Monte Carlo analysis

The results from the Magazine's parking-ticket contest are in.

montecarlo.jpg

I’m sure you’ve been waiting with bated breath for the results of our parking-ticket contest, described in the July–Aug/10 University of Chicago Magazine. Well, wait no longer. After countless minutes of judging, I present to you the best of the U of C-inspired parking tickets our readers could come up with.

Third prize goes to John L. Gann Jr., AB’64:

“This demonstration of the long-term effects of oxidation on ferrous metal is brought to you by the Department of Chemistry, University of Chicago.”

I believe the car in question was the mid-70s Monte Carlo featured in the original article. I took pictures of several junk cars that ended up in our Flickr pool and were featured on UChiBLOGo, but this one was a doozy.

Second prize also goes to Mr. Gann:

“A defamation action filed by the Monte Carlo Chamber of Commerce seeks removal of the name from all visible parts of this vehicle.”

OK, he’s fixated on that Chevrolet. But in fairness, if you don't frequent this blog (and why wouldn't you?), then you might not have realized there were more cars to mock.

Finally, first prize goes to…yes, John L. Gann:

“Sic Transit Gloria Monte Carlo.”

While I’m pretty sure Monte Carlo is not an indeclinable place name in Latin, I admire the effort, as well as the dogged determination to make that car funny.

If you haven’t guessed, frequent Magazine correspondent Gann was the only person who wrote in with suggested parking tickets, thus sweeping the contest by default. For his effort, we’re sending him only the best prizes from our prize room/surplus storage area: a U of C lanyard that I think belonged to associate editor Jason Kelly, a USB lamp of dubious provenance, and a copy of John Boyer’s Volume IV of the history of the University, The University of Chicago in the 1960s and 1970s. Thanks again to all of you—all one of you—who wrote in.

October 13, 2010