You are my last resort. In the TV series The Flintstones, what was Barney Rubble’s job? We all know that Fred worked at the quarry, but Barney’s job was never directly referred to, except in a couple episodes where he worked as a TV repossessor or a short-order chef, after having been fired from his regular (unknown) job. Please help! –Nancy B., Chicago
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I love this job. Where else would I get the chance to be on the front lines of journalism, tracking down the questions all America is buzzing about? Actually, Barney’s occupation was left up in the air in the early years of the series, which ran 166 episodes from 1960 through 1966. The folks at Hanna-Barbera, the studio that created the series, say Barney was a TV repossessor in one episode and a geological engineer in another–not your typical white-collar career path, but hey, it’s the cartoons. They don’t recall him being a short-order cook but admit it’s possible. In later years Barney settled into a more comfortable existence working with Fred at the quarry. In one episode he was even made Fred’s boss by Mr. Slate, the head dude.
One of the presents my wife and I got at our wedding was an original 14-inch Fiestaware cut plate, given to us by my grandfather. The plate is our favorite color: red. (Well, Fiesta calls it red, but actually it’s more of a red-orange.) While we were admiring the plate my mother had to throw in her customary wet blanket. “You be careful!” she said. “Don’t eat off that plate or let food sit on it! I read in an article that red-colored Fiestaware is highly radioactive.”
Fiestaware, incidentally, is being made again after a 14-year hiatus. There’s no lead in it now and no red either, unfortunately. Instead we get trendy colors like black–a regrettable surrender to fashion that has also afflicted such noble products as the lava lamp. I blame it all on MTV.
