs which took his fancy. He managed to assemble over 600 boxes! When full, he would tape it closed, number it and put it in storage. Check out the website Time capsule 21 which has electronically assembled the contents of one of these boxes.
Well, I’m a bit surprised and bit not – ‘Selfie’ originates from Australia!
According to the Oxford dictionary, which has now put its definition onto their online website (“A photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken with a smartphone or webcam and uploaded to social media website”), the first documented version of a selfie appeared in an online ABC forum.
A drunk (must be Australian clue #1) wrote
“Um, drunk at a mates 21st, I tripped ofer [sic] and landed lip first (with front teeth coming a very close second) on a set of steps. I had a hole about 1cm long right through my bottom lip. And sorry about the focus, it was a selfie.”
The fact that it ends in ‘ie’ rather than ‘y’ is a second clue lending towards an Australian origin. Apparently we like to end words in ‘ie’ to make things more endearing and in this case, turning a possible narcassitic action into something cute and fun.
And final supporting argument, even our former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd helped to promote the expression, by sharing selfie pictures of himself while shmoozing the public.
Sorry, more can cartoons
Hopefully Andy Warhol is not rolling over in his grave over this one.
Here are some not so well known facts about this amazing artist:
- His very first movie was aptly named ‘Sleep’. It filmed his friend sleeping for a whopping 6 hours. Nine people attended the opening night and within the first hour two left… and then there where seven (who amazingly stayed right up to the end).
- Andy nearly died when he was shot in the chest by Valerie Solanis. Valerie was a founder of club called SCUM (Society for Cutting Up Men) and as a staunch feminist saw it her duty to rid the world of people like Andy, who she considered to be abusive and controlling. As a side point, it is relieving to note that she was the only member of the club.
- The high school art club excluded Andy from becoming a member, as he was considered better than the other members.