Introduction to Hi
& Lois
Hello everyone!
Today’s comic is Hi & Lois. Hi & Lois was created by Mort Walker and
illustrated by Dik Browne. The comic
strip was first published in 1954 and was originally a spin off from the comic
Beetle Bailey. Walker and Browne’s sons now produce the comic.
Hi & Lois feature the Flagston family; a typical suburban
American family. The family consists of
the parents Hi (short for Hiram) and Lois and their four children. The Flagston children are Chip (eldest
child), the twins Dot (daughter) and Ditto (son), and the baby of the family
Trixie (daughter). Other characters featured
in the comic are Dawg (pronounced “dog”), the Flagston family pet dog, their
next door neighbours, Thirsty and Irma Thurston, and Abercrombie and Fitch, the
neighbourhood garbage men.
Today’s Hi & Lois features the Flagston children,
Ditto and Trixie, having breakfast.
“Snap! Crackle, pop!” – Noise from the cereal when milk
or a liquid is added.
“My cereal is making noises.” – Ditto
“So is mine.” – Baby Trixie’s thoughts.
“Splat, splash, splurt.” The sound the cereal makes when
it hits the floor.
Why is this funny?
Without considering the cultural references in this
comic, this comic is simply funny because it highlights the actions of a young
child and how they do not understand that they should not play with their
food. Instead, Trixie, like most young children,
observes that her food can do what her brother’s food does too; it can make a
noise.
Why is the bowl of
cereal making noises? What does snap,
crackle, pop mean?
The children are not just eating any cereal for
breakfast, they are eating Rice Krispies, also known as Rice Bubbles in Australia. Rice Krispies cereal has been produced by the
American food company, Kellogg’s, since the late 1920s and is now sold around
the world. Millions, especially
Americans, have eaten this cereal for nearly a century now.
It is popular in many Western countries for children and
individuals of all ages to eat dry cereals for breakfast and as a snack
throughout the day. Many like to pour
milk or other liquids into their cereal before eating it.
Rice Krispies cereal literally makes the sounds of snapping and crackling and popping
when milk or a liquid is added. This is
a chemical reaction from how Rice Krispies is made and cooked.
The slogan (memorable phrase or motto) “snap, crackle, and pop” has been used
to advertise Rice Krispies for decades. Starting
in 1933, Kellogg’s introduced the trio Snap,
Crackle, and Pop to market the cereal.
Today, Rice Krispies cereal is popularly sold around the
world. Their slogan and mascot, “Snap, Crackle, and Pop”, are used
internationally but with different words/names based on the local language. For example,
Germany: Knisper!
Knasper! Knusper!
Mexico: Pim!
Pum! Pam!
France: Cric!
Crac! Croc!
Therefore many in the non-English world are already very
familiar with Rice Krispies cereal and its mascots Snap, Crackle, and Pop but are unaware of what “snap, crackle, and pop” may mean in English culture.
In conclusion, when people hear or read the phrase “snap, crackle, and pop”, they will
think of Rice Krispies.
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