Wizard of Id Classics by Parker and Hart for July 24, 2017

Little Red Siding Hood?

In 1967, it could have been worse. Fuller Brushes, Amway, the list goes on :)

Before the very late 1800s, Aluminum was worth MORE than gold, because pure aluminum was very rare. Why? Until the current cathodic separation method was developed and perfected, it was extremely difficult to extract aluminum from bauxite. FACT: One of Queen Victoria’s most prized pieces of jewelry was a ring made entirely of aluminum….

Grit.

Maybe for the second pig’s siding?

Couple of hoods

So, the misspelling of aluminium in the US was already common in 1967.

“Could I interest you in a subscription to ‘Riding Hood Monthly’?”

If this weren’t an old comic, I’d think it was referring to the recent tragedy in London.

What? Don’t get it.

It is not a misspelling. Both aluminum and aluminium are both accepted spellings for the metal. Aluminum is the accepted spelling here in the US and aluminium is accepted in the UK.

The ium version of the spelling was proposed to make the spelling more in line with most of the elements on the Periodic Table, most of which end in ium.