You can’t trust Wikipedia.
(Don’t worry, students: You can still rely on it. You just can’t trust it.)
Last month’s Fake Ad for the Norwegian American Association of Michigan (page 62) asked readers to come up with the name Matt Groening, creator of The Simpsons. One of the clues was that he created the longest-running TV show in history.
“The Simpsons is NOT the longest-running TV show in American history,” writes Marilyn Knepp. “The Guiding Light ran for 52 years. The Simpsons first aired in 1989, so it has been on TV for 35 years.” We sit corrected.
Other readers offered their own informative tidbits. “The ‘son of the midnight sun’ is Matt Groening (same last name as last month’s winner),” writes Dave Bicknell. “Matt’s the creator of The Simpsons, featuring Homer, and he’s married to Agustina Picasso, no relation to Pablo. Fun Norwegian fact: the popular Bass Weejuns penny-loafers were named for the Norwegian Farmers who wore similar slip-on shoes.”
We received 113 correct entries. Our drawing winner, Cindy Collins, is taking her gift certificate to Big City Small World Bakery. To enter this month’s contest, find the Fake Ad in the print Observer and let us know at the email address above. Hint: The ad always contains the name of the previous month’s winner in some form.
Come visit us at the A2 Community Bookfest at the downtown library from 10 a.m.–5 p.m. on Sunday, November 3. We’ll be signing books and cracking wise, and we’d love to meet our dedicated Fake Adders in person.
