Don't Keep Calm and Carry On
I have always appreciated a good play on words, a playful rhyme, and a clever slogan. When I first heard the phrase "Keep Calm and Carry On", it seemed much better than my younger sister's pleas to me to "Chill" or even "Chillax." It doesn't surprise me that hundreds or even thousands of spoofs have been made on this British phrase from the 1940s. Below, you will see simply the first page of Google images from today's search for "Keep calm and". The possibilities are endless, even if the off-rhyme of "calm" and "on" gets lost in the variations. By now, "Keep Calm and" has become a quintessential meme for the 21st century. What is less popular, however, is the history of this phrase. Here is where I grow uncomfortable. In the days leading up to the second World War, the British Ministry of Information created several propaganda posters to help boost morale in the case of a German invasion...
Thanks so much for putting that on there! That really made my day. I enjoyed your blog and look forward to reading more. Megan and I can even re-create/translate it into jive, like we did with that letter you received once (before the site was taken down for being un-PC)? I'm so impressed you figured out how to post that -- and the photos. The poor starfish! Love you! JB
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