Loose Parts by Dave Blazek for September 18, 2023

Sticking it to him

Remember, forest fires prevent bears.

There is no “the” in his name. It’s just “Smokey Bear” like “Donald Duck” or “Bugs Bunny.” The only reason people put the “the” in it is because of the song. The writers needed another syllable for the melody so they added it. But officially, it’s just plain, “Smokey Bear.”

Well, what is a stickbug?

Remember, the bear butts are the only ones we allow without pants in the park. No other bare butts are allowed.

What is also interesting (maybe), is that if the cartoonist had not capitalized the “b” in “Bear” then the ranger would’ve just been referring to Smokey by his first name and adding the fact that Smokey is a bear. Like saying “Jack the accountant” instead of “Jack the Ripper.” (If there are any pedantic posters out there, please let me know if my reasoning is off. Thanks. :0 )

I love the smell of pedantry in the morning!

Pedantic Antics, more stick bug info. Some walking sticks can grow to 12" in length, making them the largest insect. The females can lay unfertilized eggs which hatch into females. I learned that when I was learning about parthenogenesis, also known as “Who needs males?”. And final fun fact, there are about 3,000 species of walking sticks.

to be technical, Jesus’ last name is not Christ…He’s the Christ…

The character of Smokey Bear was developed in 1944 and a living representative was rescued from a forest fire in New Mexico in 1950. The living Smokey passed away in 1976 and was later buried at Smokey Bear National Park. In adverts and animation Smokey has been voiced by several actors. From 2008 to 2019 he was voiced by Sam Elliot. (coincidentally, Elliott was born on the very same day that Smokey was created). In celebration of Smokey’s 75th birthday in 2019, Stephen Colbert begin voicing the character. “Remember, only you can prevent forest fires.”