I don’t edit cartoons, but I edit the cartoon editor when he writes for the Web, so I’m filling in this week with a few more words on Roz Chast’s cartoon declaring August 24th to be Stranger’s Day. The morning after I first saw the cartoon, I saw an ad on an M.T.A. bus shelter. It had a photograph of flirtatious young people drinking watery Mexican beer, and the tagline:
The possibility that everyone in the world could become someone you know and love is the fantasy behind not only watery beers but also microblogging platforms, online-dating services, and other social technologies. And at the risk of ruining a joke by explaining it—a risk Bob Mankoff is usually willing to take, so I will, too—this fantasy is what makes Stranger’s Day such a funny and brilliant idea. It’s a vein Roz has mined before, with her social network, Crankster.
For this inaugural Stranger’s Day, Roz has taken the three cards from her cartoon and turned them into greeting cards. Paper cards are available at the Stranger’s Day store on Cafe Press. If you live or work in a big city, order a box, and next Wednesday hand them out to strangers. I plan to step out of the office and into Times Square and hand some out. The reporter in me would like to know how people react, but that means that the recipients might not be strangers anymore.
Roz also made them into e-cards with help from the folks at someecards. Technology could help strangers send greetings to one another, but for now, you’ll have to send the cards to friends. The grand vision of a randomized distribution of e-cards—sort of a double-blind secret Santa—will have to wait until next August 24th.
If you’re impatient, you might look into RedditGifts to unload those items you photographed. Or Roz has made other greeting cards for occasions that can be celebrated throughout the year:
