Useless Knowledge and Rock & Roll
Education for All Shoe Sizes
UKRR Merchandise
The Story Behind the T-shirt
When I first brought the kids home for school, they’d already picked up the snarky pre-teen habit of declaring, “That sucks!” On language patrol, I’d interject, “We don’t say that!” One time I was inspired to further explain: “We don’t say that unless we’re talking about straws.” “Or vacuum cleaners”, said one kid. We proceeded to expand on the list: suction cups, octopus tentacles.
And then came a moment of genius – one of the kids ask, “Hey, Mom, can we add SCHOOL to the list of things that suck?” Thus began a tradition of lobbying to add things to the “Thing That Suck” list. So far, it includes all the real things (vacuums, straws), plus school, and only two other items: communism and smoking.
Sure, it’s derisive, but it accomplished my goals – they stopped using that expression, and they stopped to think about what really stinks (a suitable alternative expression).
When I first brought the kids home for school, they’d already picked up the snarky pre-teen habit of declaring, “That sucks!” On language patrol, I’d interject, “We don’t say that!” One time I was inspired to further explain: “We don’t say that unless we’re talking about straws.” “Or vacuum cleaners”, said one kid. We proceeded to expand on the list: suction cups, octopus tentacles.
And then came a moment of genius – one of the kids ask, “Hey, Mom, can we add SCHOOL to the list of things that suck?” Thus began a tradition of lobbying to add things to the “Thing That Suck” list. So far, it includes all the real things (vacuums, straws), plus school, and only two other items: communism and smoking.
Sure, it’s derisive, but it accomplished my goals – they stopped using that expression, and they stopped to think about what really stinks (a suitable alternative expression).
Get the "Things That Suck" t-shirt, plus other unique UKRR merchandise, at the UKRR store at www.cafepress.com/ukrr
