Tuesday, February 1, 2011

The Fun History of Coupons

A lot of people think of coupons as those tasty little crumblers that add crunch to a salad. No, I'm not talking about croupons, I'm talking about coupons! Those addictive little bad boys you just love to snip out of your latest Woman's Day or Horse magazine! I'll bet some of you have dulled many a pair of scissors snipping those addictive little bad boys out of your latest Woman's Day or Horse magazines! Be careful though! Don't become a coupaholic! My grandmother was a coupaholic and, needless to say, it led to her death by choking on coupons. Horse

So, you want to learn the history of coupons, eh? The term "coupon" comes from the combination of two French words: coup; meaning "quick brushing or combing", and on; meaning "we", as in "we are quickly brushing and combing our way to savings!". The term was first used to describe coupons.

Some famous coupon lovers include Robert Downey Sr., Pat Sajak, and The Red Hot Chili Peppers. Some really great coupons have included "Buy one can of something, get a free hat", "Free hat w/ can", and "All the hats you can eat". Some really embarrassing coupons have also been made as well, including ".30 cents off calendars", "Buy one lamp, get your choice of chapstick postcards" and "Thanksgiving Special: 2 for 1 erasers".

So, the next time you're snipping through the latest paper looking for bargains, savings and freebees, you might want to ask yourself "I love savings!".

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

My Porcupine Neighbors

In my life's experience, I've run across at least 7 distinct types of porcupines. The are the kinds you are scared of, kinds you are friends with, and the kinds you want to eat. There are the little ones you wear as earrings, and the big ones you ride into combat. And then there was Mr. Darlborough.

Mr. Darlborough was my roommate from 1974-1981. In those days he wore goggles all the time. You could not talk to this man, or should I say porcupine, for 2 minutes without him bringing up how he had "big plans" to "reinvent how we think about tacos". Big plans? Hardly. His only idea was to simply throw a bunch of tacos at you. This taco throwing mad man cost me $7 in tacos.

Now back in 1974-1981, $7 was a lot of money. We're taco like $40 in nowadays money. So one day I left him a note, like, hey, can I get the $7 you own me for taco repairs and Ron's taco tattoo. He shot a bunch of quills in my eye. Now, back then a quill in the eye was a serious matter. I can't tell you how many times I had found tacos hidden in places you'd never expect. Like in the taco warmer, on the taco shelf, back stage at the taco theater, even once found one in my taco shorts.

Now, every time I said "Enoughs enough" regarding Mr. Darlborough living with me, he would play the pity card. He would tell me "blah blah blah, my parents got hit by a dump truck" or "blah blah blah, I'm a porcupine, it is super hard for me to find a job and a girlfriend" and then he would light his pipe, put on his crown, and dash off into a garden, crying like a baby. And guess who fell for it every time? Yours truly, Bruce Springsteen, "The Boss".