Friday
Apr302010
Literally Puzzling
April 30, 2010 Each of the photographs below represent a cake order gone wrong. Can you find the errors? The first puzzle gives you a hint. (Answers below.)
A) [hint] Sara is also a mom.
Well, I guess it *does* beat "Sara, SLASH Mom."
As Number 1 pointed out to me, at least they didn't write "War Eagle" in auburn icing. Although in my mind, that's just wrecking it further. If you're going to go literal, go literal. Am I right?C)
Something tells me this cake has something to do with CPEN.CPEN CPEN CPEN CPEN.
Huh. Yeah, I don't know where I'm getting that.
Say something nice about Wade M., Nancy S., & Jessica K. to thank them for the pics.
Answer Key:
A) Wreckerator is a pacifist
B) Wreckerator hates drawing
C) CPEN CPEN CPEN
Update from John:
So, apparently, the Auburn Tigers greet each other by yelling "War Eagle." Yeah. But we Trekkers are the weird ones. Anyhoo, so I suppose if you want to get all technical and correct about it, that cake is not a Wreck. But, it's too late to take it down. And we're tired. And it's Friday. So, we're all moving on. Right? [meaningful look at commenters] Right. We're moving on.
Reader Comments (132)
Since I'm a fan of the team that opposes Auburn, I say that cake is a wreck! Love the blog always and forever, Amanda (oh and Roll Tide)
Not everyone around has heard of AUBURN or WAR EAGLE.
SO it does seem ridiculous if you don't know.
Anyway - the cake itself is a mess and sloppy so it doesn't matter if it makes sense or not. It doesn't look good.
So for some it STILL is a wreck.
Anna Lee in OHIO.
It's a wreck simply because it's an Auburn cake. Roll Tide!!!
As an SEC school alum, I liked the fact that cake B at least got their priorities straight. Football rally cry THEN birthday wishes! :)
"That there Clark. That there is an R-V"
I'm glad I'm not the only one who read the first one as Flappy Birthday.
No one has commented on the mold-like colored dots on cake A. Ugh.
I thought of flash mob when I read that inscription.
EPCOT! EPCOT! EPCOT!
Okay, I got that out of my system. Moving on, I got an email about a new cake decorating tool:
"Introducing Cricut Cake™ — Available May 2nd for $349.99! -- The Easiest and Fastest Way to Decorate Professional-Looking Cakes -- Cricut Cake™ is an easy-to-use personal electronic cutter that precisely cuts gum paste, frosting sheets and much more! Cricut Cake™ is compatible with all Cricut® cartridges, so you'll save time and money creating perfect cakes for any occasion!"
Why do I think this will simply make the creative spelling on these wrecks more legible?
jodi said...
"is it just me or on wreck 1 does it look like we are wishing saraflashmom a Slappy birthday!"
=======
It's just you.
=^~.-^=
See, a capital, cursive "S" does not go that way. This looks (if anything) more like a capital, cursive "L," which would make the whole word "Llappy."
Llappy, Slappy--what difference does it make...as long as people keep paying for these wonders, they'll keep on cranking them out.
The work ethic has gone the way of the Dodo bird.
LUCKY US!!! (I'm serious! I love these things!)
But did Sara really *Flash* mom? Wow that's just so...so rude! Who would think of doing such a thing? Well unless mom and Sara are really hard core party animals!
This is really the most difficult to write the text on the cake nicely. Ugly text could spoil all the impression of the confectioner with beautiful plants and sculptures.
OMG! you people! it. Does. Not. Matter. #2 is still a Wreck! hello?! "And... Happy Birthday"?! Ugggh.
WV: buciesse, Why do people have to take a perfectly good Wreck, and buciesse it to death?
Did the Auburn people pay to get this cake on the blog? I have heard enough about Auburn now to last me a LONG time.
Flour Girl (Alabama fan)
I was so confused as to why B was a wreck - looked right to me. Glad everyone else got here before me.
WAR EAGLE!! That second cake is soooo not a wreck! Except for maybe the ". . .and" Just not needed.
I'm a Trekker too. Not weird in the least. :)
All I have to say is
WAR EAGLE!!!
and I guess, CPEN CPEN CPEN
I live in Alabama, so I know that cake number two is intentially and obviously EPCOT EPCOT! =D Sheesh.
(And Roll Tide, y'all.)
Is a flash mom like a flash drive? or a flash mob? or a flashlight?
I say... CPEN! I want to know where she went to RV school....
Ohhh, what pretty writing on cake #2! Lol, I suspect that the wreckerators are closet Auburn fans and just wanted to get their school some much needed attention!
ROLL TIDE!!!
Alrighty, I'm an Alabamian, myself, and I think #2 qualifies as being a wreck, regardless of the whole slogan thingy. The border is poorly done, the word placement is way off, and did they forget it was someone's birthday until the last minute?? That said, my 11-year old HARDCORE Auburn fan would love it, and my HARDCORE Alabama fan step-dad would hate it. Heck, Mom might get it just to see what happens. :)
Also--EPCOT!!!!
wv-trate. I'll trate you this wreck for that sweet.
Thank you for the update John- and everyone else. I had absolutely no idea what the Auburn was about and would probably have written "War Eagles" in auburn writing myself!
Good job I don't decorate cakes then!
While #2 cake makes perfect sense to me, since I live in Alabama and my husband is an Auburn fan...the fact that is says "War Eagle" and "Aubrun" makes it a wreck to me! ROOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLL TIDE! ROLL!
The people that are saying the war eagle cake is a wreck because war eagle doesn't have quotations around it or because someone not familiar with the school would find it baffling----um, the cake was obviously made for someone that would understand it. It's not a wreck. The cake is cute.
Could someone explain _why_ Auburn fans yell "War Eagle" at each other? I mean, I know that it's in their fight song, but why? The name of the team is the Tigers. Auburn students/the paper are called the Plainsmen? And they yell "War Eagle" at each other? Yeah, sure, 'Bama fans yell "Roll Tide" but the name of their team is the "Crimson Tide", right?
This is all very confusing.
#2 is still a wreck, if it's a slogan, it should have quotes around it, and could we cram any more on the top of the cake?
Love the blog, picked up a cake today and was almost disappointed there was no wreck to send along... LOL.
The auburn cake isn't a wreck at all, you're just wrong. And Alabama's cry is "Roll Tide", not War Tide.
Catherine said...
"...This is all very confusing."
To which I respond:
Only if you care.
See, I don't. So it's not confusing me...it is just ANNOYING the EARWAX outta me that I was right (I didn't want to be) about the "E-word"-like, repetetive explanations of why "War Eagle" exists.
We now have a Situation, as sadly expected, in which we will War Eagle (and by some perverted association, "E-word") the living **** out of this fairly innocent and presumably well-intentioned cake.
Jen & John--you two must have nerves of steel (or really good "meds")!!!
heh heh =^~.~^=
Catherine, the very, very abridged version is this:
It hearkens back to an old Auburn legend about a Civil War vet who rescued a baby eagle from the battlefield. Supposedly, nearing the end of a football game, Auburn was rallying to come from behind and win. The eagle (now old) launched off of his shoulder in a last effort, circled the field amid people's cries of "The War Eagle!", and died. Auburn won the game.
(There are many varied versions of the legend.)
That's why before every home game, one of our eagles is released from the upper deck and circles the field while we cheer "War Eagle!". And THAT is why the cake is not a wreck. :)
At Auburn University there's an actual eagle named War Eagle that they bring to football games, and there's also the Auburn tiger mascot that's a guy in a tiger costume!
Miss. Riss:
I've been checking this site out for awhile, as I decorate cakes as a hobby and check it out to hope nothing of mines ends up on here.
But anywho, I'm starting to wonder if these wreckerators aren't dumb, just some very revengeful employees who are pissed off at the customer?
Catherine - here's the history of "War Eagle" : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_Eagle
Oh, and to whoever said "War EagleS", nope, not plural, that'll get you looked at funny down here. :-D
And it wouldn't be in quotes, either, any more than you'd put the Happy Birthday in quotes.
Melanie -
Not an AU or UA fan, but have lived in Alabama since 1985, and currently live in Auburn, specifically. :-)roway
Well if they shout that at each other shouldn't it be in quotes??????
War Eagle, Cakewrecks!
I'm an Auburn professor, and I fail to see anything wrong with the Auburn cake. "War eagle!" is our battle cry. Our students use the phrase to greet, to encourage, to congratulate, and more. "War eagle and happy birthday!" is a perfectly natural expression down here. You will rarely, if ever, see an attempt to draw an eagle to represent our battle cry. It would not convey the same message. The eagle represents learning and courage, the slogan represents community and brotherhood with one's fellow students.
--KB
Are all your fans from Alabama except for me? WTF is going on around here? How can so many people know what this is? Did like one alabamian suddenly get all their friends to spam this thread or something? It is ridiculously implausible that this many of your regular readers could really know this much about such an obscure cultural reference.
@Miranda, It's Alabama, not Alabama State. But yea. Move here (like we were forced to do) and you'll want to stab yourself in the eye every time you hear "War Eagle," "WDE," "Roll Tide," anything about Bear Bryant, etc.
Hahahaha! I was clueless about how the AUBURN (War Eagle!! Hey!!!) one was a wreck.
I do have to point out that even more strange than this tradition is the one of the rival University of Alabama.
Their mascot is an Elephant. Their battle cry is "Roll Tide!" (Or "Rawwel Tahd!" in the local dialect.)
They have taken to decorating their heads at games with Tide laundry detergent boxes and toilet paper rolls.
Cringeworthy for sane residents of the state.
I am surprised you are only one state away and aren't familiar with these phenomenons!!
BTW, Auburn has 99% more Trekkers and Trekkies than UofA.
War Eagle!!
Maybe I will get a "Auburn! Go Tigers! War Eagle! Aubie Rocks! Happy Mother's Day!" cake on Sunday.
Alex (Auburn B.S.M.E., '89)
ANYTHING is orange and blue or "war eagle" is a wreck in my book!
ROLL TIDE!
Sorry another comment (after reading more of them)...
@Jennifer, uh... NO, "War Eagle" shouldn't be in quotes on the cake. It should be in quotes in these comments, because we are "quoting" people. But on the cake we are "saying" it.
That would be like putting "Happy Birthday!"in quotes. WRONG! Rookie commenter mistake.
Happy "Mother's" Day, love "Dad" :)
Alex (again)
Wv: "colin"
There should be a colin after AUBURN.
d. none of the above
e. other
f. yes
g. no
h. all of the above
~Mir
@Kara:
Actually, the eagle's name is Tiger, and the mascot in the Tiger costume is Aubie.
WDE, y'all!
Rebekah, I wouldn't consider Auburn "obscure." Surely it's not well-known in some areas, but it's also not some Podunk community college. It's known across the country for its veterinary medicine, agriculture, fisheries and pharmacy programs, and its student newspaper, up until recently, was the No. 1 award-winning college newspaper in the country (stunning, I know). I'm an Auburn graduate and have traveled all over the place in Auburn gear, and it never fails that someone shouts "War Eagle!" at me. We've got alumni all around the world!
Also, to those of you who think Auburn students or graduates are spamming the site: I think not. In fact, a good half of the comments attempting to explain Auburn or its traditions contain some type of factual error. Trust me; if you've attended Auburn, you certainly don't get any of that information wrong! Those comments are obviously from well-meaning readers who have a little knowledge of the school from somewhere.
By the way, I'm a longtime reader but very infrequent commenter. Love the blog, Jen and John! Oh, and by the way ... War Damn Eagle, y'all!
As an emergency nurse, the best part of the CPEN cake to me is that the poor nurse went from being an "RN" to an "RV".....
For shame.
:-)
LOL. I just spent ten minutes studying the second cake and decided I was just plain missing it (being a former Auburn fan myself, I just couldn't figure out where the mistake was). And then I saw the note at the end. Glad to know I haven't completely lost my mind...yet!
LOL! I am glad I'm not the only one looking at cake B and trying to figure out what I was missing! I couldn't figure out what was wrong with it! I grew up in Alabama, so the AUBURN and War Eagle looked perfectly normal on a B-day cake! :)
I just wanted you to know that it made my day to see the second cake pop up on my screen today. I am an Auburn Alum and I started laughing as soon as I saw it. I also liked the commenter that said War Eagle is a code between Auburn fans. It really is if you're not in Alabama! Anyway, thanks for making me smile today!
War Eagle!!
ok- Another Auburn grad here- it would be perfectly normal to say War Eagle to somebody and then wish them a Happy Birthday- especially if the game was on their birthday- which would make their birthday secondary....;-)
(1)@ Art (at 4:26) and
(2)@ Rebekah (at 6:04):
#1-That's the silliest thing I've heard in minutes.
Besides, you don't really know which side the eagle("now old"--but not as old as the CIVIL WAR vet whose shoulder he was perched upon) was ROOTING for, now DO you?
=^~.-^=
#2-That, on the other hand, is the most logical thing I've heard ALL DAY (even though I see you've been told how *wrong* you are).
Just keeps getting curiouser and curiouser...
((SIGH))
To quote the Progressive insurance girl: "I love this channel!"
=^u.u^=
Oops, my mistake at the eagle's name! My grandfather was the head of the music department at Auburn for years, he'd be horrified at my mistake.
And if you're from the south you can't NOT know about Auburn, it's not exactly an obscure college.
Lol at the first cake. Flash mom eh? I am sure she would appreciate that.. man what a way to wreck a perfectly pretty cake. I thought the rest of it was pretty nice until they went and did that lol.