Advertising: Fairy Tale Posters for Brain Candy Toys

I haven't had many advertising posts in a while. Then I saw these from earlier this year and fell in love with them, so I had to share. Obviously a campaign for BrainCandyToys.ca. Found via Ads of the World. Which one is your favorite? And really, what a fun way to introduce math equations, too! The more I look at them the more I like them.

Credits:

Advertising Agency: Revolve, Bedford, Nova Scotia, Canada

Creative Director: Matthew Allen
Associate Creative Director: Allan Carver
Art Directors: Eric Miller, Steve Wallace
Copywriters: Steve Wallace, Eric Miller
Illustrator: Eric Miller
Published: April 2011

 

More Medical Disorders With Fairy Tale/Folklore Names

SurLaLune reader Meghan sent me an email yesterday in follow-up to my post about the Sleeping Beauty sleeping disorder.

Here is what she sent, slightly edited. Thanks Meghan for answering my call for a list like this!

I recently read your blog post about Sleeping Beauty syndrome, and I actually have a short list of medical conditions with fairy tale names.

1. Rapunzel syndrome--a rare condition where sufferers consume their own hair (Trichophagia). Because the human body cannot digest hair, it collects in the stomach/bowels/colon as a ball, known as a trichobezoar. The syndrome sometimes occurs alongside trichotillomania (the compulsion to pull out one's hair).

2. Cinderella complex--Ascribed to women who have a fear of independence, and a desire to be taken care of by others. This is not wildly accepted as a complex, but is used as an explanation as to why some women stay in dysfunctional relationships. To be honest, I'm not sure why it's called Cinderella syndrome.

3. Alice in Wonderland Syndrome, also called Todd's syndrome "is a disorienting neurological condition that affects human perception. Sufferers may experience micropsia, macropsia, or size distortion of other sensory modalities." Read more on Wikipedia.

4. Ondine's Syndrome, or Ondine's Curse--People stop breathing when they sleep, it's a rare and very dangerous form of sleep apnea. Read more on Wikipedia.

I can add one more--Sirenomelia, commonly known as Mermaid syndrome, "a very rare congenital deformity in which the legs are fused together, giving them the appearance of a mermaid's tail." More on Wikipedia.

Anyone have any more?

Kleine-Levin Syndrome: Real-life Sleeping Beauties

From Real-life Sleeping Beauties by Robert Williams:

Nicole Delien, a 14-years-old resident of Scott Township, admits that she is sometimes afraid of falling asleep. At times, she can fall into a deep slumber for many weeks, and this makes her miss out on everything—school, family events and fun. Her mom, Vicki, expressed her fear that her daughter might just sleep through her high school years. Presently, she goes to school but takes extra care not to do anything else outside her home as she might just fall asleep suddenly and fall into an accident.

Fifteen-year-old Louisa Ball, an English girl, can remain asleep for days or even weeks. Her prolonged sleeping spells often put her parents in a dilemma. They have a hard time maintaining good nutrition for her because Louisa herself does not eat or drink anything during this time. This condition started in October 2008 after she recovered from a week-long flu. Whenever she wakes up from her bouts of “hibernation,” she goes straight to the kitchen to feed her famished body.

Lily Clarke, 21-years-old, can sleep for almost two months and cannot be woken up. She missed out on her own 18th birthday because she fell asleep a few days before that. This condition started in 2007 and it has greatly impeded her life, as she had already slept through her University exams and Christmas holidays. Her mom, Adele, reported that Lily’s extended naps can stretch as long as 7 months and she is very worried about this.

These girls share the same nickname of Sleeping Beauty in real life. Fairytale-like as the name sounds, their lives are far from being a princess. They all suffer from a rare condition called Kleine-Levin Syndrome (KLS), also known as Sleeping Beauty Syndrome or Rip Van Winkle Disease. It is a neurological disorder characterized by altered behavior and excessive amounts of sleep.

The article is longer so click through to read the rest. It also has an entry on Wikipedia and a foundation website and a page on the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke site.

I really should have a list of science and medical concepts/conditions that use fairy tale names because there are several...Somebody get right on that for me, okay?

Student gets to test science behind Rapunzel fairy tale

Photograph by: Arlen Redekop, PNG

From Burnaby student gets to test science behind Rapunzel fairy tale at Science World:

Burnaby student Linette Ho had a serious scientific question: Would the handsome prince from the fairy tale Rapunzel have really have been able to climb the beautiful maiden’s hair to get to her tower room?

A Science World experiment Wednesday gave the 16-year-old Moscrop Secondary student her answer. It turns out, human hair is strong enough to hold a human.

Ho’s question was chosen as part of the B.C. government’s contest called “Choose Science, Go Far, Win Big” as part of the province’s Year of Science. Five more winners will be named in the spring.

In the experiment, Science World staff clamped a hank of long human hair (collected for use as a hair extension, but rejected) to a mechanical device, then attached a handle to the other end. Ho grabbed the handle and the rig lifted her off the ground. Then B.C.’s Minister of Science and Universities Ida Chong, followed by several spectators, took a turn.

“It didn’t break at all,” said Science World spokeswoman Amanda McCuaig.

Rapunzel Week: The Physics of Hair Climbing

From: Fairy Tale Physics: Myths and Legends Explained by Stephanie Peatling in Sydney for National Geographic News:

Poor Rapunzel. Not only did she get locked up in a tall tower, but she literally risked her neck by allowing a prince to climb up her hair.

Such dilemmas had long bothered Sue Stocklmayer, director of the National Centre for the Public Awareness of Science (CPAS) at the Australian National University in Canberra.

Stocklmayer resolved to do something about it, so she and fellow CPAS staff member Mike Gore, a retired professor, channeled their frustrations over fairy tale physics into a traveling science show.

Rapunzel's conundrum is one of the highlights of the show.

"We ask how it is that Rapunzel didn't lose her skull, given the weight of what she's [supporting]," Stocklmayer said.

"You might notice some of the enlightened [storybook] artists have cottoned on to this and show her wrapping her hair around something, like a bedpost, first.

"A small object"—such as a cooped-up princess—"can bear a lot of weight if the connecting device [her hair] is wrapped around something."

The prince is then technically hanging on to the bedpost rather than Rapunzel's scalp.

"So long as Rapunzel wraps her hair first, then the prince and she are Ok," Stocklmayer said. "So in her case, yes, it could happen."

Shameless plug: You can read more about Rapunzel on the SurLaLune website or in my book, Rapunzel and Other Maiden in the Tower Tales From Around the World.