May 18, 2006 - Arrow Ed

Yesterday’s Wednesday Where Is It (WWII) was definitely a trick question. Ed thought it was a trick that everyone knew about like “What’s a Henway?” or playing The White Album backwards. Actually, the secret to yesterday’s WWII was revealed on 60 Minutes a couple of years ago. Everyone watches 60 Minutes, don’t they?

The 60 Minutes story was about a Harvard professor named John Stilgoe, who teaches “the art of exploration, and discovering the built environment - everything from architectural history to advertising and design. He introduces his students to a method of discovering a hidden world that's always been right in plain view.”

Hmm. It sounds like Edhat with ivy-covered walls.

We wonder how well Dr. Stilgoe would have done in March Ed-Ness. We’re thinking that Brown Squared could teach him a thing or two – school the professor, so to speak.

In the 60 Minutes story, the good doctor illustrated his “people don’t notice” philosophy by showing the logo on the side of the FedEx truck. It turns out that the white space between the E and the X is in shape of a forward pointing arrow. Some subscribers pointed out that it is also a right arrow, as in the direction that the conservatives wish to take the country. Maybe they came up with this idea because the arrow was outlined in red. We’d be hard pressed to say that the arrow is pointing the way it is for any other reason than because that is the direction the truck travels.

So, the arrow is not an arrow at all, but an empty space in a company logo. To fill up some empty space in this article, the dedicated staff of edhat.com would like to point out that there’s little evidence to support the premise that subliminal advertising like this has any effect upon consumer behavior (advertising on Edhat works). Although, it is possible that now that you know the secret of the arrow, your package shipping preferences will never be the same (you should tell your friends about Edhat). But wait! Look between the F and the capital E. There's a hidden message there as well.

FYI, this particular picture was taken in front of the FedEx/Kinkos store downtown on State Street. But, since it could have been taken from pretty much any curb in town, we only required that contestants say, FedEx to be placed into the bonus round - the dog round as we call it.

Four people, including March Ed-Ness bronze medallist Tommy Noodleman, knew about the FedEx arrow. The other three were, Burger Jeffrey, K-Go, and EwLentz. For dinner last night, it was BBQ chicken. The Edhat Dog, who loses all self-respect when there’s chicken in the house, paced and drooled and whined until the time came to decide the contest. Four substantial pieces of perfectly cooked poultry were placed on the ground. When the dog was let go, she went for EW’s piece first, pointing him/her out as the winner of a cool Edhat t-shirt.

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