ICYMI: The chaotic history of the lolly scramble in New Zealand
6 January - 13 January 2020
Bunch of clowns: Morgan Godfery on the unfunny jesters who rule the world. “It’s wild to think that only four or five years ago politicians like Trump and Johnson were more punchline than serious contenders. For liberals and leftists, it was all a terrific gag. Trump? Vulgar. A know-nothing. Johnson? Deeply unserious. Good for a hoot and not much more. But for conservatives and others on the right, it was all deadly serious. Trump’s vulgarity and his apparent stupidity were always part of his appeal. Johnson’s circus act, like the stump speech where he pretends to forget where he is, was never a disqualification. It was the qualification.”
RIP Zach: Damning ruling finds ‘serious wrongdoing’ by miracle medical AI pair. In March 2018, roving reporter David Farrier told the story of an artificial intelligence bot called Zach and the mysterious founders behind the all-too-miraculous technology. Almost a year later, Zach’s custodians Albi and David Whale were found to have engaged in “serious wrongdoing” by the Department of Internal Affairs, but are we any closer to knowing who or what Zach was? Brace yourselves for another fascinating yet perplexing dive into the Whales and “The Terrible New Zealand Charitable Trust”.
The chaotic history of the lolly scramble in New Zealand. Who knew there was such a rich social history behind the good ol’ Kiwi lolly scramble? As Alex Casey finds out, the chaotic ritual dates back to the 1800s with scrambling serving as a crucial social function as society looked for new ways to control their unruly young. “That dry-buzz structure came in the form of compulsory education, Sunday school and organised sports, leaving anarchic moments like a lolly scramble as what historian David Green calls the ‘carrot’ dangling at the end of a life of ‘stick’.” Since then, a number of crazy scramble-related incidents have gone on record, from lollies dropped from aeroplanes to rogue Minties knocking children out in the face.
Just briefly, a quick word from Sam Brooks, culture editor at The Spinoff:
"The Spinoff is one of the most unique places I've ever worked. Part of that is the working environment, part of that is the opportunity to write passionately about what matters to me, and part of that is the engagement we get from our audience.The Spinoff Members is a way to turn that passion into a real tangible action. What we write about won't get written without your support."
I’m messy and I’m done apologising for it. “I have a messy room,” Madeleine Chapman admits. “For the first week of 2020 I experienced a weighted blanket. I didn’t buy one, but I did have two loads of laundry on my bed for six days that I slept under instead of folding. I broke my new year resolution almost the moment I made it. Every time I walked into my room I thought ‘I should clean this’. Not because it was affecting my mood or stopping me from completing important tasks, but because somewhere ingrained in me is the belief that messy rooms are bad and are symptomatic of greater ills.”
Please enjoy these savage reviews of New Zealand’s favourite landmarks. Paeroa’s giant L&P? “A bottle in a carpark”. Cromwell’s big fruit? “Used to be better”. Kawakawa’s Hundertwasser toilets? “Smelt a bit like a zoo!” Nothing brings the prestige of our iconic tourist attractions down to earth quite like a savage Google review. Alex Casey rounds up some of the internet’s most disappointed, melancholic and enraged takes.
What TV looked like in the year 2000. With the era of on-demand streaming still ages away, what were we watching on the telly 20 years ago? Sam Brooks looks back at some of the hit shows and TV moments that graced our screens at the start of the millennium with 2000 heralding US TV’s first gay male kiss, the start of Ryan Murphy’s career, and the mighty Chris Warner’s return to Shortland Street. What a time!
The Spinoff Summer Journey Series. Over the Christmas/New Year’s break, we ran a series of wonderful travel essays which I urge you all to read if you haven’t already. Funded by the generous support of The Spinoff Members, the series sees author Linda Burgess write about life as a teenage New Zealander in the ’60s, actress Michelle Langstone reflect on loneliness on a trip to Singapore, The Phoenix Foundation’s Samuel Flynn Scott wax lyrical about corner stores, and Anjum Rahman recount a trip to her place of birth at the age of 12. Summer Journeys recently concluded with a piece by playwright and novelist Renée as she ponders her future on an evocative drive up the East Coast.
The Spinoff Weekly is written by staff writer Jihee Junn.