January 19, 2008
Snappy Answers!
You know those nagging questions that pull you out of sleep at four in the a.m.? Like, how do you pronounce Roncesvalles? What does Fresh put in their vegan pancakes to make them taste better than the “real” ones? Where can you find unisex jeans, flushable cat litter, a cheap blowjob, your city councillor’s voting record, an overarching purpose in life? Is there anything north of Bloor?
Torontoist wants those questions, partly for our own private amusement, but mostly for a new weekly column called "Snappy Answers." It goes like this: You ask us anything. No, really. Anything. We promise to read all questions. Every Saturday, we’ll arbitrarily choose one (or more, depending how smugly generous we’re feeling) and post it along with the best possible answer. If we don’t know something, we’ll look it up. Or make it up. Or make you feel dumb for asking.
Excited? We know! So don’t hesitate—send your inquiries and interrogatives to snappyanswers@torontoist.com today. Please tell us your first name––preferably your real one.
And remember, there’s no such as thing as a stupid question. Ask away!
Illustration by Marc Lostracco.
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just answering the questions you posed in the post would be pretty amazing.
Not even a nod to Al Jaffee for this?
Why would there be? He didn't invent answering questions.
He did pretty much invent the term Snappy Answers , although I think it's now become genericized like Kleenex or Jello.
I doubt it. The word snappy has been around for 300 years. His use didn't stop there either, it's Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions for which he's known.
Nike didn't invent the phrase "Just Do It" either, but it will forever be associated with them. I defy you to cite a pre-Jaffee use of the term "Snappy Answers." I'm not suggesting he should be credited each time it's used, but it does give me a happy nostalgia buzz that someone mentioned his name.
More like "snippy" answers if you ask me. Snap!
Hey, is that Urban Decoder thing still active in TO Life?
Patrick - "Just do it" may be linked to Nike, but you wouldn't expect someone to credit them when "do it" is used on its own.
Oh Mad magazine... Back when parents knew what their kids were doing, mine didn't want me reading Mad.
okay, so i actually had to google al jaffee. i didn't grow up reading mad magazine, or his column in it, and i honestly thought "snappy answers" was just an expression. i'm sticking with it, anyway.
To clarify, and just to add to the general mood of contentiousness that is currently infecting Torontoist, I don't think Al Jaffee and Mad magazine merit a credit every time "Snappy Answers" is used, and I'm pretty sure I said that. Any proprietary rights they may have had have long since slipped into the public domain through widespread common usage.
I do think they invented it for all practical purposes, and I just think it's nice that someone pointed it out.