Job-seekers and students: Apply here for a life-changing opportunity

 THIS is another reason I say the aviation industry is a place for future students and job seekers.

In 6 years, Justin Mutawassim went from a ramp agent hauling bags to piloting a Boeing 767.

Mutawassim struck up a conversation with an older Black pilot who became his mentor. He gave him a “flight plan” to achieve his goals, & here we are.

Famous Faces in History - WHO are they and why are they famous?

Calling all history majors, English majors, journalists, advertising majors, and marketing reps--and a few instructors too: let's see you solve the puzzle of 16 Famous Faces. 
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Here are 16 faces: who's who? (Hint: one just became a royal grandfather again.)

In 1995, I was substitute-teaching and saw a Wall Street Journal. (It's not my normal reading, but it was there.) In it, I saw an advertisement for Dewar's Scotch: these were the images used, and the selling point was something about so few leaders available for such good Scotch. My response: I showed initiative and pro-active thinking BY CALLING THE DEWAR'S ADVERTISING OFFICE AND ASKING TO SPEAK TO WHOMEVER DESIGNED THE AD. I WANTED TO KNOW WHO THREE (3) FACES WERE: I thought I knew 13, and I did. But the last three stumped me--and I wasn't giving up. Not me with my encylopedic-photographic memory. And they obliged me--and I was right about at least one. The other two...now I recognize them.

And there was more. Dewar's sent me a color image of the ad, and I had it framed and hung on the wall for years. I've let it since go, but the significance is in their eyes: who ARE these people, what did they do with their lives to be this important, and why were they selected? 

(Another hint: at least 2 had the same position in life and circumstances as the background; two held the same position of service to their country, and two are notorious strategists. Fascinating, isn't it, what you can do when your curiosity does more than just push buttons on a phone?
       By the way, this would make an excellent history or education--or marketing! lesson--because of the strategic placement of some of the candidates. It's almost bitter irony in some instances.

Otter Eats Sardines for the First Time and Gets Hooked

Hey, kids!! Look what Grandma and Grandpa want to get you!! Your own otter!              And you can swim with it and splash with it and more fun than that!                                                                                                                                                                                   That's right! Tell them that YOU want an otter for a pet, and watch them go...after me with a fury of "What have you done NOW?!? This kid won't stop crying 'I WANT one of those!'"                   

 (Thank you. Today's mischief is brought to you by YoursTruly.)

The Golden Ratio of Math in Nature: the Fibonacci Sequence

Groucho disturbed by crazy eyed guest - Rare clip from You Bet Your Life...

Julius "Groucho" Marx, one of my favorite comedians, gets his come-uppance by a guest who is just WILD about being on the show!

I Surprised African Tribal Warriors by Speaking Their Language

Sawfish - see? So--saw.

 

This is no sword. It’s alive. And it hunts.

Meet the Sawfish — nature’s underwater chainsaw.

Armed with a serrated rostrum that looks like a medieval weapon, this ancient creature doesn’t just slice through water… it slashes through schools of fish with a side swipe. In a flash of motion, its snout stuns prey and stirs sediment, making ambushes even deadlier.

But here’s the twist: that “saw” is loaded with electro-receptors, allowing the sawfish to detect the faintest electric signals from hidden creatures buried in sand. It's both a weapon and a sensor — the Swiss army knife of the ocean.

Once widespread, these magnificent fish are now critically endangered. Hunted for their saws and caught in fishing nets, they’re vanishing fast. And yet, they’ve survived for over 100 million years — longer than the T. Rex.

So next time you picture a shark, remember the one with the blade…see? Saw.

Why Lions Fear The Grass-Eating African Cape Buffalo

Oh, Marketing class! Yes, you do have to design a product and how to sell it...

 Gary Dahl made millions selling… rocks. And he did it with a straight face.

In 1975, the advertising copywriter was sitting in a bar when friends started venting about their pets — the barking, the shedding, the vet bills. Dahl joked, “You know what the perfect pet is? A rock.”

The joke didn’t end at the bar.

He went home and wrote a 32-page manual on how to care for a Pet Rock. It came in a cardboard box with breathing holes, a bed of straw, and simple instructions like “don’t walk it” and “avoid feeding it after midnight.” It was absurd. It was satire. And it worked.

Within six months, Gary Dahl had sold over 1.5 million Pet Rocks at $3.95 each. He became a millionaire off a product that literally did nothing.

But the fame turned sour fast.

He was called a con man. A symbol of consumer stupidity. Fellow advertisers mocked him. Friends turned cold. Everyone wanted a piece of the rock.

Dahl retreated from the spotlight. He bought a bar. He wrote a novel. He created other inventions, but none came close. Not because he didn’t have ideas — but because America wasn’t in on the joke anymore.

He later said, “Sometimes, the best thing that can happen to you is also the worst.”

Gary Dahl’s Pet Rock wasn’t just a gag — it was a mirror. A commentary on consumerism. On marketing. On us.

And the man behind it? Not a huckster. A satirist who proved the line between genius and ridiculous is paper-thin — and often wildly profitable.

=======================================================================Now: why do I mention this (aside from some historical marketing news):

See this. And I have kept an idea since 1975 (and Mr. Dahl's success) that I will share if you call and ask. And it's about...water. Because we ALL need water, yes? Even if someone puts a silly label and brand on it...and it goes viral and sells...something like...are-you-kidding-me Diet Water? 

Mine is just as good an idea. I'm not looking to be in business now. Just to create-invent ideas.

And when YOU buy your own island in the Caribbean after selling it out to a bigger label-distributor...just remember me. (Hint: a new Jeep Grand Cherokee, please.)

"Weird Al" Yankovic - Word Crimes (Official 4K Video)