Today’s post comes from National Archives Office of Strategy and Communications staff writer Rob Crotty.
Zebras, Fruit Stripes gum mascot, firing squads, post modernism . . . what a compendium of cunning captioning! Mr. Tom Mills was up all night last night poring over each comment with a keen eye toward hilarity and utter genius and has selected last week’s winner. In the end Keith Ramsey was dubbed the Captionista who captured our judge’s flare for funny.
But what was that postmodern fashion icon doing in front of that wall? Great question. The original caption for this 1917 photo reads: “Soldier in black and white uniform to conceal him while climbing trees. He stands in front of a house camouflaged to represent a fence and trees. Company F, 24th Engineers. American University, D.C. Army Engineer Corps.”
While this week’s photo doesn’t involve the niche fence-camouflage market, it does have something in common with last week’s image: it makes no sense. Our guest judge this week is the esteemed, indefatigable chief of the Archives II Textual Records Reference Staff, Tim Nenninger. Victory in the ring will get you 30% off at the National Archives e-Store and a week’s supply of bragging rights.
So readers, lend us thy captions!
Here’s something to get you started:
“Mr. Poppins was called in after the spoonful of sugar proved ineffective.”
Doo-dloo-doo-doo-doo-doo…
I’m firing in the sun
Just firing in the sun…
Private Jones’ arrived at his lookout post just in time for his shift after his second job as a male geisha ran late.
Just back from a weekend of R&R in Tokyo, and resplendant in his new Yukata, Corporal John Davidson, of Worcester, Massachusetts, scans the skies of Pusan for North Korean aircraft.
John vowed there’d be no more “seagull bombs” at the beach party.
John felt war was no excuse to abandon his strict skin-care regime.
While the island was under seige, John found it impossible to let just his smile be his umbrella.
A confused private Jones was unaware that “shoot the moon” was a card game expression.
The old version of the War on Global Warming!
Private “Crazy Parasol Pete” Smith bravely perseveres under his insane heat-induced hallucination, in spite of his dismissive and ignoring comrades, overjoyed at having found the answer to finally getting rid of those pesky flying pink elephants…
Before there was spray-on bug repellant.
“If the aircraft approach from the rear, the umbrella will keep them from spotting me,” he thought.
“This isn’t quite the relaxing seaside vacation I was promised.”
Today’s forecast: Sunny with a chance of plane.