Talk about being smack in the middle of the GeekDad wheelhouse. Is this the nerdiest thing ever? Let’s break out the scorecards.
What you’re looking at above is an idea. A beautiful, marvelous idea that’s trying to get off the ground. It’s a potty-training book (check) based on Vulcan principles (check). The book is written by Gary Whitta (check), who wrote the screenplay for The Book of Eli (check) and Star Wars: Rogue One (check), among many other things. On top of all that, Gary enlisted Mike Krahulik, cofounder of Penny Arcade (check), to do the illustrations.
Yeah, this is pretty nerdy. And I love it.
Pooping is Logical! tells the story of a young Vulcan child who, just like kids on Earth, is hesitant to make the leap out of diapers and onto the potty. Fortunately his parents, who are wise and loving, are on hand to help him through this transition and assure him that pooping on the potty is a perfectly natural, safe, and grown-up thing to do. In a society based on logic, what could be more logical than pooping?
Gary Whitta and his wife (a trained childcare professional) developed and wrote the book, but unfortunately they can’t get the powers that be (i.e., Paramount and Bad Robot, those that hold the Star Trek purse strings) interested in the project. Something about not wanting Trek associated with poop? Whatever, even Kirk and Spock had to learn at some point.
The licensing and copyright issues prevent Gary from taking this to Kickstarter (or other crowdfunding site), and it’s fairly obvious that the Vulcan angle is pretty integral to its very being. So what can you do?
Help get the word out. Demonstrate that there’s interest in this fantastically nerdy book. Do you need this on your nerdy bookshelf? Are you struggling with potty training at home and looking to invoke aged Vulcan wisdom to expedite the process? Can you think of a better geeky baby shower gift?
- Use the hashtag #PoopingIsLogical.
- Share and link to Gary’s Tumblr post.
- Retweet Gary’s original tweet about the book.
Hey Star Trek licensing people: take a note from the Lucasfilm/Disney playbook. Quirky is good. Quirky sells. Look at Jeffrey Brown’s Darth Vader and Son and Jedi Academy books. Look at Tom Angleberger’s Origami Yoda books.
Everyone needs some Vulcan poop in their lives.
Sounds fun, we’ve done using diapers using “concisework potty training” in 2 weeks, but for the next kid, it’s Star Trek time.
One can only assume that these parents are N’vosh Ka’tur, due to the smiles (subdued as they are).
But I would definitely buy multiple copies of this!
Fascinating.