5859: Pogressively Worse

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Pogressively Worse
5859.png
Made by: Nyperold


Explanation[edit | edit source]

In the original, Jon talked about collecting stamps; here, this has been changed to pogs.

Pogs, also known as milk caps, are a collectible with an associated game that people can play with them. It was played back with cardboard drink caps in the 1920s on the Hawaiian island of Maui, but it didn't gain its name of Pogs until the 1970s, when Haleakala Dairy, one of two companies who occasionally brought back cardboard caps as a promotional item after they has become obsolete for their original function, did so for their passionfruit, orange, and guava drink. When Haleakala Dairy expanded to Oahu, this kicked off a revival of the game, credited to Blossom Galbiso, a teacher and guidance counselor who introduced the game to her fifth-grade students. From there, by 1993, the year of this strip, it spread all over the world, often printed with various licensed characters and such and given away as promotions, or sold by themselves. "Pog" even became a brand name, thanks to the World Pog Federation and the Canada Games Company. But the fad ended about 1997, and the Canada Games Company went out of business.

Which is not to say that no one played it anymore thereafter; in 2010, a video was uploaded to YouTube of a pog championship in which Ryan "Gootecks" Gutierrez made a shocked expression which was made into the original form of the emote "PogChamp".

The author writes:[edit | edit source]

Original strip: 1993-01-03.

Transcript[edit | edit source]

{Jon, in one of his actually normal date outfits, is on a date. He holds his glass of purple liquid and grins at his date as she looks uncomfortably off to her upper right. The waiter stands by. Jon sets down his glass and, holding a finger up in the air and resting his elbow on the table, says something extremely ill-advised} Jon: Yes, pog collecting can be very rewarding...
{His date brings a hand up to her chin, her face portraying a look of utter terror}
Date (but not for much longer): EEEEEEEEEEEK!!!
{Jon and the waiter are startled}
Date (seriously, she's about to abandon it): HELP! HELP! MY DATE IS TALKING ABOUT POGS!
{Jon is stunned. The waiter quirks an eyebrow at her, and looks at her as if to say, "What's wrong with this lady?"}
{An older couple, possibly old enough to be her parents, come over}
Older woman: There, there dear... you can sit at our table
{The young woman hugs the older around the neck and cries gratefully onto her shoulder}
Young woman: Oh, thank you!
{The older woman pats her back comfortingly. Jon watches them leave, still stunned. The waiter looks at the reader}
Waiter: I collect bottle caps
Jon (having snapped out of it): OH SHUT UP!