'Snake Oil' & the Presidential race

There was an epic clash of strangely parallel TV "shows" on Wednesday. | Also: on this day in 1918 & an homage to Nigel Tufnel's "These go to 11" moment in This is Spinal Tap.

Three nights ago, during a break from the debate between the top Republican candidates not named Donald Trump, I flipped the channel to Fox and came across a new game show called Snake Oil.

Hosted by the somnambulant David Spade¹, the show’s premise is straightforward: win money when you weed out the fake “snake oil” products from the real ones.

At this point in the program, the contestant who had advanced to the final “Snake Pit” round opted to have five product options overall, to maximize her potential payoff.

Oddly — perfectly? — five is the precise number of GOP candidates who were at that very moment delivering their concluding statements on NBC. They were giving their “sales pitches,” if you will.

Whether it has to do with evaluating candidates from either of the major political parties or any of the third-party alternatives such as Green, Libertarian or otherwise, voters are continually faced with the task of discerning between authentic candidates of integrity and those who resemble, well, snake-oil salespeople.

At the Snake Oil’s conclusion, the contestant had successfully detected the three sham products before it came down to one final choice:

Was the fourth and final fraud the “Air Gordon” air-fryer (preloaded with Gordon Ramsey one-liners)? Or was the "Metadox the Phasma" soundproof mask for gamers the crazy made-up concoction?

She guessed that the gamer mask was fake; see what happened next in this five-second clip:

There was no such final verdict in the Presidential debate, though pundits and observers can spin whichever way they want.

Incidentally, one of the Metadox’s key features is to stifle screams. That could come in handy as we move toward the 2024 Presidential election, which is now a little over 51 weeks away.

On this day, 105 years ago…

World War I ended.

Thereafter, November 11th was called Armistice Day. Then in 1954 the day was re-named Veterans Day, honoring military veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces.

Here’s a look at a few front pages from that fateful day in 1918 when the first World War ended.

Gotta love the Fitchburg (Mass.) Sentinel effort: “Teutonic Autocracy Shorn of All Power”—they simply don't write headlines like that anymore, right?

As you might already know, WW I was hailed for a while as “the war to end all wars.” Wishful thinking.

A sincere thanks to all military veterans on this day, and every day.

`These go to 11’

For over 25 years, I have written on occasion about the mathematical humor embedded in one of my favorite movies, the 1984 Robert Reiner-directed rock mockumentary This is Spinal Tap.

In the spirit of 11/11, enjoy Christopher Guest, in character as the air-headed Nigel Tufnel, explaining how the band can crank up the volume just a bit more “if we need that extra push over the cliff.”

Oh, before you go, one last thing…

1. Spade, the Saturday Night Live alum and comedian, really ought to whip up a bit more enthusiasm. When he introduces products on the show, it approximates a distracted reading of a roadside diner menu.