SlowpokeBlog

This week's strip is about our friend the tube sock (I felt like taking
a break from politics). The cartoon pretty much speaks for itself,
but I'll share a few background tidbits:

In the third panel, it is noted that the "controversial pairing of socks and sandals causes outrage in some communities." This is partly intended as an inside joke for readers of the C-VILLE Weekly (my local paper) who have been following the great socks-and-sandals debate in the Rant section. In The Rant, readers call in and leave a message about things they find irritating. Apparently lots of Charlottesvillians are deeply averse to the sight of stockinged feet in open-toed shoes.

I did a bit of Googling to find out the glory years of the pom-pom sock (panel five). I never did determine when that particular fashion was at its peak, but I did come across this site: someone's patent registration for "decorative socks with three-dimensional ornaments and related indicia." Allow me to quote:

While pom pom socks have appealed to consumers, especially women and children for many years, they have a major deficiency. This deficiency stems from the fact that pom poms typically come in a basic spherical configuration having limited flexibility in configuration. Accordingly, although pom poms, which are easily found in arts and crafts supply stores, can be decorated with glitter, sparkles, rhinestones, cut-outs etc., they generally cannot themselves be formed into complex shapes, including animal heads, stars and the like. Accordingly, what a user is left with is a dressed-up fuzzy ball.

I just found that somewhat amusing.

Lastly, as my friend Tim J. has pointed out, my Apple iSock in the last panel is not quite the break from reality that I thought. It turns out Apple really has released iPod socks. They are (as one Amazon reviewer writes) essentially a cozy for your iPod. What's a cartoonist to do?

Tube Socks Through the Years