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David K. Israel
Our First (and LAST!) Famous Historical Figure Shopping List Contest
by David K. Israel - May 13, 2008 - 4:15 AM

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If you missed my interview with Hillary Carlip yesterday, be sure to check it out here because today we’re presenting you with a chance to win your very own copy of her new book, À la Cart. In the book, Hillary imagines what the authors of various shopping lists she’s found over the years might have been like. She even dresses up like them and takes on their personalities.

I thought it would be fun if we gave you all the chance to write a shopping list for a famous historical figure. If Lincoln were headed to Wal*Mart, what would be on that list? If Greta Garbo were in Target, what might she be looking for? How about Darwin? What would he be padding down the aisles of Whole Foods for?

Hillary will winnow down the entries to 10 finalists and then we’ll let YOU guys pick the winner, just like in our caption contests.

Again, I’d urge you to check out yesterday’s interview and video trailer for the book to get a better sense of Hillary’s aesthetic, and her original sense of humor. Then, be sure to drop your historical figure’s shopping list in comments below. Who knows, maybe if we get enough good ones, I’ll put them together in a collection and see if someone is interested in publishing them.

Comments (56)
  1. Cassanova:
    Trojans, or whatever his brand of “protection” may be.
    Champange. Lots.
    Hair wax, to get that “bedhead” look.
    No Doze.

  2. George Washington.
    -trashy magazines of some sort. he liked to keep up on the gossip.
    -baby powder. it takes effort to look that good.
    -ice cream. being a president is hard!
    -mary jane. because apparently he was cool with it.

  3. George Washington

    -trashy magazines of some sort. he liked to keep up with the latest gossip.
    -baby powder. it took effort to look that good.
    -ice cream. honestly because being the first president is hard work.
    -marijuana. look it up.

  4. George Washington.

    -trashy magazines of some sort. he liked to keep up with the latest gossip.
    -baby powder. it took effort to look that good.
    -ice cream. honestly because being the first president is hard work.
    -marijuana. look it up.

  5. Ghandi in Shop Rite:

    Just browsing.

  6. Lewis & Clark @ Gander Mountain:
    *GPS*
    Backpacks
    Tent
    Aerobeds + pump
    Portable toilet
    Hydration packs
    Leatherman
    Camp Stove
    etc.

  7. Amelia Earhart:

    Adult Diapers

    Ipod nano with “20’s greatest hits” on it

    Iphone for the in-flight movie

    Value Jet Inc. brand Life Preserver

    American Airlines brand “Airplane safety check list”

    GARMIN!!!

  8. Lincoln @ WalMart:

    -Advil: Killer Headache

  9. Day 6 — trip to Lowe’s

    (1) potting soil
    (2) apple tree (potted)
    (3) snake repellent
    (4) duct tape

    – God

    Note to self: create Lowe’s

  10. Joan Crawford

    clorox 3 bottles
    soft scrub
    face cream
    lotion
    plasic cleaning gloves large
    vodka 3 bottles
    ice 2 bags
    vasoline
    vaccum bags
    new wooden hangers 100

  11. Galileo’s Shopping List

    - apples
    - cantaloupe
    - grapes
    - cannon ball? (bowling ball ok)
    - stop watch
    - another lens (convex this time)
    - lens cleaner
    - Red Bull (and/or coffee)

  12. Jesus:

    Neosporin
    gauze bandages
    aloe vera
    Red Bull

  13. Sigmund Freud

    - bananas
    - roach mother
    - shoes
    - MOTEL, I meant roach MOTEL, obviously

  14. 8rystystaples, I thought of this before I saw yours. Sorry if this is too similar.

    Jesus Christ:

    3 loaves of bread
    2 whole fish
    10,000 tupperware containers

  15. Sigmund Freud:

    - bananas
    - roach mother
    - shoes
    - MOTEL, I meant roach MOTEL, obviously

  16. Thomas Jefferson:

    Parchment (unlined)
    pack of #2 quills
    ink, 2 bottles (one for J. Hancock)
    dictionary/thesaurus
    lamp oil
    Twinkies

  17. Actually, Jim, that’s pretty freakin’ funny.

  18. For all the New Orleanians…

    Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville:

    mosquito repellent
    fan
    inflatable raft
    beef jerky
    bottled water
    flashlight
    extra batteries

  19. Guglielmo Marconi:

    Radio Shack!

  20. Oscar Wilde
    @ Wal-Mart (3 am)

    Q-tips
    Trapper Keeper
    new underwear
    Hebrew National hot dogs
    Bic razors
    IB Profren
    circus peanuts
    flowers
    card
    Cherry Garcia
    Revitalizing shampoo
    veal (lots of it)

  21. These are all funny! I love mentalfloss.com!

  22. Sir Isaac Newton:

    Apple Peeler
    aspirin

  23. Robert Oppenheimer–

    Ear Plugs
    Sunblock

  24. Ghengis Khan:

    Dental Floss
    Barbeque Sauce
    “Corporate Takeovers for Dummies, vol. 1″

  25. Ben Franklin at Wal-Mart.

    Wood Stove
    New pair of spec’s
    lighting rod
    harmonica

  26. Dick Chaney:

    Shot gun

    Shells

    Yellow vest

    Sunglasses

    FIRST AID KIT!

  27. Marie Antoinette:

    Duncan Heinz Cake Mix
    Rouge
    Hairspray
    Latest issue of Glamour mag.
    Sauerbraten
    Excedrin migraine

  28. Cleopatra at Walmart:

    -lipstick
    -hand-held mirror
    -antibiotic (from pharmacy dept.)
    -incense
    -cat food

  29. Michelangelo:

    paints
    brushes
    ladder
    Doan’s pills

  30. noah:

    pet store:
    2 of everything

  31. George Washington Carver

    Whole Foods:

    -Peanuts
    -Soybeans
    -Pecans
    -Sweet Potatoes

  32. Garbo would only shop on-line: she “vants to be aloooooooooooone.”

  33. Bill Gates:

    *google
    *yahoo
    *nintendo
    *Hewlett Packard
    *gift for Warren “all you can eat” Buffet
    *Better Charity 2.0
    *Anything else I —-ing want

  34. Lucy Ricardo:

    -Red hair dye, copious amounts..
    - Rosetta Stone’s Spanish Language tutorial.
    - Rock Band, for XBox 360, that way she can BE IN THE SHOW FOR GOD’S SAKE!!
    - Earplugs to drown out Ricky’s reprimands because, it isn’t like she ever listens anyway and who needs a headache from all of that yelling?
    - A lifetime supply of bananas as a gift for Ethel because everytime she turns around, the woman’s got a half eaten banana stuffed in her gob.

  35. Saddam Hussein:

    Chlorine

    Ammonia

    Mixing pot

    Helicopters

    Hand Sanitizer

    Headlice remover

    Great Lawyer

  36. Archimedes:

    1 bar lead
    1 bar gold
    Rubber duck

  37. Thomas Edison:

    6,600-volt AC source
    Jumper cables
    Elephant

    (Note to self: Don’t forget the carrots and potassium cyanide!)

  38. Frida Kahlo:
    (pet store)

    1 hummingbird (thorn necklace optional, dead)
    2 mongooses (dead)
    1 deer with human head (speared)
    3 monkeys (see, hear, speak, dead)
    1 blackbird (stuffed)
    1 dove (possibly alive, check price)

  39. Beethoven

    new piano- legs off this time
    1 new doodle pad
    1 box Kraft Cheese and Macaroni
    new drinking cup- lead one is just not working.
    Excedrin Tension Headache.

  40. Discovered down the back of Alexander Fleming’s sofa:

    REMEMBER!

    Rubber Gloves (1 pair)
    Scrubbing Brush
    Paper Towels (3 rolls)
    Disinfectant
    New Petrie Dishes

    Guests coming over tomorrow. This place is a total dump! DO NOT FORGET!

  41. Emily Dickinson:
    (first and last visit to corner store)

    crackers, dry
    eggs -
    wry, oh, rye bread
    truth, beauty - heart!

    Oh! flour, 1 bag, large

  42. Elvis

    -Peanut Butter
    -Bananas
    -Bread

  43. Hillary Clinton:

    Calculator
    QuickBooks
    Prozac
    Blumenfeld’s “Revenge: A Story of Hope”
    Chicago Bears Jersey

  44. Dr. Seuss:

    - green eggs
    - ham
    - cat
    - hat
    - one fish, possibly two fish (1 red, 1 blue?)
    - fox
    - socks
    - map (have to find Mulberry St)
    - elephant
    - a ‘who’ (not sure where to find one)

  45. Joan of Arc:

    - extra copy of Bible
    - knife sharpener
    - bandaids
    - fire-proof boots

  46. marge! love it! love it! so many of these are awesome guys!

  47. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson:

    - gray socks
    - aspirin
    - bullet-proof vest
    - lemons

  48. Yoko Ono:
    (walmart - if she didn’t oppose it)

    -a wheelbarrow (I know, I know..)
    -a bed
    -a pair of scissors
    -a witch costume.

  49. Aeschylus:

    wine
    olive oil
    parchment
    skull wax
    helmet (you never know!)

  50. Ok, just one more, I swear….

    Julius Caesar — March 15, 44 BC:

    Special Surprise Party for Senate (shh.. don’t tell anyone!)
    ——————————–
    Cake
    Ice Cream (lots!)
    Root Beer
    Potato Chips
    “#1 Best Buddy” T-Shirt for Brutus

  51. Audrey Hepburn:

    ~cat food

    ~make copy of key…at least 3

    ~hairspray

    ~new davenport…heavens knows the tub won’t do!

    ~cigarettes

    ~barometer

  52. John Lennon:

    1969:
    Bed sheets
    Sunglasses
    Queen-sized mattress
    poster board
    markers
    tape recorder

    1980:
    Bullet Proof vest

  53. Hillary:

    Ice
    Unsweetened Tea

    - cold and bitter

  54. Kurt Vonnegut…

    pocketwatch
    cornflakes
    new mirror

  55. Persephone, since the whole boat thing didn’t work out (sorry ’bout that), be a doll and pick up a few things for me while I’m at work.
    Thanks much,
    Sisyphus

    -foot and hand cream(something soothing, with no oily residue)
    -Nike+iPod Shoes (size 16)
    -some new tunes (”I Wanna Rock and Roll All Night” and a few good ones from The Rolling Stones and Styx)
    -a couple of PowerBars
    -BenGay
    -something to rid of this chafing
    -a coin (for real this time)

  56. Andy Warhol - Walmart

    12 pack of Tab

    Purina One - sensitive formula

    disposable cameras

    Novena candles - assorted

    fresh flowers - any (but don’t bring home those blue carnations again or I’ll send you back)

    A bolt of gold lame, lots of wax lips and a glue gun (I’m feeling inspired)

    Mags: Interview, Vanity Fair, Adbusters. If they don’t have those (which they probably won’t - their selection is horrible) just get me a Men’s Health.

    Campbells tomato soup - two cases and a Sharpie (Papa’s not too proud…)

    lobster

    Bananas

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