Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Out of the Box


At the heart of much speculative fiction (and fiction in general) is a question. What if? On Tuesdays I like to throw one out there and see what you make of it. Do with it as you please. If a for-instance is not specified, feel free to interpret that instance as you wish. And if you find this becomes a novel-length answer, I'd appreciate a thank you in the acknowledgements ;)

Not so much a what if this week as a WTF, but I saw this on Twitter, thought it was funny, and figured it was better than what I could come up with. So...
Answer it. Treat it like a koan. Laugh.

Happy Tuesday.

12 comments:

  1. OK... that would be so funny or if it was some empty box that use to contain food from their own fast food joint. This would send everything up on its end:)

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  2. LOL, that's a cute thought! Did you see the Big Bang Theory where Amy revealed the big plot hole in Raiders of the Lost Ark?

    "Indiana Jones plays no role in the outcome of the story. If he weren’t in the film, it would turn out exactly the same… If he weren’t in the movie, the Nazis would still have found the Ark, taken it to the island, opened it up, and all died, just like they did.”

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  3. No one who lived actually saw it, so maybe it really is a Jack-in-the-box.

    And I have to slightly correct Stephanie, as it was not The Big Bang Theory that came up with that plot hole. It had been joked about for years before that show was ever on (sorry, I just really don't like it).

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  4. Would Jack's yellow dunce hat fit?

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  5. That could be okay if I got fries with it.

    Betty

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    1. Oh yessssss....

      (For some reason your comments aren't hitting my email. Strange glitch.)

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  6. If it was a jack in the box, what would've come out?

    As for the plot hole, wasn't it Indiana who actually found the Ark? The Nazi's were digging in the wrong spot but Indie figured out the right spot and found it (thanks to the pendant) and then the Nazis stole it from him.

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  7. We don't have Jack in the Box in Australia and you have no idea how long it took me to figure out what you were all talking about. I'm too exhausted now to think of an answer.

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    1. Now, see, when I read the tweet, I pictured the children's toy. You know, the one with the crank on a box that plays an obnoxious tune until a clown pops out to surprise you.

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  8. That plotline in the Raider's of the lost Ark never made sense to me. Hitler thinking possession of the case holding the ten commandment tablets would give him power? Of course the Nazis were destroyed by its contents. All the miraculous events attributed to it in the Bible protected the Isrealites. (I saw the movie when I was 18. My family spent a great amount of time in church when I was growing up.) I interpreted the jack in the box as a toy since we don't have that restaurant in Minneapolis...

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I appreciate your comments.

I respond to comments* via email, unless your profile email is not enabled. Then, I'll reply in the comment thread. Eventually. Probably.

*Exception: I do not respond to "what if?" comments, but I do read them all. Those questions are open to your interpretation, and I don't wish to limit your imagination by what I thought the question was supposed to be.