“Hello, I’m looking for a new bed for my six-year-old daughter.”
“Yes ma’am, I recommend this model, the Lolita…”
Excuse me? Yes, in my favorite ODD story of 2008, a shopping chain has stopped selling a child’s bed named Lolita after enraged parents pointed out that the name was synonymous with sexually active preteens. The retailer said its staff had not been aware of the connotation until, um, they looked it up on Wikipedia.
“Oh, I’m sorry, Ma’am, I’m afraid the Lolita is no longer for sale. Instead, might I suggest some other popular models, Jezebel, Hussy, Strumpet, Trollop, N ymphet…”
Stars of the film “Lolita,” Dominique Swain and Frank Langella, at the Beverly Hills premiere in a 1998 file photo. REUTERS/Fred Prouser
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Finally! An accurate Wikipedia entry!
- Posted by John C AbellWhen I read this, I thought perhaps they’d meant this kind of Lolita, and was looking forward to a Sweeney Todd-style child’s bed.
It should be an Internet law: no matter how odd you expect something to be, it always turns out to be odder.
- Posted by Charlene