The other day I found this pencil case abandoned on the floor in the library. I set it on my desk in the hopes that whoever lost it would see it and reclaim it, and in the meantime it became an object of curiosity. Is that a dinosaur? And what is the dinosaur doing?
It looked to me like the dinosaur was either smoking or shooting a gun. As a fellow teacher remarked, "Either one would be inappropriate."
Lo and behold, a few days later, a high schooler walking by saw it and grabbed it. I asked if it was hers and she said yes, and I asked for the story behind the dinosaur. Was it smoking or shooting? "I don't even know," she said, looking at it quizzically.
More research being warranted, I loaded the closeup above into Google. It took me a while to wade through the results, a slew of dinosaur cartoons -- including one of a dinosaur smoking a joint, which is an option I hadn't even considered. (But which would explain feigned ignorance on the part of the teenager.)
But forget about that because I finally found the exact image, a product of a cheerful Korean outfit called Joguman Studio. The caption reads, "I am a herbivore. But that doesn't mean I can't kill you."
Aha. Gun it is.
I'm sure that probably violates some school policy, but it's a tiny image and as I found, not readily decipherable. I'm letting it slide, especially since I now can't remember whose pencil case it is. Looking at my top picture again, I see that the pencil case has a manufacturer's tag, so why I didn't just look at that rather than going through all the rigmarole above, I'm not sure.
Um, I can see it is a smoking gun. Maybe your glasses aren't quite right yet.
ReplyDeleteBut I wasn't the only one who was confused! Even the kid who owns it didn't know!
DeleteWhat is your own pencil case like Steve? I imagine that it is a souvenir one - promoting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers or some other NFL team. Apart from a couple of plastic sachets of suspicious white powder, what else do you keep in there?
ReplyDeleteI quite like all the other ephemera on your desk!
ReplyDeleteI immediately thought the dinosaur was smoking a joint.
ReplyDeleteThings are changing I guess. Back in my day, nobody in high school would be carrying around a pencil case like that. That was only something you did in elementary school. Why does a high schooler need that many pencils, pens and such to make it through the day?
I'm w/Ed: I immediately thought it was a joint.
ReplyDeleteFunnily enough, the dinosaur smoking a joint was my first reaction (although I have never smoked at all, neither cigarettes or joints).
ReplyDeletePencil cases, suitably decorated of course used to be standard for girls. Mind you it would be impossible to fit a laptop or table in one.
ReplyDeleteI can see why you wouldn't know -- I wouldn't be able to tell either!
ReplyDeleteGreat, now the dinosaurs have guns, too!
ReplyDelete