Rich's first Dragon magazine appearance: giant space hamsters!

[jere7my]

I was just reading through Dragon #175 (November 1991) and came across this line in Roger E. Moore's editorial:

"Rich Burlew (Clark, N.J.) sent the longest species name..."

Moore was talking about responses to his request for reader reactions to the fabled giant space hamster, which appeared in the first Spelljammer Monstrous Compendium appendix. Seems that 17-year-old Rich sent in a letter of hamster support. Two obvious questions spring to mind:

1) What species name did Rich submit?
2) How long will it be before we see giant space hamsters in OotS?

[jere7my]

1) What species name did Rich submit?

I may be able to answer my own question. Later in the same editorial is the following extremely long species name, with some buried suggestions of future OotS developments:

Subtropical Amphibious Crimson Displacer Shrieking Transparent Fomorian Groaning Aboriginal Lamia Heavy War Gelatinous elder Dun Berserker Blood Sea Heucuva Huecuva Guardian One-Eyed One-Horned Flying Purple People-Eating Astral Ixitxachitl Shambling Vampiric Beholder Rust Poisonous Slithering Volcanic Storm Tri-Flower Flumph Thessal Spitting Cockatrice Paisley Super-Genius Abjurer Blink Faerie Throat Leech Rotting Teenage Mutant Ninja Ju-Ju Republican Charioteering Interposing Glaive-Guisarme All-Beef Patty Special Sauce Lettuce Cheese Pickles Onion on a Sesame-Seed Bun Goblinoid Fire-Retardant Anchovy Death Great Wyrm Myopic Megalo Giant Space Hamster of Fear and Flame.

[Grinner]

This...is incredible.

[Mighty_Chicken]

Nice find! Were you reading your old magazines, or just bought it, or what?

[jere7my]

Nice find! Were you reading your old magazines, or just bought it, or what?

I have the Dragon CD-ROM 250-issue collection from 1999, and I've been slowly reading through them. Just happened to come across Rich's name last night.

[Fayd]

I may be able to answer my own question. Later in the same editorial is the following extremely long species name, with some buried suggestions of future OotS developments:

Subtropical Amphibious Crimson Displacer Shrieking Transparent Fomorian Groaning Aboriginal Lamia Heavy War Gelatinous elder Dun Berserker Blood Sea Heucuva Huecuva Guardian One-Eyed One-Horned Flying Purple People-Eating Astral Ixitxachitl Shambling Vampiric Beholder Rust Poisonous Slithering Volcanic Storm Tri-Flower Flumph Thessal Spitting Cockatrice Paisley Super-Genius Abjurer Blink Faerie Throat Leech Rotting Teenage Mutant Ninja Ju-Ju Republican Charioteering Interposing Glaive-Guisarme All-Beef Patty Special Sauce Lettuce Cheese Pickles Onion on a Sesame-Seed Bun Goblinoid Fire-Retardant Anchovy Death Great Wyrm Myopic Megalo Giant Space Hamster of Fear and Flame.

Calling it. This is the MitD.

[SamBurke]

Calling it. This is the MitD.

I have never wanted the impossible to be true so much.

[NinjaStylerobot]

Riches words:

I realize that the line between something I made up and something someone else made up is a pretty fine one, but I trust that someone will figure it out eventually.

This MIGHT be true!

[Grinner]

I found out that Rich has a Wikipedia article of his own, and judging by it, he has a surprisingly impressive resumé.

[Grey Watcher]

Calling it. This is the MitD.

This creature is one-eyed (among many other things). MitD is always depicted with two.

EDIT: Or, y'know, like the song says, it eats one-eyed, one-horned giant purple people. So... nevermind!

[The Glyphstone]

This creature is one-eyed (among many other things). MitD is always depicted with two.

EDIT: Or, y'know, like the song says, it eats one-eyed, one-horned giant purple people. So... nevermind!

I just listened to the song - the monster in the song has one horn and one eye, and eats purple people.

[Fayd]

I'm sure there's some other modifier in there that compensates and adds the other eye.

[Siosilvar]

I just listened to the song - the monster in the song has one horn and one eye, and eats purple people.

But does it fly

"Coming out of the sky" is nowhere near conclusive proof. Catapults make things come out of the sky, after all.

[Doc Kraken]

Calling it. This is the MitD.

Sounds terrifyingly and entertainingly plausible...what would it look like?

[tcrudisi]

I just listened to the song - the monster in the song has one horn and one eye, and eats purple people.

I'm not sure.

It was a one-eyed, one-horned, flying purple-people eater.

That could be interpreted either way. We need to get some of our charop people on this ASAP! English majors who know this song: is the monster one-eyed, one-horned, flying and purple or does it only eat one-eyed, one-horned, flying purple people?

(I typed the above from memory. It is probably not written as the author of the song wrote it.)

[The Glyphstone]

I'm not sure.

It was a one-eyed, one-horned, flying purple-people eater.

That could be interpreted either way. We need to get some of our charop people on this ASAP! English majors who know this song: is the monster one-eyed, one-horned, flying and purple or does it only eat one-eyed, one-horned, flying purple people?

(I typed the above from memory. It is probably not written as the author of the song wrote it.)

Not the chorus, the actual verse.

Well I saw the thing comin' out of the sky
It had the one long horn, one big eye
I commenced to shakin' and I said "ooh-eee"
It looks like a purple people eater to me

[Siosilvar]

Either way, I'm pretty sure "Beholder" gives it one or more extra eyes.

New theory: MitD has one eye and ten eyestalks, but all the eyestalks are close enough together that they appear as one eye even in that one closeup frame we got.

[jere7my]

New theory: MitD has one eye and ten eyestalks, but all the eyestalks are close enough together that they appear as one eye even in that one closeup frame we got.

It could have one eye and one eyestalk — one eye always looks smaller than the other, right?

Anyway, I'm not sure how a one-eyed giant space hamster could be a giant space hamster of fear and flame. And it would have to be simultaneously crimson and purple. No, I think it eats one-eyed one-horned flying purple people.

[Skaven]

Minsc: Go for the Eyes boo, gooo for the eeeyes!

Never have I wanted a theory to be more true.

[Dimers]

Not the chorus, the actual verse.

Technically, having one eye doesn't preclude having another eye.

And it would have to be simultaneously crimson and purple.

And Paisley, apparently.

[Kurald Galain]

Not the chorus, the actual verse.

And in related music, "Attack Of The Radioactive Hamsters From A Planet Near Mars"...

[The Glyphstone]

Technically, having one eye doesn't preclude having another eye.



And Paisley, apparently.

Huh, that's a good point. He has One Big Eye, it doesn't mention if he also has One Small Eye.

[Saintheart]

Huh, that's a good point. He has One Big Eye, it doesn't mention if he also has One Small Eye.

I'm pretty sure Rich has one small eye.



Think about it.