Today in Tedium: Everyone is familiar with Mad Libs, those hilarious fill-in-the-blank stories that most of us experienced in childhood. In 2024, however, they seem like a distant memory of childhood. But before they were even a thing, their creators were involved with television writing and creating 1950s viral content (OK, one of them was). The idea of droodles and Mad Libs are at once bizarre and ingenious. And there really isn't much information about them on the internet, making them the perfect Tedium topic. Droodles and Mad Libs are the perfect combination of interesting and tedious. And in today's Tedium, we're taking a look at their fascinating story. — David @ Tedium
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1953
The year Roger Price came up with the idea of Droodles (and published the first Droodles book). In its preface, he says a droodle is “a borkly sort of drawing that doesn't make sense until you know the correct title.” In the intro alone, he shows readers some a few popular droodles, including one called “The Outside World As Seen By A Man Living Inside A Beer Can,” that could possibly be the precursor to some modern memes.
An early version of the Droodles book series. (via the VisualHumor blog)
Droodles are a fascinating look into 1950s humor and brain teasers
You don't hear about droodles much these days. As far as brain teasers go, they can be quite challenging. But nowadays, they predominantly exist as nostalgia pieces. Just look at this recent article from Reader's Digest to get an idea of what droodles are all about.
But what is a droodle, exactly? In short, it's a simple image that makes a humorous joke or pun. They're sort of like picture riddles. They look like this:
Take a guess.
Can you guess what it is? It's two chihuahuas carrying a large bone, of course. Anyway, most droodles appear similar—and sometimes much more obtuse—to this one. Droodles feel like brain teasers for a reason. It’s largely because they are. They don’t make much sense at first glance. And some of them are pretty weird—especially if you’re looking at them in 2024.
Price was pretty prolific during the 1950s, hosting a panel show on TV and being a panelist on several other programs. He also wrote for The Bob Hope Show, among other things. He was a pretty funny guy when it came to his writing and bizarre ideas. On a December 30, 1953 broadcast of The Steve Allen Show, he talked about a few of his books and showcased his sharp wit with some jokes and some wild ideas (mostly about a silly movement called “avoidism”). It was this type of humor that brought droodles into existence—something he talks about later in the broadcast, saying:
“Droodles are little drawings that when someone asks you what they are, they're sorry [they asked].”
During the broadcast, he said his droodles book—then in its fifth printing—apparently sold 30,000 copies in its first week. Now, that's a popular brain teaser!
Droodles were also syndicated in newspapers around the country throughout the 1950s. In his 1953 book (which is, thankfully, available on The Internet Archive), he humorously expands on several of the droodles in ways you have to read to truly enjoy.
Droodles were a huge phenomenon in the mid-1950s, seeing a huge surge in newspaper appearances during that time.
“A Droodle is simple to draw,” he said in a 1954 interview. “No talent is necessary. And very little thought is needed either.”
And adults weren't the only ones he wrote them for. In Droodles For Kids, Price presents droodles as something that is not only easy to draw, but will be a hit at parties. He insists that when someone draws a droodle, others will invariably inquire as to what they are. When they discover the answer, the drawer of the droodle will be considered a genius. It's a fun way to educate people about the little riddles while encouraging kids to create their own. The rest of the book isn't merely droodles; instead Price explains, jokes about, and generally creates camaraderie around the various doodles in the book.
And that's where Price's true genius shined through: he could make these seemingly bizarre doodles take on a deeper—albeit humorous—meaning. Every book of Droodles is similarly laid out, which is probably why they became so popular outside of their newspaper syndication.
“I always liked the picture, and recently I tried to find the guy who did it, and found out that he lived about 10 miles away from me, and I bought permission to use the picture on the cover of the album.”
— Frank Zappa, explaining why he chose a droodle as the cover of his Ship Arriving Too Late To Save A Drowning Witch album in a 1982 issue of fanzine The Society Pages. The droodle (of the same name) is just a few triangles and a rectangle, made to look like a ship arriving too late to save someone. Zappa’s song based on the droodle’s name is over ten minutes long and takes listeners on one heck of an interesting journey. Frank Zappa was a droodles fan. Go figure!
A few examples of Droodles from Price’s syndicated newspaper column of the era.
Droodles had a short-lived game show
People have always loved some variation of quiz or panel show. With droodles becoming the 1950s equivalent of viral content, it's no surprise there was a TV show about them. The premise was simple: Roger Price himself hosted. A guest panelist would create a droodle and then put the regular panel to the task of captioning/solving it. Sometimes, viewers could submit their own droodles to win prizes. It was surprisingly interactive for what it was. It didn't last very long.
Roger Price, circa 1950s. (Louisville Courier-Journal/Newspapers.com)
Although I couldn't find any footage of the show, there are a few spirited reviews from people who actually watched it when they were kids, ultimately giving us some insight into what the show was actually like. Oh, and did we mention Carl Reiner was a panelist (along with Marc Connely and Denise Darcel) and Don Pardo did the announcements? That's a lot of celebrities for a show about captioning droodles!
The quiz show/game show format has always been popular, making it a natural fit for the droodles concept. Viewers can relate to contestants and the lure of a big prize always reels them in. Droodles may not have lasted, but the game shows that came after very much made their mark on American pop culture (but that's a story for another time).
1958
The year Roger Price and his friend, Leonard Stern, created the original version of Mad Libs. Mad Libs—the original fill-in-the-blank fun game—began life as something truly unique and has gone on to remain popular to this day, selling millions of copies of the uniquely themed books.
The original Mad Libs book.
Mad Libs started out as a cure for writer’s block
Although we’re all familiar with the format of Mad Libs, it actually began life in an unusual way: as a cure for writer’s block. Co-creator Leonard Stern was working on a script for the hit TV show The Honeymooners. His friend Roger stopped by and—noticing his friend was having some trouble describing something—helped him come up with a few adjectives. Those adjectives were, of course, funny. This spawned the ultra successful line of books and even led to them forming a publishing company— but not until they came up with the right name.
According to Co-creator Leonard Stern, the name “Mad Libs” came from overhearing a conversation about someone having to be mad to want to adlib an audition.
Roger Price—despite some folks saying he's a bit boring—was actually a pretty interesting guy. And he helped create many different publications—including the aforementioned Mad Libs. Following its creation, Price and Stern promoted it by using Mad Libs to introduce a very important guest on The Steve Allen Show: Bob Hope. Stern said that Mad Libs sold out of stores the next day.
So what's the reason behind Mad Libs’ (and to a lesser extent, droodles’) enduring appeal? It's probably because it's funny and gives people free license to just be creative or silly. It's also used as a teaching tool, helping children learn about grammar. There's even an app and various ways to play the game online.
All of these make a good case for its pop popularity. But the truth is that people just love brain teasers and puzzles. And that'll likely never change.
six
The number of Mad Libs books (as of 2011) that Price Stern Sloan published each year. The books—with varying subject matter—sold consistently over the years with over 110 million copies confirmed sold as of the series’ 50th anniversary. Price passed in 1990, but left behind a legacy of comedic weirdness. Stern passed away in 2011, having seen Mad Libs grow from a game between friends into a publishing juggernaut.
Apparently, Mad Libs can be tough to write, but that won't stop us from trying our hand at writing one (thanks to Nick Douglas for his informative article on how they're written). So in lieu of a traditional conclusion, please enjoy filling out this Tedium Mad Lib:
One day a _____ [adjective] robot grew bored with his home planet. So he decided to visit _____ [noun]. After spending some time doing _____ [verb], he discovered a website called Tedium: The Dull Side of The Internet. He _____ [adverb] read all about _____ [noun], weird music, and crazy tech. It made him feel a sense of _____ [emotion] and took him on a journey to a _____ [adjective] plane of reality. With his newfound knowledge, he decided to take over the _____ [noun]. First, he took over _____ [city]. Then _____ [verb] an _____ [adjective] base on the moon. In the end, the people _____ [verb] him and he owed it all to reading _____ [your favorite online publication] …
Have fun filling that in—we certainly had some fun making it! For all their popularity, droodles eventually faded from public view. They represent something rare; something unique. And while they might have been a viral hit in their time, they now only exist in our memories. But at least we still have Mad Libs—and both Price and Stern’s legacies—to remind us that wordplay, puzzles, and visual gags will never go out of style.
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