Illustration by A.J. Garces

Issue: Autumn 2005

The Last Word

The Pig in Pop Culture

Generations of wee ones have wriggled and giggled over the market outings, roast-beef suppers and squealing antics of a foot-full of peripatetic porkers: “This Little Piggy” has been a staple of the nursery since it was first published in 1728. See if you can identify these other popular members of the genus Suidae, their origins and, where relevant, their makers.

1. Scrupulously polite and organizationally gifted, this piglet reared by sheepdogs wins an unprecedented first prize at the state fair.

2. Not many sitcom swine can claim a Hungarian bombshell as their leading lady. This one did.

3. First introduced in 1954, this amiable tot with the trademark cloud of dust at his heels quickly became a regular in his maker’s popular syndicated comic strip.

4. Single-minded in the pursuit of her frog, this glamorous sow has been breaking hearts since she and her creator’s hit series made their television debut in 1976.

5. Interestingly, the symbols of both civilization and primordial chaos are associated with swine in this disturbing novel – by a British Nobelist – on the inherent barbarity of men (boys, actually).

6. Stationed on the windowsill of Andy’s room, a wise-guy piggy bank and his best buddy, Mr. Potatohead, round out the cast of this blockbuster by a whiz in the computer-animation biz.

7. The art world knows this famous bronze boar as the work of a Baroque master, but locals affectionately call it by the Italian diminutive for pig. Though the elements have seasoned it to a stately brownish green, the statue’s snout maintains a fresh-polished sheen – the result of continual rubbing for good luck by passersby.

8. Name the three hogs who masquerade as Lenin, Stalin and Trotsky in this barnyard satire on the Russian Revolution by a famous Bengal-born author.

9. This aptly titled ditty by the most famous of British invaders memorably describes its porcine protagonists plying silverware “to eat their bacon.”

10. A Texas-born cartoonist created this immortal stuttering swine for Warner Bros. in the late 1930s.

11. When Fern’s pet becomes the pet project of an erudite spider, this children’s classic shows how a common pig can be “radiant,” “terrific,” even “humble.”

12. These house-proud hogs are enough to give a hungry wolf an attack of asthma.

Contest Rules

1. Identify each pig, its source and the name of its creator. Clues 1, 2 and 12 do not require a creator’s name.

2. Up to five $30 gift certificates from Borders Books and Music will be awarded to the bacon fanciers who correctly complete the puzzle. If more than five perfect entries are received, winners will be drawn by lot.

3. Send your answers by no later than November 15 to:

The Last Word
c/o USC Trojan Family Magazine
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA 90089-7790

Submissions by fax (213-821-1100)
and e-mail magazines@usc.edu
are welcome.