Wil Wheaton, in Stand by Me, posed a very interesting question. Mickey’s a mouse, Donald’s a duck, Pluto’s a dog . . . what the hell was Goofy? Enclosed is a bribe–the largest I could afford. –Britt R., Seattle
Best of Chicago voting is live now. Vote for your favorites »
Educated people–leastways, educated people who’ve just chatted with the Disney archivists–know Goofy first appeared anonymously in “Mickey’s Revue” (1932), looking essentially as he does today except older. In the wonderful way of cartoons, he then got younger, meanwhile adopting various aliases, including Dippy Dawg, Dippy the Goof, and Mr. Geef before settling on Goofy in “Orphans’ Benefit” (1934). So if the guy has an identity crisis, it goes back a long way.
Simplissimo, chief. Airplane lift is the result of two things: (1) the shape of the wing, which has to do with the Bernoulli principle, and (2) the angle at which the wing meets the wind, known as the “angle of attack.” The most efficient wings make use of both factors, but in a pinch (or an air show) you can get by with just the latter.
