SubscribeFarewell - Sorry for having contributed to the unwanted attention, Allison. We think you're a phenomenal athlete and wish you the best of luck in your academic and athletic endeavors.
The driver's toilet paper in Libertyville, Georgia, had been The Barring-gaffner of Bagnialto, or This Year's Masterpiece by Kilgore Trout.
The name of the planet where Trout's book took place was Bagnialto, and a "Barring-gaffner" there was a government official who spun a wheel of chance once a year. Citizens submitted works of art to the government, and these were given numbers, and then they were assigned cash values according to the Barring-gaffner's spins of the wheel. The viewpoint of character of the tale was not the Barring-gaffner, but a humble cobbler named Gooz. Gooz lived alone, and he painted a picture of his cat. It was the only picture he had ever painted. He took it to the Barring-gaffner, who numbered it and put it in a warehouse crammed with works of art.
The painting by Gooz had an unprecedented gush of luck on the wheel. It became worth eighteen thousand lambos, the equivalent of one billion dollars on Earth. The Barring-gaffner awarded Gooz a check for that amount, most of which was taken back at once by the tax collector. The picture was given a place of honor in the National Gallery, and people lined up for miles for a chance to see a painting worth a billion dollars.
It amazes me what can become an internet meme.
posted by jayder at 6:57 PM on May 30, 2007