I’m sure you’re familiar with the ubiquitous Darwin fish (which you can buy from Ring of Fire Enterprises, by the way). Here’s your chance: now you can improve on that old design by intelligently designing your own version (or as I prefer to think of it, developing and evolving your own version by a trial-and-error process). Follow the link to find the requirements and email address for submissions — the deadline is soon, on 16 April.
The winner’s design will be manufactured and sold by Ring of Fire — wouldn’t it be thrilling to see your heretical/scientific fish proudly displayed on random car bumpers?
(By the way, I am one of the judges for the contest. I will not be swayed by bribes, so don’t even try—I want a cool new widget to slap on my car.)
Makes me wish I had a car to put it on! (no it doesn’t, cars are expensive)
Affinity wasn’t good enough for ya, eh, PZ? :-p thbthbthb : : :
I had a Darwin fish on my first car, a venerable boat of the ’87 Crown Victoria variety, and some lovely individuals stole the Darwin Fish and broke the rear brake lights. I have to assume that the crime and my fish were linked.
But I haven’t let that stop me. My current car proudly carries the ur-tetrapod signage.
There’s a good one at http://www.eighthourlunch.com/archives/20060930.php#fishing
I am the proud owner and displayer of a T-rex looking therapod eating a christian fish. While it’s no doubt historically innacurate, the symbolism is clear. No repercussions yet.
Yay! I submitted one! PZ, hopefully I will win the award for most crudely drawn while at work using Paint.
A Godzilla fish wound-humping the Truth fish eating the Darwin fish. Right next to the “The Goddess is alive and magyck is afoote!” bumper sticker.
What’s the maximum number of entries?
if I had any artistic talent… I’d make a big long string of poo hanging out the back end, that spelled out something like “Make poo, not woo”.
Just doing my bit to keep things classy around here ;-)
This isn’t a new one, but my favorite hash fish was this one, which has evolved a hand to hold his beer!
Here’s a really useful related product: Replacement fish feet. These are for repairing your own Darwinfish if it gets vandalised. Of course it would be unethical to ‘mutate’ a Christian fish emblem on someone else’s car.
I didn’t make it, and I don’t think it’s supposed to be a statement about religion or evolution, but I expect you’ll enjoy
from stickycricket.com.
this
Oooh, ooh! Pick me pick me! :)
Thanks for the point, Margarette!
http://www.eighthourlunch.com/archives/20060930.php#fishing
I’ve been meaning to get this made into stickers or a tshirt for some time now. Just too damn busy for it.
I don’t care to sport a fetish icon of my own just to be abrasive to Christians who want to decorate their cars with a religious icon. I especially despise the version with “DARWIN” filling the amphibian’s body. The Jesus folks surely see this as Darwin-worship and I don’t want to encourage the idea that the science of evolution is just another belief system, complete with dorky icons. It’s crappy graphic design and spelling out DARWIN in caps just ruins the subtle joke of putting feet on the fish icon.
Not even the FSM emblem?? Dang, that’s harsh.
The only thing I can think of is to make the fish a Candirú, and include a cross-section of the thing that it has embedded itself into.
There’s always someone who has to come around and piss on people having fun without him.
Man, I’d hate to have that job.
Damnit, where was this contest when I was deciding which Darwin fish design to have tattooed on my shoulder?
I took this to the artist:
http://flickr.com/photos/hunke/184086484/
And ended up with this:
http://flickr.com/photos/hunke/232218585/
I’m very happy with how it turned out :D
The top branch of the tail on mine broke off during a car-washing, and I thought it was a fortunate mutation — Maybe worthy of Lamarking into a new design.
I remember once talking to a friend who worked at the LA Museum of Natural History. For folks who don’t know the area, the LAMNH is right next to the LA Coliseum, home of all manner of sporting events, rock concerts, etc. (I believe there was even an NFL team that played there at one time).
However, my friend pointed out that the one time they were almost certain to be hit with vandalism was when a conservative Christian group called the “Promise Keepers” were having one of their rallies in Coliseum. And of course, the target was the Darwin Fish on people’s cars.
I suppose the optimum emblem wouldn’t be a single Darwin fish, but a Darwin fish, then some sort of land mammal then a few more transitions into a whale or dolphin on the other side. Just think of the sales!
#21 – Sawtooth
Do you mean something like this?
Fish to Dolphin
Please forgive my crap graphical abilities…
Have any of you noticed that some creationists like to display these fish upside down? (The implication being, I suppose, that Darwinism has gone belly up.) Therefore, I think a great design would have to include the ability to look subliminally like it says something either obscene or sacrilegious if you turn it upside down.
Ouch! I wonder how many people’s heads that went right over.
Come to think of it, I’d rather have a candirú over my head than its preferred location!
Further to #22
Fish to Human
Again, crap graphics alert…
#24 – I wouldn’t have on of those beasties anywhere near me thanks very much!
From the vicious rumor mill, I’ve heard two similar stories.
Anyone confirm or deny?
1. All the chrome fish are made at the same plant, which is owned by christian fundies, and they are laughing all the way to the bank selling controversy.
1. All the chrome fish are made at the same plant, which is owned by atheists, and they are laughing all the way to the bank selling controversy.
I normally don’t like the Darwin fish idea because of what has been listed – it is directly attacking a religious belief without provocation, and is making Darwin equivalent to a religion, which we don’t need to be helping the fundies out with. However, the tattoo? It’s teh hot. Hunke, indeed.
“it is directly attacking a religious belief without provocation, and is making Darwin equivalent to a religion,”
HUH? I have spent my whole life being confronted by crosses and stars and now hijabs. How could having a piece of plastic stuck to my car hurt someone’s feelings?
Any reasonable individual would be unworthy of the term if he or she thought that Darwin could ever be thought of as a religion.
I don’t know if I’d use it where I live, but I’d love to see entry #18 on the contest website (the “enough” fish).
I designed the “enough” fish (#18)this afternoon– I’m glad you like it! Vote for me!
I’m going to be somewhat of a cold fish here, as I believe I noted already with the atheist symbol that I’m not hot for icons.
That said, I like the humor displayed. I think it has been done before, but my fish would go back into the waves. ‘Cause now there are too many creationists up here.
I’m going to be somewhat of a cold fish here, as I believe I noted already with the atheist symbol that I’m not hot for icons.
That said, I like the humor displayed. I think it has been done before, but my fish would go back into the waves. ‘Cause now there are too many creationists up here.
One morning just before dawn, I spotted what looked like a home-made fish symbol of some sort on the back of the car in front of me. I squinted real hard and saw that in the place of feet were wheels and in the body it said “jeepus.” Then I noticed the car was a Jeep.
HUH? I have spent my whole life being confronted by crosses and stars and now hijabs. How could having a piece of plastic stuck to my car hurt someone’s feelings?
Because it isn’t a unique symbol itself, it’s a direct corruption of someone else’s symbol.
Any reasonable individual would be unworthy of the term if he or she thought that Darwin could ever be thought of as a religion.
But there’s the fatal flaw in your thinking; we aren’t talking about reasonable individuals. It’s pretty well-established that the most vocal creationists believe that we worship at the altar of Darwin, and use all of the same religious terminology to refer to scientists and their “beliefs” and “dogma” regarding evolution.
I really don’t understand why people get so bent out of shape over the Darwin fish, or act as though it’s some sort of religious symbol in itself. Sure, it’s based on the Christian fish symbol, but I think the very IDEA is to replace religiosity with rationalism in a symbol, and in our thought. It doesn’t matter much if we have a symbol, because the right wing fundies will see whatever as a religious attack, because they don’t THINK beyond religion. Does it just piss off Christians? I kinda hope it does, because they NEED to have their beliefs challenged, and if doing it on an emotional level works, so be it. They OBVIOUSLY aren’t listening to pure reason.
Yes, I have a Darwin Fish on my car… I’m personally sick of having the Jesus fish in my face every time I hit the freeway. This is my protest against stupidity.
I think the most “to the point” emblem would be #13(#4)- the fish flipping in the frying pan. My mouth waters when I think of a world without religion. I’d buy a car badge, a t-shirt, and a coffee cup. :)
I’ve lived in Shreveport LA, Waco TX, Norman OK and now Seymour IN; I’ve had a Darwin fish on three cars, and none of them were messed with. Remarkable, really.
There were plenty of cars with Darwin fish in Norman, home of the University of Oklahoma.
I’ve considered altering a fish plaque thusly: Get a hollow one with the cross inside. Remove the cross, then trim it to a symmetrical “X”. Place the fish slightly head-down, place the “X” where the eye would be, and the trimmed piece above the fish as a bubble. Now, that might get messed with.
— CV
I think the *original* intent of the Darwin fish was to provide a puckish, clever antidote to the hordes of spotless white (with gold trim, natch) Cadillacs sporting Jesus fish.
That the Darwin fish inspired a version with a Jesus-fish emblazoned with “Truth” actually DEVOURING a Darwin fish was absolutely PERFECT in its irony.
I did mine.
Ok, I’d buy Chris Clarke’s. The one I like in the submissions is the fish with “oil” in the middle, because that one you have to think about for a minute first.
I’d buy #13- frying fish shouldn’t be limited to Good Fridays.
I’m still alive. So, the “fatal flaw in my thinking” is the fact that we are talking to unreasonable people and we should therefore pander to their insecuritties? Is your last name Chaimberlain?
Pander to their insecurities? Eh? My point was that we shouldn’t feed into the misconception that evolution is a religion by dressing it up in religious trappings.
The way you worded your original statement it seems as though you haven’t run into anyone who thinks evolution is a religion, therefore they must be few and far between. On the contrary, most creationists think evolution is a religion.
I like the DNA one. I just wish they’d take the letters “DNA” off it, it’s too much a dumbing-down.
I don’t have a car, but my fridge proudly bears a Cthulhu fish. :D
Yes Carlie, I agree, and allow me to add that they are compelled to frame it that way. To the extent that they succeed in doing so, they’re able to minimize the importance of the science and the physical evidence supporting and reinforcing the theory – in other words, to define the terms of the debate.
It’s very much in their interest to label “Darwinism” a religion regardless of what they actually believe. If it’s God vs. Darwin on their terms they may gain ground in the court of public opinion.
Oh, and to say that a candiru may have “gone over people’s heads” sorta misses the point of what they’re all about.
Heh.
“Darwins dead”
So…one of us peons designs a cool icon and all we get is the satisfaction of knowing someone else making money from our design? Oh, pick me. Pick me.
I’ll submit this one once cheap video bumper stickers become available.
http://img75.imageshack.us/my.php?image=0ichty0vw6.gif
Not really a Darwin fish, of course. I suppose I’ll have to tweak it a bit.
A FSM icon is indeed a different kettle of fish. The whole FSM concept is to take on religion’s inherent absurdity.
“Yes, I have a Darwin Fish on my car… I’m personally sick of having the Jesus fish in my face every time I hit the freeway. This is my protest against stupidity.”
Fight fire with fire, eh?
The original fish with feet was funny, but the joke’s really old and the “Darwin” fish is just adolescent.
Jeez, I thought this group was populated by independent thinkers with room for dissent, but apparently there’s a “Ditto-head” evivalent here I’ll call the “squid-mantles”.
When I told my 11-year old son about this contest today, he immediately kicked into high gear and produced several fish. I could not submit them by e-mail for some reason, so I posted them here:
http://everything-more.blogspot.com/2007/04/fish.html
Keep trying to send them in — there are 3 judges, and no promises that the other two will see anything posted here.
Well, the big heads, anyway…
Since we’re on the subject, though, this article in PubMed is a pet peeve of mine:
With all due respect to Dr. Herman, I was born and grew up in Alabama, so I know catfish. Swimming up and embedding in urethrae is not how catfish behave. Whatever candirú is taxonomically, it’s not a catfish.
Carlie said:
But the fish symbol isn’t unique to Christianity. Many other groups, including the Pythagoreans and the Hindus, used the symbol first, and it is still used in Hinduism. If it is okay for Christians to use the symbols of other religions then why can’t we do the same?
And here is my entry
My Chance To Be An “Intelligent Designer”
http://beepbeepitsme.blogspot.com/2007/04/my-chance-to-be-intelligent-designer.html
“like it says something either obscene or sacrilegious if you turn it upside down.”
Ironically, the original source for the Christian fish design was taken from a Pagan fertility symbol, where the Fish (originally rotated 45 degrees) was taken to represent the female genetalia.
i would love a satan fish or something on my car. just to piss off and flabbergast the christians. but i really like taking care of my car, its an 09 and we all know how those christians can get.. i mean damn they’ll destroy countries, no telling what theyd do to my poor car..