I really enjoy NPR. They have a great balance of serious and well-done journalism, along with some really interesting human interest stories that may not be “hard news” but are still very educational and informative. One interview that I recently heard on my drive home from work was this piece on “Sky Maul 2.” This one had me laughing out loud (LOLzing) during my drive.
It’s a great interview with two of the authors/comedians who have written a book to parody the common in-flight magazine, Sky Mall . For those who are unaware, Sky Mall magazine provide some of the most random products that you will probably ever imagine, and many that you probably would not have imagined had you not seen them displayed in the magazine. And yes, you can actually buy these products (they have a website as well, who knew?!).
So these guys, who are quite creative, have put together a magazine of hilarious products that are a spoof of the type of products you might find in a Sky Mall magazine. Sky Maul 2, features products such as “ship in a bottle removal kit,” “wearable coat rack,” or “condo-pony.” One thing that they point out in the interview is that it’s actually fairly difficult to “out-Sky Mall Sky Mall” as the actual Sky Mall products are often hard to believe….you really have to push the line and be creative – borderline ridiculous – to spoof the products. [Click here for the 4 minute interview.]
I also found this story very entertaining because I have a friend who, when travelling, will often post pictures of Sky Mall products and give them his own funny caption or take on them. I always love it when this guy is travelling, because his Instagram account always brightens my day. A few examples:
His caption: Is this the same mom model? Does she use color-coded Christmas pajamas to differentiate between her two families?
His caption: Perfect for explaining the Falklands War to small children.
His caption: For that imaginary consumer who loves his cat enough to buy Ms. Whiskers shelter from SkyMall but not enough to let her inside the house.
As you can see, my friend is pretty clever and witty himself when it comes to Sky Mall captions. Perhaps he should have come up with Sky Maul? Regardless, I enjoy when he travels for this very reason. But the SkyMaul2: Where America Buys His Stuff publication does seem pretty promising to deliver on some fairly humorous material. Maybe a good gag gift Christmas item?
[kitten sweater from skymall…]
trokspot 