Phil Crissman

"companies seeking to fill CEO and other senior jobs rarely consider candidates' degrees. "It's what you've accomplished that matters," says Mr. Neff, "not what you were doing at 21." - Clare Dibble

Seems like another one of these cases that makes odd conclusions about correlation and causality. I suspect one could also conclude the best way to become a Fortune 500 CEO is to be a white male, be 60-70yrs old, have started off in an entry level position with no graduate education and then work 20+ years for the same company, and be lucky. - Ken Sheppardson

...oh, and be born in the 30s from Depression-era parents who instill in you a good work ethic and be the first person in your family to go to college. - Ken Sheppardson

The Ivy League buys you connections (and maybe a foot in the door) more than anything else, I think. - Gabe

"Some 10% of CEOs currently heading the top 500 companies received undergraduate degrees from Ivy League colleges, according to a survey by executive recruiter Spencer Stuart. But more received their undergraduate degrees from the University of Wisconsin than from Harvard, the most represented Ivy school." UW:10, Harvard: 9 -- how is that not on Wisconsin's brochure this year? - Bryan Power

The 50 largest US companies by revenues is a very odd group of companies to consider (small, and heavily weighted to a few industries.) - Dave Bacon

I think State schools are a much better value than private college educations. - Thomas Hawk

I know VA has amazing state schools. - Shevonne Polastre

My son is a student at CSUN on scholarship for jazz studies. He chose that over the other two great schools for jazz (both out of state, both state universities). It has been a terrific fit for him. The snobbery over private universities is silly. Public universities have opportunities that just aren't available in the private arena. - Karoli

+1 @Ken ...all the people cited and quoted in this article are male and white. tell a woman, or a Black person, "Hey, it doesn't matter where you're educated... just have leadership qualities and you'll make it to the top." obama had a steller education and amazing leadership qualities, yet all we heard about him was how little experience he had. this article is complete and utter BS! - .LAG

.lag ...hmm... how about if that woman or non-white were educated in, say, india - Gregory Lent

LAG makes a great point. - Anika Malone

+1 .LAG game, set, and match. in other news WSJ discovers "Any Skin Color Will Do" for CEO as long as it's white. ;-) - Karim

what color is the guy at citibank? pepsi? - Gregory Lent

I disagree with LAG. Since only 4% of the CEOs went to Ivy League schools, it makes sense that it doesn't matter if you went to such a school. - Gabe

Gabe: You can't say "it doesn't matter", all you can say is it *didn't* matter 30-40 years ago when these men went to college. And even then, since I doubt 4% of the general population went to an Ivy League school, I'll bet you'd find that Ivy League school alumni are disproportionately represented, meaning that it DID, in fact, matter. - Ken Sheppardson

Fewer than 1% of CEOs have been black and most of them did attend Ivy League schools. White females were little over 16% of CEOs and most of them either attended Ivy Leagues or high-profile private schools, too. - Anika Malone

This conversation is getting muddied by the inclusion of seemingly related arguments that, in actuality, have nothing to do with what the article is saying. The article isn't saying that socioeconomic status doesn't make it easier for some and more difficult for others or that we have reached a place of equality that provides parity of opportunity for all races, genders and classes - it simply saying the CW that going to a top school is gen. a prereq for making it to the top is not supported by the data - Marco (aureliusmaximus)

Ken, you're making an absurd argument. Since 25% of the US population is 18 or under, do you expect 125 of the Fortune 500 CEOs to be 18 years old or younger? What if I said "Age doesn't matter", would you say that age obviously does matter because there are no infant CEOs? - Gabe

Marco is dead on. A top-tier education is neither necessary nor sufficient for becoming a BigCo CEO. There are so many other factors that get one to CEO. And there are so many possible outcomes of going to various kinds of institutions. A certain kind of degree or school may open doors or get you an entry into a certain network, but 10 years later, not to mention 20 or more, it won't matter much. - Logical Extremes

Gabe: I understand that trying to apply concepts like statistical significance might sound absurd because the MSM like to just throw out pie charts and say "See?", but let me take a different angle: If you want to say it doesn't matter what kind of school you went to, you can't just look at the numbers and say since the % who went to ivy league is small it doesn't matter. You need to compare the statistics of the population you're looking at to those of the general population... - Ken Sheppardson

...It's some of the same principles they apply when they look at drug effectiveness by comparing how many people saw a positive effect from taking the drug vs. taking a placebo. If you control for all other factors like age, race, socio-economic status, you need to look at % of CEOs with Ivy League education vs. % of general pop with Ivy League education, and even then you can't infer causality. [I realize I'm misusing the term "general population" to mean something like 'control sample'. Sorry about that.] - Ken Sheppardson

Marco, respectfully, the article is NOT just saying "a top school is not a prerequisite;" it is ALSO saying that the important thing is, quote, "leadership talent and a drive for success," and "a person's capacity to seize opportunities." In other words, it's spinning some happy-ass fantasy about how all you need is moxie, kid, ya know, The Right Stuff -- while completely ignoring all the inequality and discrimination that PREVENTS women and minorities from becoming CEOs. - Karim

So what population makes up the control sample, Ken? - Gabe

Wow, I think people are reading way more into the article than I did. I saw it simply as evidence that fancy Ivy degrees aren't necessary, which is a nice counter to these crazy parents who need their kids to get into the right pre-school so that they can get into Harvard. - Paul Buchheit

@karim i appreciate your perspective but those issues are entirely different and altogether separate from the thrust of the article which, i believe, is summed up here: "This information should help allay the anxieties of many parents and their college-bound children who believe admission to a top-ranked school with a powerful alumni network is a prerequisite to success in the upper echelons of business management." - i think Paul is dead on in his last comment - Marco (aureliusmaximus)

I don't think you can use this article as a counterpoint to crazy parents... While this study shows that you don't need a Harvard degree to be a CEO, it does not show that you are more likely to be 'successful' without a Harvard degree. The reason why parents want their kids to go to prep school/Harvard is to make sure that their child has a great prob. of materialistic success. - Bindu Reddy

I guess by definition you can't reason with crazy parents, Bindu :) - Paul Buchheit

I thought Ivy league schools were for parents to brag to their friends about. :) - Chris White

@Chris White: they are ;) - Mohomed=genieyclo

There's also another side to this -- business as such is really looked down on, i think, at most ivies. Finance, law, or academia are all considered elevated and worthwhile, but business is both institutionally (ie Harvard's obsessive anti-vocationalism) and socially disparaged constantly. - david hammer

Marco, the main point of the article was that "any college will do," but that is not all the article said. Quote, "Getting to the corner office has more to do with leadership talent and a drive for success..." Quote, "What counts most, CEOs say, is a person's capacity to seize opportunities." Quote, "It's what you've accomplished that matters..." This is not "reading into the article," this is QUOTING the article. - Karim

The article tells you one thing you DON'T need (an Ivy League degree), and several things you DO need ("leadership talent," "drive," "capacity to seize opportunities") to be a CEO. It is a classic example of "The Elephant in the Room" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E...) because the job of CEO is one dominated by white males, despite the fact that they don't have a monopoly on "leadership talent," "drive," or "capacity to seize opportunities." - Karim

Most of my Harvard friends who were on business fast-tracks were quite satisfied before the Fortune 500 level (e.g. $1-100 million businesses) and moved onto a "slower" career track. Echo'ing David - Business is probably only a career track for <5% of Harvard grads. Medicine and law are most popular. Of the billionaires, I believe Fortune 500 said the non-college-graduates were worth 25% more. - Mitchell Tsai

Harvard Business School has an interesting blog post here: http://discussionleader.hbsp.c... quote: "A great deal of psychology research shows that people in positions of power tend to promote folks who are like themselves. Since corporate America is still the domain of white men, African-Americans and other minorities are discriminated against either consciously or unconsciously." - Karim

So while the WSJ is providing a happy fantasy that for blacks "any college will do," all you need is "leadership talent" and "drive for success," Harvard Business School is telling black people that the CEO job is still predominately a job for white males. Wow. How'd the Wall Street Journal miss out on that one? - Karim

BTW Gabe, it's not 4% who went to Ivy League schools, but *four* people total, out of the top 50 (i.e. 8%). The other survey they cited said *10%* of of the Fortune 500 CEOs went to one of the 8 Ivy League schools. No, THAT shouldn't raise any eyebrows -- keep telling yourself "any college will do..." - Karim

Having heard Bill Green speak on this very topic, what I take away is that for an elite few who are very self-motivated life long learners, school doesn't matter. I.e nature far outweighs nurture. For most normal folks I imagine the nurture of a smaller school or societal expectations that come with an Ivy degree are a welcome nudge. - Sarah Miller

Karim, you are saying that blacks are discriminated against because they're not white, and that 90% of Fortune 500 CEOs didn't go to Ivy League schools. How is that inconsistent with "any college will do"? - Gabe

Gabe, first off, it's a senior editor of Harvard Business Review who is saying that blacks are discriminated against in corporate America. Ok? I'm *quoting.* Second, while the fact of discrimination isn't *directly* inconsistent with "any college will do," THAT IS NOT THE ONLY SENTENCE IN THE ARTICLE. The article describes several things that ARE important for CEOs to have, such as "leadership talent," a "capacity to seize opportunities," the "drive to succeed," etc. - Karim

By listing these character traits, and then failing to mention that, "Oh by the way, if you're a woman, or a minority, NONE of this matters, the deck is hopelessly stacked against you," the article misleads the non-white/non-male reader. It doesn't mention the elephant in the room, which is, "any college will do" only applies to *white males.* - Karim

Let's say there is a club called the "CEO Club" and they admit anyone, of any sex, race, creed, or color -- except they don't allow people named "Gabe." And then the WSJ came out with some article "proving" that the CEO Club didn't discriminate based on what school you went to. Wouldn't you be sitting there, a little pissed off, knowing that the newspaper failed to mention that they don't admit anyone named "Gabe?" - Karim

"Oh yes," I would say, in moronic indignation, "but how is discriminating against people named 'Gabe' inconsistent with 'any college will do?'" And you would no doubt feel the description of the CEO Club as non-discriminatory, whose membership was ostensibly based on character traits such as "leadership potential," was dishonest for not mentioning their name discrimination. - Karim

The article said nothing about other requirements of being a CEO, like wearing a suit or playing golf, but I'm not complaining that I'm discriminated against because I don't own a suit or set of golf clubs. - Gabe

As for the 90% of CEOs *not* going to Ivy League schools -- you can look at it that way, or you can look at it as you being wrong by 250%. ;-) Another way to look at it: there are roughly 2,500 4-year colleges & universities in the country. If "any college will do," I don't know why 1 out of 10 CEOs would limit themselves to the same 8 out of 2,500 schools. - Karim

Sorry, Karim, but I can't tell whether you're joking, or you would really think that there is state-based discrimination because more of the CEOs are from California than from Montana. The actual explanation is that top students go to top schools. Since top students are more likely to become top CEOs, the top schools (like Ivy Leagues) are over-represented in the sample. - Gabe

Gabe, a suit and a set of golf clubs is something people can *acquire.* :-D Change of race and/or addition of Y chromosome, not so much. - Karim

Karim, I consider myself physically incapable of wearing a suit every day or becoming good enough at golf to be able to play with the members of a firm's board. - Gabe

Gabe, if you're a top student, and "any college will do," why would you waste the money on an Ivy League education? Or if 10 minutes of research proves that "any college will do," I'm not sure what kind of "top student" you are... ;-) - Karim

Seriously, should I complain that the NBA is discriminating against me because I'm white, Jewish, under 6', and in my 30's? No, because the NBA only cares that I can't play basketball. And despite the fact that I will never, with any amount of practice, be able to play basketball well-enough that the NBA would consider me, I do not feel unjustly discriminated against. - Gabe

Gabe, is your point now that, as *you personally* suck at basketball, that women and minorities *as a group* suck at running companies? - Karim

Karim, are you implying that everybody who is not one of the top 450 basketball players in the country sucks at basketball, and thus anybody who is not a CEO of one of the top 500 companies must suck at running companies? My point was that just as short people, white people, and Jews are all welcome in the NBA if they can play basketball *better* than one of the other 450 top players in the country, women and minorities are welcome as Fortune 500 CEOs if they can run a company *better* than the one of the other 500 qualified people. - Gabe

Gabe, I'm not implying anything, I'm just *wondering* what *you* meant. You said your not being in the NBA wasn't discrimination because you suck at basketball. Are you saying there is no discrimination in corporate America, that there's no dearth of minority executives? Please explain your basketball analogy. - Karim

Karim, there is a big difference between not being in the top 500 in the country (which I said) and sucking (which I did not say). I have a client who is a minority executive recruiter, so I know a little about the business. There are plenty of companies hiring minority (and women) executives, but most of them aren't for Fortune 500 CEO jobs. - Gabe

I see you've edited and elaborated on the previous post. You know, with basketball, you can attribute failure to mostly physical attributes: you are either shorter than the competition, or not as fast, or not as agile, or not as strong. Yes, there is a reason why you don't see Stephen Hawking doing a fast break. But Gabe, what do you think that those (mostly white, mostly male) CEOs have, that women and minorities don't? - Karim

Gabe, it really doesn't matter how you slice it, whether it's Fortune 500 CEOs, CEOs in general, or executive positions: women and minorities are underrepresented. EDIT: Your friend, who is a "minority executive recruiter" -- I guess having to *specialize* in recruiting minority executives proves the point about being underrepresented.... - Karim

Nobody said minorities weren't under-represented, Karim. The question is why. You seem to think it's because of discrimination against them. Yet the existence of companies that specialize in minority recruiting signifies to me that there is a great demand for them that regular recruiters are insufficient. - Gabe

cause and effect are not what they seem, in one sense there have never been managers and employers, they have all been sailing to the same wind, not caused by any of them - Gregory Lent

perfect answer...there's a solution we can all try...LOL - Susan Beebe (Santa Claus)

Very cool. A couple of interesting articles about W L Gore and its unique work culture from Fast Company : http://www.fastcompany.com/mag... , http://www.fastcompany.com/mag... - Vikram Shenoy

It's better variation than the original - Terence Washington

HAHAHA! - Michael Forian

Funny! - Dino

Yup Yup, he's comin hard like a rhino - ♫ Rahsheen ™ ★

Hmmm, I wonder if he's rollin' in his 5.0 with the ragtop down so he hair can blow or will he be waxin' chumps like a candle? - Anika Malone

A little further down, the sign says, "STOP COLLABORATE AND LISTEN". - Steven Perez

I heard he be on the mic, man. He's not lazy. He lets his throat kick in....it controls his mouth and he begins...to...let it flow - ♫ Rahsheen ™ ★

ok next we'll be seeing "hammer time" written on Stop signs :p - Eldon

Excellent idea, Eldon. - Yolanda

shhhh...eldon, stop giving folks ideas. cuz now i totally want to print up some hammer time stickers and slap them on stop signs around my hood. - tiffany

tiffany - DO IT!!! DO IT!!! - Yolanda

http://www.flickr.com/photos/a... - Johnny Worthington

Hhahahaha! You must, Tiffany! - Carmen

2001! Holy crap! - Mona N. via IM

thats cool... makes you feel kinda mighty godlike! - Peter Efland

It's nice to know Ecosphere is still pluggin' away though. Peter- I try to stay humble. ;) - Phil Glockner

WHOA . . . even I think this is too much - Lindsey

This is a million times worse than the Motrin ads. I DEMAND OUTRAGE!!!! - Mark Wilson

I think some people just enjoy being angry. I like the ads - Alan Simpson

@Alan, I generally don't enjoy being angry and rarely take offense to anything even in advertising but this ad lacks subtlety and crosses the line. Depression and suicide are far more serious than say the outrage over the Motrin ad. - Lindsey

Alan, I usually don't have a problem with controversial subjects. I do have a bit of an issue with a company using suicide in order to sell a product. In my eyes, suicide is far from a topic to be taken lightly. - Mark Wilson

I agree Pepsi crosses the line w/this ad - who is the target market here? Women - they don't get turned on by suicide? So it has too be teens & 20 somethings. Great idea to suggest to a16-23 yr old girl struggling w/body image. - Ruth Ferguson

The art is interesting, but totally inappropriate for advertising. As individual paintings, I could admire them (though I have mixed feelings about stuff like this), but I agree that as ads, they cross a line. Sucks, because I am a Pepsi drinker. - Cheryl Jones

Funny and dark cartoons, but in my mind the line is crossed when it becomes an ad. I laugh at Johnny the Homicidal Maniac, but wouldn't want to see him selling soft drinks. - Robert Haas

+5 Cheryl and Robert! - Lindsey

Cheryl, I agree with you about the art. I really like the actual artwork. Visually, it's very interesting. The fact that it is an advertisement is what bothers me the most. And I *was* a Pepsi drinker. - Mark Wilson

Well, if I were thinking like the clueless Pepsi ad execs, I think that these ads were chosen because they're edgy, sort of kitchy, and they thought it would appeal to the young demographic that likes stuff like Gloomy the Bear. So in general, I think that Pepsi is just guilty of having really stupid judgment. I don't think that they're intentionally using suicide to advertise their product. I think perhaps someone thought it was worth taking a risk on these ads because overall they look cutesy, and they thought that most people would see the cute edginess and sort of put the suicide part on the backburner. Of course, I feel this backfires in a major way, but I don't think they're trying to be malicious. - Cheryl Jones

Gloomy the Bear: http://www.gloomybearstore.com... It's creepy but cute at the same time, and I admit I like it. Of course, I'm not going to give this to a kid, and that's where Pepsi falls down. - Cheryl Jones

I don't know that I can really comment, given that I have just bought a Bunny Suicides calender... - Stupid Blogger (aka Tina)

Considering my favorite movie ever is Better Off Dead with several scenes of botched suicide, I realize I might be different than many people. Also, I do struggle with depression and have had suicidal thoughts. I tend to think humor in and about the situation makes it more bearable. - Alan Simpson

I am indifferent to this image at this time in my life. A few months ago, I'd probably have been mildly offended at first and then seen the funny side. - Slippy Lane

@Alan Better Off Dead is one of the best movies ever made. - Matt

Alan, I totally agree with you about Better Off Dead being a funny movie. The botched suicide stuff in that movie was appropriate though because it was, and I say this lightly, art. - Mark Wilson

Mark - And advertising can't be art? :-) - Brent Newhall

Brent, ads can totally be art. This ad just really pissed me off. - Mark Wilson

seems in poor taste. Surprised that Pepsi would be associated with it. Seems like it might be offensive to people who have lost a loved one through suicide. Also there is some recent concerns with the economic meltdown that suicides might be on the rise again as they were in the Great Depression. - Thomas Hawk

I find fault in the dumb puns magazines insist on putting in their headlines. "Open a vein" indeed... - Kevin Fox

@Brent -- A good advertiser shouldn't strive for art in ads because art doesn't always sell. I also say it's more that they failed on an execution level as far as taste goes (pun slightly intended, coke ftw!) - Lindsey

Mark, if you want outrage, check out the NAMI Stigmabusters and see if they're already on it. As a suicide survivor (that means me, not a loved one), this is NOT appropriate humor for an ad campaign. And Kevin, you're right - the magazine headline is over the top, too. - Ladybug Heather

Stigmabusters here: http://nami.org/template.cfm?S... - Ladybug Heather

Hmmm .. . I don't see the headline as offensive. - Lindsey

Lindsey, the headline is an oblique reference to the method of suicide where you slash open your veins to bleed out. And every time I see this, I just get angrier. Yes, the pic is cute. But we've GOT to stop making fun of those with brain disorders (or any other chronic illness). Would this be more or less offensive if it were a cartoon about a war veteran missing a leg? - Ladybug Heather

I'm not saying the headline is offensive, just that constantly putting puns or double entendre in headlines takes away from whatever kind of serious tone the author is trying to convey. (Authors rarely write their own headlines) - Kevin Fox

Mark, you did it - you went and got me ALL KINDS of riled up. DAMN! - Ladybug Heather

Heather, I am very well aware of what the headline means. But I see it as drawing more attention to the seriousness of the problem, not making light of it. Open Vein = Serious and what Pepsi did = Serious - Lindsey

Seriously? They opened a room on FriendFeed in what seemed like an attempt to connect with the consumer...and this is the result? Just seems rather un-tasteful for my liking, but it gets people taking about the product. Can't imagine it will be too popular with people who have known someone who killed themselves though. It seems to be in the same nature as the Motrin Moms fiasco where something serious (suicide/motherhood) is degraded to the point where it is borderline offensive. Will be interesting to see what happens with this on the twitterwebs. - Devlin Dunsmore via twhirl

I don't think the Motrin ads are even in the same league as this - Lindsey

A few more thoughts here: http://friendfeed.com/e/f02ea0... - Ladybug Heather

I think these advertisements are amazing. But, I don't believe they are official. The logo for Pepsi Max is not Red and Blue, it's Red and Black, and, it's not sporting the perceived smile. What I think people find most offensive is the character shooting itself in the head and slicing its wrist (btw, the cutting isn't portrayed accurately). Take those two things away and we have the little Zoloft dude cast in the comic, 'Bunny Suicide.' - Brandon

Brandon, I've seen the Bunny Suicide comics and I have no problem with those. That's done entirely in jest. I don't know that Pepsi really thought about what kind of message they were sending to their target demographic with these ads. - Mark Wilson

these make me really sad. seriously. plus totally tasteless - Marshall Kirkpatrick

@Mark I would assume their target audience to be people who aren't so easily offended by their own interpretations of art. It seems to be that a large US audience is offended by this campaign whereas individuals in the UK see it for what it is, art. I don't see these ads any more 'controversial' than many of the movie posters we see today. - Brandon

@brandon it's not smart to alienate a large customer base with offensive ads in the slim hopes of attracting new customers. - Lindsey

Brandon, what if the character in the ads was missing a limb? Had Down Syndrome? Or had an explicitly-drawn brain aneurysm? Would those be inoffensive? While suicide is a choice, it's a choice colored by a brain disorder, which is not chosen any more than diabetes or high blood pressure is. You know Pepsi sure as hell isn't going to advertise its product with a diabetic character who is going blind and losing its feet, though! - Ladybug Heather

Then there is another debate, about art, advertising, & mass production. Art can choose to be challenging and push the boundaries of offensiveness, but for an advertiser to do the same thing is a risky choice. If I find an artwork offensive, I just don't expose myself to it. If I find an ad offensive, it's harder, as we are constantly bombarded with advertising; moreover, I'm likely to NOT give my dollars to the company that offended me with its ad, and to tell other people I know to do the same. - Ladybug Heather

Lindsey perhaps you're right that it would alienate a large consumer base [in the usa]. Pepsi Max's consumer base is not in the United States, though, it's in the UK, Australia, France, Ireland, Italy, and Netherlands. In those countries there is different exposure to and acceptance of art, maybe not the same collectively but overall greater than the US. If this campaign were turned into an animated short I doubt we'd be having this discussion right now. Worse has been portrayed on television and in movies by real people. Major products like Pepsi, Coke, Apple, etc. buy the right to and approve of their product placement in these television shows and movies. Even in kid's films. Rent Ratatouille, there are many adult themes at the beginning of the movie. Does the Disney brand reflect what occurred in these movies, do we associate MACs with Chair Designers that cheat on their wifes (One Hour Photo)?. What do you think Apple's current ad campaign does? -- It alienates Windows users. Apple is pretty successful - Brandon

hey, cee bee....check yo self fool! hahaha! http://friendfeed.com/e/abf8a9... - Live4SoccerVacations

Anna....I respectfully decline to answer that, senator and plead the 5th.... :-p - Live4SoccerVacations

That is very nice. - ♫ Rahsheen ™ ★

Man, that's nice. - Phil Glockner

are those walls gonna fall on me? *ducks down real low* - Susan Beebe (Santa Claus)

i <3 CPK! the jamaican jerked chicken pizza is great! - .LAG

tasty - Nathan Chase

We don't have one here, but their frozen pizzas are great. - Trish R

Not a fan of the place, but enjoy. Other people love it. - Anika Malone

@.LAG that's good too! - Shevonne Polastre

Well I must say it was a good experience for the first time. I would go back. - (jeff)isageek

this thead has made me hungry, gonna phone dominos - Robert Kloosterhuis

What did you have? - Shevonne Polastre

Shevonne I went with the buffalo chicken. It was pretty yummy. could have had some more chicken on it. But good overall. Environment is nice as well. - (jeff)isageek

ahahahahah - Merush Hanim

Lol :) - Aziz Aydın

whats a trackback? - Caroline

@Caroline, trackback is one of three types of linkbacks, methods for Web authors to request notification when somebody links to one of their documents. This enables authors to keep track of who is linking, and so referring, to their articles. - Fatih Taşkıran

ahahaha süper - Simto ALEV

LOL. geek <3 - Carolyn Chan

Love tinkertoys and legos. Was never interested in my brother's erector set. Too much work. :) - Squirrel Girl

you need GiJoe and Hot Wheels in the pic - johnpiercy

Meccano, Dinky, Matchbox were the drool toys for boys in my generation (at least the ones I remember) - Brian Sullivan

Tinkertoys! I got my first set when I was 3. Every year, until I was 7 I got a box of Tinkertoys, a train set and a robot. - Anika Malone

love older toys vs. plastic tacky junky toys that talk and move that are everywhere today - Kamilah Gill

tinkertoys rocked... - Live4SoccerVacations

Oh tinkertoys brings back some memories! We used to get a set almost every year, and so did most kids on our block. But we kept asking for them, mainly because we needed to replenish our supply of the wooden balls with the holes in it. They never survived through the summer. We all would stuff firecrackers in the holes, twist the fuses together, light it, and toss them into the street. I hear the plastic balls included with the sets of today don't make potholes like the classic wooden ones did. - April Russo

haha...nice one April! - Live4SoccerVacations

phewwww! - MikeAmundsen

I hate myself for liking this. - Tony Ruscoe

haha! i hope i can drop by some day - AJ Batac

I haven't laughed this hard since Austin Powers. - Yuvi (has IRL friends!)

hope you don't mind, but I'm going to twitter this.... - Glen Campbell

That is funny - Jeremy Kunz

Heh, now this is how to fish for geek monkeys! Glen, no problem at all -go ahead :) - directeur via NoiseRiver

This is WONDERFUL. - Jared Smith

one of my twitter responses: http://www.sadtrombone.com/ - Glen Campbell

Bartender: "So, should I call you "Sequel" or "S-Q-L"? ||| SQL: "Hold on a sec...I get asked this all the time, I'm creating an index." - Micah Wittman

this goes into my status message. - Tudor Bosman

Best one today => - Nicola Quinn

Brilliant! - possible248

I thought for sure he was going to ask for a bottle of Cartesian water - Josef Finsel

@josef: shoulda known you'd come up w/ that! - MikeAmundsen

Inner or outer ? - Mo Kargas

@Mo: let's no go outing anyone here, eh<g>? - MikeAmundsen

Hehe ;) - Mo Kargas

hi-larious - anna

select hilarious from post where suser = 'directeur'; - Nicholas Kreidberg

How about: "Buzz off and go self-join yourself." - imabonehead

Funniest joke I have heard in a long time. - pcnerd37

My condolences, pcnerd37. - Ken Sheppardson