We now have absolute proof that Pinky is more popular than…
Any. Other. Animal. At. The. Smithsonian. Zoo. I bet you thought I was going to quote John Lennon.
At least any that have their own animal cam. The elephants were the closest contenders, with over 600,000 views. Pah! Chicken feed!!!! Do you want to guess how many views the panda cam had in 2014? Oh…you already looked. Well, if you were waiting for me to tell you, the panda cam had in excess of 38,000,000 views. Rumor has it, the panda cam takes more than 60% of the zoo’s bandwidth (whatever that is). Well… do you really want to watch anyone other than Pinky?
editors note: We just received a clarification from a reader who actually knows this for a fact (because she works for the Smithsonian) that the panda cam actually takes up 60% of the ENTIRE SMITHSONIAN bandwidth (19 museums and 9 research centers), not just the Zoo. Ahem. Pinky IS an icon. Just sayin’
I thought not.
Proof positive of Pinky’s persuasive popularity!
Which leads to me to my other “truth is weirder than fiction but provides great inspiration for panda satire” news story: Pinky Money! Okay, it’s really just a commemorative coin, but a small bear can dream, can’t she? (Note: this is NOT an endorsement for Pinky Money.)
BTW, we apologize for not adding any more of the WeREndangered mug series that we promised. We were “away” (no, not in prison!) for a few weeks and then got sick on our return, so the new mug program is set back a bit. I’m going to get right on it though! Bee the Bear and Mr. Wu are not waiting very patiently, and neither are the Meihems. Stay tuned to the Panda Channel and we will let you know when they are on the shelf.
Be the Bear and vote Pinky Pinky Pinky in 2016!
Bob T Panda
Well she was likely going to get all my disposable income anyway. Why shouldn’t I be one of those collectors who convince himself or herself that his or her “passion” (AKA unadulterated obsession) has some financial value attached to it? Why not be like those parents who purchased Beanie Babies for “their children”, on the premise the toy-critters were an investment? Of course they were an investment, I always give my kindergarten-aged child valuable items and documents to smudge with her grubby paws, err, I mean hands.
And anyway, I wasn’t one of those mothers. At least I don’t think. No, I am sure of it. Although on occasion, The Princess Pinky does remind me of my child at her worst. I am sure it is a coincidence. Mommee and I would never have spoiled daughters, would we ?
I am so sorry you were I’ll upon your return from your adventures, and look forward to seeing your new designs. Be well. Keep Being the Bear.
Pinky is counting on…um…people like you, who cannot resist her charms. It’s obvious that I can’t resist them either. Look at how much cartoon tome she has wrested from the other pandas. What I am going to do if Mei and others have new cubbies this year, I just don’t know.
“Dat was so unfairs!” Oh, I love these little triplets.
I have another way for the Princess to channel her completely deserved popularity: Selfies with pandas! Who doesn’t want a picture with Pinky?
That is an excellent idea. Stay tuned! Who WOULDN’T want a selfie with a panda?
She is so so smart … loving the bar chart, and the amount of paper added to Pinky’s column. I also agree with lil’ minion: ‘Pinky can do anyfing’. Of course I am in favor of Pinky Money.
#Vote4Pinky #Pinky4Presydent
Pinky is prepared to go the distance. In fact, she has already purchased 203,090 gallons of pink paint, to paint the white house pink, once she is elected.
OMG, The Pink House!!! I want to see that !! Pinky need to be elected Presydent 🙂
#Vote4Pinky
White paint is sooooooooo boring! Vote Pinky Pinky Pinky!
Well, why shouldn’t she print her own money? Hasn’t the government on occasion done the same? It would be fun to have pink money! At the rate we are going it could out rank greenbacks any day now.
Good points!
I want Pinky Money!! A Pink House would be extraordinary. Wonder who will be painting it? Can I volunteer?
And loved her animal synopses – Tigers – Bad Kitties 🙂
I need some Pinky Money too. Wonder where I can get some…. And yes, Pinky will be looking for volunteers to help her paint the White House pink. (MX: wait till you get elected dear….you don’t want to get into trouble doing it too early.
PP: aw mommee! I want to be prepared!
MX: sigh…..)
That’s right Pinky! You get an early start on all that re-decorating!
I bet First Dogs, Bo & Sunny (they kinda look like Pannas, just colors reversed) would be glad to show you around. Heck, with the right “temporary coloring adjustments” to your fur, the Secret Service will probably think the First Family got a new PWD!
And we all know Anne “It’s Our Turn!” Romney was measuring for drapes & getting estimates on the installation of the moat long before the election!
PP: mommee says i should wait a liddle bit longer before buying paint, but i just know dat ebbryone will vote for pinky! Paint is on sale right now so it would be a beary good time to stock up. Plus it would show ebbryone how ‘sponsible i am wif money and dat dey would be smart to ‘lect pinky and dey will be Beary Sorree if dey don’t. Oh…mommee says i should not threaten people if i want dem to vote for pinky (VOTE PINKY!!!!) so nebber mind dat last liddle bit.
You know I’m with you Pinky on the “early start” stuff!
BTW: Are you gonna be showing dem how ‘sponsible you are by using “Pinky Money” to buy the paint? Um, better set aside some “Benjamins” in case we have to bail you out of jail.
And they will be Beary Sorree if they don’t vote for you and one of the “Klown Kar” people gets in! That’s not threatening, that’s just urging them to think!
VOTE PINKY!!!!
They WILL be beary sorree if one of the “Klown Kar” peoples gets in. And why would anybody arrest Pinky? But we will keep some Pinky Money in reserve just in case we need any unexpected “campaign expenses” (wink, wink, nudge, nudge.) We appreciate your support, and even though you are a cat, we might just have a cabinet post for you when we is elected. Pinky does not forget her friends. (Or her enemies…just saying, Mr. Wu.)
‘Xactly! And just heard that dude with the mangy animal on his head has just jumped on board. Time to invest in XXX-strength mange killer; flea, tick & vermin spray! Guess that would fall in the “unexpected campaign expenses” category {along with the cub-bana boys, palm fans, new crown & wand, & new wardrobes for Pinky, Mommee, Daddee, big Brudder, Grandpanna, etc.}
Saw the great news that the Smithy is promoting and legitimizing “Pinky Money”! If an well respected establishment like that is on-board, can the Treasury be far behind??? And people were hoping to get a “lady” on money…who better than Pinky!!!
Wow, so honored to even be considered for a cabinet post! Tanx!!!
Mehitabel thought that Pinky should be sure to have more cats in cabinet posts, so glad you are on board.
I am afraid I am going to have to hold my nose and read the entire speech given by The Donald, so that The Bob can pull some little gems to satirise in his declaration announcement. It would be funny if it wasn’t so scary and embarrassing that someone this inarticulate could be running for president. Vote Pinky! Better a cartoon panda than a complete idiot.
Mehitabel is very wise & knows personally how important it is to court the Cat vote. After all, we DO rule the interwebz, there are a lot of us, and we vote! If I’m not mistaken, wasn’t she one of the charter members of “Dogs Against Romney, Cat Division”?
LOL, there is no way I could watch The Donald’s speech. I would be torn between batting at his hair or rushing to give the poor animal assistance if it looked it was trying to escape! Vote Pinky fur sure!
I made it through a whole three minutes, before I was choking with laughter so much that I had to quit watching lest I break a rib or something. I think the phrase that sent me over the edge was when he said, quite condescendingly, I might add, that, “I assume SOME of them are good people”
Mehitabel was watching to see if the animal on top of his head was going to make a break for it, and she didn’t appreciate it when I turned it off.
Nevertheless, it is excellent fodder for panda satire.
And yes, Mehitabel was resident of the western cat division of “Dogs Against Romney.” It did pain her to do anything with dogs (see her posts with Cordelia’s Mom, Still) but sometimes a cat just has to suck it up and sit in her big girl litter box.