It won’t go down as one of television’s funniest moments like when Myrtle Young and her collection of pareidolia potato chips appeared on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson (Letterman makes no secret of his idol worship for Carson as the master of television tomfoolery). But President Obama’s appearance last night on The Late Show certainly caught my attention for the heart-shaped potato tossed to Letterman by a woman in the audience. Do you think Obama heard about this potato rendition of him?
The video is below and if you want to read more about Myrtle Young check out Madonna of the Toast.
I’m a big fan of potato chips, both as snack and Madonna of the Toast fodder. In fact, right before I read about the Jesus chip above, I had just polished off a bag of jalapeno chips, the perfect compliment to a PB&J sandwich.
The chip that Linda and Brian Hershey found while eating at a restaurant in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, doesn’t seem to have any additional flavoring (I assume it was salted), unless you count the face of Jesus as a flavor. Regardless if anyone ever has the chance to taste this particular chip, the Hersheys very much consider the discovery a sign that they are on the right path in life. About six months ago they, along with their 15-year-old daughter, accepted Jesus into their lives, and this chip bolsters their decision. Furthermore, just before Linda noticed Brian about to eat the chip, according to this Chambersburg Public Opinion report, the couple had been talking about quitting smoking. And now, perhaps they will, or not.
Of course, the doubters have chimed in, accusing the Hersheys of doctoring the chip. I’ve looked at lots of chips and I don’t think this one has been altered. Selling it on eBay has also been brought up, as has eating it – I guess that would be like taking communion, but tastier. As of now, the Hersheys are undecided, though they are worried about preserving the chip and its crispy countenance.
I should put them in touch with the ultimate maven of potato chips that have iconic qualities: Myrtle Young. One of the true stars of Madonna of the Toast, Young is the friendly octogenarian from Indiana who to this day lives with her famous collection of potato chips that resemble famous figures like Bob Hope and Mickey Mouse. She’s been on every late show of the 1980s and her collection has been featured on The Simpsons – now that’s fame!
If the Hersheys read the book, they would know exactly how Young has kept her chips safe, even when she used to shuttle them all over the world. I don’t know if Brian and Linda will ever travel with their Jesus chip, but they are certainly in the process of getting some decent figurative mileage out of it . . .
The past year has been a great one, and a big part of that is due to all the fun I’ve had with Madonna of the Toast. I’ve read all over the country, been interviewed by newspapers and radio-show hosts, met all sorts of interesting folks and, of course, maintained this blog with a degree of regularity that I had never intended. But, as is evident in the myriad visual manifestations of religious and secular icons posted here, the stories are endless – inspired by myth, marketing, the media and the malleable and evolving physical world we inhabit. From the deeply devout to the caustically skeptical, these stories resonate with pretty much everyone because they are, at their cores, reflections of this shared world and how we interpret and weather it. Through both the book and blog, I have been able to discuss Plato’s myth of the cave, pareidolia, the war in Iraq, Marshall McLuhan, the US Constitution, reality television, Johnny Carson and cell-phone cameras, as they all relate, one way or another, to these phenomena.
In an article in this week’s The New Statesman, writer Sukhdev Sandhu equates the contents of Madonna of the Toast to “unusual or elusive texts.” I really like this description. No, I love it; it is spot on. Even more interesting, and exciting, is the fact that he writes about this in an article called “Notes from the underground: Madonna of the Toast and poems from Guantanamo” a piece, I am deeply honored to write, that comprises a short list of 2007’s best underground books. Pretty incredible.
Thanks go out to all of the people who have bought a book, visited this blog or told a friend about the project. While I will be keeping up with these stories (I think I’ve developed an addiction), I am going to take a blog break between now and the New Year. I wish you all the best in what remains of 2007 and hope that 2008 begins the way you want. I have a feeling that next year will be another busy one for me . . .
But we're not quite there yet, so relax and enjoy this famous bit of television history: Myrtle Young, potato chips and Johnny Carson.
I've written for an array of publications, including the Village Voice, PRINT, Swindle, The Believer and San Francisco Chronicle. I am an infrequent contributor to the literary blog The Millions.
Madonna of the Toast was named one of 2007's Best Underground Books by the New Statesman.
