Google, Mon Amour

This is a story about how, after fifteen minutes with the Internet and the Google search engine, I learned more than I did during a typical week of fifth grade. In a larger sense, it is a story about how Google lets me appear to be much smarter than I actually am.

I've just started reading a book called Souled American: How Black Music Transformed White Culture.  I recognized the title as a play on the phrase "Sold American," but I realized I didn't know what that phrase meant or where it came from. So I did the only logical thing to do in the 21st century when facing the unknown: turn to Google.

Two seconds later, I knew that "Sold American" was a song by Kinky Friedman, who I also just found out is running for governor of Texas (motto: "Why the hell not?").  But that song came out fairly recently, in the early '70s, and I suspected that it was not the inspiration for the book's title. I had a feeling that the phrase "Sold American" had been around longer than that, that the phrase carried more cultural resonance, and that both Kinky Friedman and Kevin Phinney were tapping the same meme for their titles.

Well, I thought, maybe if there's a Wikipedia article on the song, they'll mention the cultural relevance of the title. So I searched Google for "Sold American" (in quotes) and "Wiki." Which did not turn up a Wikipedia article on the song... but it did get me one step closer, by way of Lenny Bruce.

Google found the phrase in a Wikiquote page, in which Lenny is doing an auctioneer riff. So, now I know that "Sold American" is a phrase associated with auctioneers. I still didn't know what it meant, so I Googled "Sold American" and "Auctioneer." Which led me to Lee Aubrey "Speed" Riggs, from right down the road in Goldsboro, North Carolina, pictured above. "Speed" was known as "the Voice of Lucky Strike" for his cigarette ads, in which he would perform his typical lightning-fast auctioneer's chant, ending with the trademark phrase... "Sold American!" 

Okay, I get "sold"... but why "American?"  Ah.  I had to get a little deeper into the Google results, but I finally found my answer here. Virginiaplaces.org tells us that tobacco auctioneers would end their chants by announcing which tobacco company had won each auction. Thus, "Sold American" would signify a sale to the American Tobacco Company, makers of Lucky Strike cigarettes, and employers of "Speed" Riggs.

(And by the way, the maddest of all possible props to whoever the copywriter is who managed to get the slogan "it's simply breathtaking!" approved for the American Tobacco Historic District. Intentional or not, that's some deeee-licious irony right there.)

So. Anyway. This evening's events make it even harder for me to imagine my life without the vast stores of information in the Internet, and the means to find and access them with Google. Ten years ago, the vague curiosity about the phrase "Sold American" would have just sat at the base of my brain like a stunned bumblebee, until I either serendipitously stumbled upon the answer somewhere or forgot the question entirely. But now I know a little more about Kinky Friedman, Lenny Bruce, the economy of my native state, and a humble boy from Onslow County with only a sixth-grade education who went on to be on the radio with Jack Benny. And now I know that there actually is such a thing as the North Carolina Agricultural Hall of Fame.

Will I ever use this knowledge to make a buck, or to better myself or humanity? Probably not. But I dig picking up these small artifacts of knowledge and culture and seeing how they fit into the mosaic of existence as a whole. Everything fits somewhere, if you look hard enough, with or without Google's help.

Comments

[Jenny P.]

Does it make you feel kind of sad when there are no comments, or do you blog just for yourself? I'm asking because I like getting comments, and it makes me feel like Sally Fields... "You like me, you REALLY like me!"

[Jerry]

I guess the mature, self-actualized answer would be, "I blog for myself, just for the sheer love of blogging. I don't blog because I can; I blog because I must. The only affirmation I need is the affirmation of The Muse."

The honest answer is, "Hell, yeah, I like getting comments. Why don't you love me, Internet? What have I done wrong?"

It goes without saying that all the comments should mention what an outstanding writer I am and what a super, super fella I am generally.

[michelle]

You HAVE used this information to better yourself - don't make me remember Intro to Philosophy stuff to back up my assertion. Instead of just plugging ahead with the reading and maybe stumbling upon an answer for one of your "Huh?" questions, you actively sought out the answers to your questions (which in turn created more questions and thus the cycle continues!).

Due to your outstanding wordsmithery, you were able to relay this to the gentle readers of Idiom Savant in a concise and amusing fashion. And, because of this very skill, you have again proved what a super fella you really are. Plus, you're tall, and we all know that tall men are genetically superior.

[Jerry]

I hope everybody was paying attention just now. That's how you leave a comment, people.

[michelle]

Was that enough? 'Cause I do more, if you want.

(I kid, I kid - it's all true!)

[Jenny P.]

Jerry, you are an outstanding writer, and you let me put my drippy nose on your shoulder when things get shitty. That's good peeps right there. YES INDEEDY! And you're tall, and tall men are clearly superior. And you're a good person, and gosh darn it, people like you!
Thanks..........

[michelle]

I just noticed a typo in my posting, and I'm aware that it's not the first one in the comments that I've left.

It makes me feel, well, so not thorough.

[Mark Riggs]

I am the great nephew of Aubrey "Speed" Riggs. I enjoyed reading your blog. He would really enjoy the fact that someone still finds interest in things related to the Golden Leaf.

[Tom]

Even more to your point, I was just listening to Jack Benny, and it was one from the Lucky Strike years, so I thought I'd google "Sold American" to find out where the phrase came from. This page popped up as the second link. So now it's not even a 15 minute task, it's 30 seconds. The internet is grand, isn't it?

[KenB]

I recently heard a version of the song you mentioned, and I too realized I did not know what "sold American" meant. I also knew it had something to do with auctions. Just as did you, I turned to Google. Having done so after you put up this post, however, I was able to find the answer quicker than you were you.

Thanks.