Smithsonian.com

Fun causes guilt, apparently.
I really love how every key word in this quote is subjective. Immoral? One man’s uncrossable line is another man’s Tuesday afternoon. Illegal? So much depends on the state (it’s probably legal in Alaska) and era you’re in (that jerk Jim Crow). Fattening? Well, any food is fattening if you eat five gallons of it.

It seems that somebody (or a committee of well-meaning busy-bodies) is always hard at work declaring things good or bad, legal and illegal, immoral or commendable. And we bristle at that sorting. We reflexively think: “Fattening? It must be delicious. Illegal? There must be something to it. Immoral? According to who?”

Our collective idea of fun then, is by definition a little naughty. The more we’re told not to do something, the more irresistible it becomes. Society makes guilt and fun into dueling emotions.

Lump those words together: immoral, illegal, fattening, and you can’t help but smile. That pile of words describes something really tempting, you just know it. But remember: tomorrow, you’ll feel awful about it.

(c) Jessica Hagy, 2011

At first, I thought that Miss O’Connor was talking about a naked woman found on the side of the road, but then I remembered my mom’s warnings about the importance of clean underwear in the event of a car accident.

But why? Do clean underpants really matter when you’ve been thrown through the windshield or you’re pinned under the soon-to-explode engine? I pondered this more than is probably healthy, and have narrowed it down to two possible explanations:

1: The Judgmental Triage Myth
Perhaps there was some sort of urban legend about paramedics taking care of the person with the nicest underthings first. Thus good, clean drawers could really be the difference between life and death. Also, I’m sure that news would spread quickly though town if you were found wearing icky (or even worse, nonexistent) underthings, and then you would most certainly die of embarrassment.

2: Modesty at All Times
Maybe this warning was issued because proper, devout Catholic ladies like my mom and O’Connor were just very concerned with being modest and dignified in all situations, even (especially?) in situations where one might just happen to be unconscious and bleeding from the head.

Either way: Be careful out there.

(C) Jessica Hagy, 2011

Welcome to a spin-off. “All in the Family” spun off “The Jeffersons.” That rusty merry-go-round spun your cousin off into the gravel. Spin-offs are often fun.

Anyway. My original webcomic, Indexed, has been online since 2006. I’ve drawn over 3,000 charts, graphs, and odd little cards. And hey: office supplies are cheap, so think I have another couple thousand still in me. Besides, drawing webcomics is an amazing way to avoid having a day-job.

Speaking of  jobs: this site! Yep, Smithsonian was keen to host even more of my cartoons, and they were not entirely horrified that I wanted to do something a little different with them.

Thus, I am illustrating interesting quotations in Indexed form. Yes! Good times. I’m using a single book, The Yale Book of Quotations, for all of the source quotes. This is good for two reasons:

• I won’t end up misquoting anyone: because that would be shameful.
• I already own this book: so I don’t have to do any tedious ordering or paying or shipping or stealing to get my hands on a copy.

Like Indexed itself, this idea is one of those things that’s much easier to show than tell. So, here you go—I hope you like it.

Image (c) Jessica Hagy, 2011