John Hodgman photo by Alex Erde, used under Creative Commons license; Bunsen Honeydew image © The Muppets Studios, LLC.
I know I’m not the first one to point out the similarity between the two, but really, take a look: Could there be much doubt that John Hodgman and Dr. Bunsen Honeydew were separated at birth? This is clearly the explanation for Hodgman’s instant appeal to geeks.
Hodgman’s first appearance: June 3, 1971. Honeydew’s first appearance: October 25, 1976. But we have it on good authority that Honeydew, presumably due to his extraordinary abilities as a scientist, came into the world looking much as he does today. As far as we are aware, Hodgman was a fair bit smaller, a great deal nakeder, and was not wearing glasses. While there are reports that Honeydew regressed to a baby around 1984, they cannot be confirmed due to the sketchy nature of the pictures used as corroborative evidence.
Hodgman’s eye color: appears blue from most photographs. Honeydew’s eye color: we have no eye-dea. Sorry about that.
Hodgman’s regular companions: while most often seen on television with Justin Long, has been known to pal around with Jonathan Coulton and They Might Be Giants. Honeydew’s regular companions: nearly always seen in the company of talking frogs, bears, pigs, and whatever Gonzo is (I refuse to believe Muppets from Space), but most often in the company of his lab assistant Beaker. There are unconfirmed, but certainly plausible, rumors that Honeydew and Beaker are in a relationship of the sort we don’t typically discuss on GeekDad, if you get my drift (think of the 19th and 13th letters of the alphabet). In any case, it seems clear to me that both Hodgman and Honeydew prefer to surround themselves with geekiness similar to their own.
Hodgman is known for delivering facts and opinions in a calm and mostly uninflected voice, and for pretending to be a PC in order to sell Macs. Honeydew is known for inventing incredible but dangerous machines and discussing them in a calm and mostly uninflected voice, though he has never to my knowledge appeared in a TV commercial. There are rumors that many of the facts Hodgman relates and many of the machines Honeydew invents are actually complete fabrications. This seems highly unlikely, but we must consider the possibility — still, they both seem equally plausible, so there is still no firm contradiction of the separated-at-birth theory.
Hodgman and Honeydew: Separated at birth?Market Research
