The BLT Episode 23: Much Ado About Puffin

As Bob Dylan said, ‘these times, they are a-changing’. This week, we’ve taken a look at the impacts of changes in the publishing climate and the planetary climate.

And of course, alongside some other delicious news, there is animal news - as if you were in any doubt!

Do you have some news that’s perfect for the BLT that we’ve missed? Tell us, and find out more about how we work by getting in contact today!

Roald Dahl’s language has been dialed down

There has been a mixed response to the editing of some Roald Dahl classics. Some people applaud the changes and the negative connotations they create, while others have accused Puffin Books of censorship. The edits were intended to make the books more acceptable to modern readers, but critics of the change have been ‘alarmed’ by the language update.

The changes include Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’s Augustus Gloop, who is now ‘enormous’ rather than ‘enormously fat’. There have been career changes for women in Witches too. Women in the supernatural story will now pose as top scientists or business leaders instead secretaries and cashiers. For us it was an opportunity to pay homage to the illustrations of Quentin Blake.

‘Shall we see the cat or the castle?’

This may sound like an odd question but since Gacek the ‘portly’ black cat got rated as the top attraction in the Polish city of Szczecin, its a choice tourists have had to make.

Gacek has a five-star rating on Google Maps, half a star more than the city’s Pomeranian Duke’s Castle. The now famous feline gained renown in a 2020 YouTube documentary, and now tourists from across the world are flying in to visit him.

Be suspicious of the spice rack

The spice rack is a beacon of flavour, ready to improve any dish, but the US Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) have revealed the spice rack is also the home of more germs than bin lids and dish clothes.

In their study, the FSIS found that spice jars were contaminated almost half the time while other surfaces showed contamination less than 20% of the time. The research has shown that spice jars take the top spot in the ‘most unhygienic spot in the kitchen’ league table, followed by the chopping board and the bin lid. Naturally, we couldn’t resist illustrating Ainsley Harriet to deliver his classic catchphrase, ‘spicy!’

The salad shortage

Anyone that has been to a supermarket recently will have noticed a distinct lack of salad and fresh veg. While we’re sure this may sound like good news to many children, plenty of us are missing the little things - like tomatoes.

The shortage has been blamed on soaring energy costs, a shortage of staff at farms, supply chain issues and bad growing conditions in Spain and Morocco. The lack of fresh veg has even led some supermarkets to begin rationing this increasingly precious and delicious resource.

A double shot with olive oil please

Coffee lovers in Italian branches of Starbucks will now be able to make this order after the global coffee chain decided to combine the Italian passions of coffee and olive oil in their new ‘Oleato’ range.

Italians are at least open to this new coffee innovation, which drew crowds to Starbuck’s Reserve Roastery in Milan. CEO Howard Schultz had the idea while travelling through Italy. Some people already put butter in coffee, why not olive oil?

Please don’t touch the artwork

What is the quickest way to lose $42,000? After what happened to Jeff Koon’s Balloon Dog, we’re pretty sure it’s tapping a sculpture off the plinth. At first, people attending the Miami Art Fair thought an art collector breaking the piece was performance art, but it quickly emerged that it was an expensive accident.

Luckily, Koon’s Balloon Dog was insured and there are even people interest in buying its shattered remains. It’s also good news for art collectors, as the remaining 798 Balloon Dogs in this limited collection are just that bit rarer now.

We’re always amazed at how many links form between the random selection of stories brought to the meeting each week! Which story is your favourite? We’ll see you next week for another delicious visual sandwich.

We love using visual thinking and visual storytelling to create connected and layered whiteboard animations like this. We’re always here to talk to you about how your message could look as a whiteboard animation, contact us today!