Still with the Family Circus?: We mentioned a while ago how one of our columnists from 20 years ago had spent some time trashing the comic Family Circus; the hate showed up again in a subsequent issue, and, amazingly, in a letter to the editor in our February 20, 1995 issue. After rallying against our Shit Happens columnist Brett Gossman for hundreds of words, letter-writer Gord Aro concludes with “As for Bil Keane and Family Circus, each to their own.” I suspect we haven’t heard the last of either side in this intense battle.
I was right: So, moving on down the page, we find the latest installment of Shit Happens, where Gossman goes on another rant talking about, yup, how much he hates Family Circus and its creator, Bil Keane. Gossman, you out there? Care to get in touch with us and let us know if the years have mellowed out your anger towards this comic?
Negated nipples: I feel like not a week goes by where I don’t wonder why exactly I have nipples. I read about why men have nipples once, then forgot what I read, and constantly forget to look it up again. So, this issue’s Trivia column, titled “Why do men have nipples?” was very interesting to me. Why are they there? Among other reasons, they make up an erogenous zone to encourage hugging, says writer Lisha Gunn. Fine. I still think they look weird.