July 20, 2003

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  "His most popular monster was a repulsive rodent named Rat Fink. Roth was a genius at designing cars, but it was "Finkie" who brought him fame and fortune. By 1963, pimply teenagers across America were buying Rat Fink model kits and mass-produced Rat Fink T-shirts."

  
  

     

  
  

                              (click to enlarge)

  
  

  "Alienated adolescents who knew they'd never fit in now had their own heroes: Drag Nut, Mother's Worry, Mr. Gasser, and other members of the Rat Fink family. The message was clear (even if it wasn't the one Roth had intended): Ugly is beautiful, and being a weirdo is cool. It was a lesson some would never forget."

  
  

  More at http://www.wedge.org/bigdaddy.htm  

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