Pessimists Archive Round-Up
Pagers, Puzzles and Pac-Man + New Article Readings
š§© Puzzling Problem (1924)
In 1924, the University of Michigan placed a ban on cross-world puzzles in classrooms. Today professors make similar complaints about laptops and smartphones, perhaps they should try making their lectures more entertaining?
š FUD&D (1985)
The board game Dungeons & Dragons, originally released in 1974, created controversy due to the violent and sex-based content. According to psychiatrist Dr. Thomas Radecki the game was āessentially a worship of violenceā, before video games, it was board games!
š Pager Danger (1989)
In the 80s Illinois Governor James R. Thompson wanted to pass a bill to forbid the use of pagers in public schools. The reason? Some felt these āelectronic signaling devicesā were used as a way for students to help buy and sell narcotics. However, one school spokesman admitted āI canāt say any student has ever been caught in the act.ā
š¹ Crack-Man (1983)
Only a few years after Pac-Man came to the US it was being claimed kids and teens were addicted, with it being compared to gambling. We found a women suggesting laws to set age limits to play Pac-Man, as if it were alcohol. Similar laws have been suggested by lawmakers recently in regards to social media.
āļø Tweet of the Week
This 2006 Cosmo cover featuring Keira Knightley asked an edgy question, āAre You Addicted to MySpace?ā, weāre all cold turkey now.
š Pessimists Aloud Podcast
Episode 2 of our new weekly podcast āPessimists Aloudā contains two article readings from the first decade of the 1900s: The first concerns faces and manned flight, the other a warning about the habit of reading in bed.