5 ms·

I never even knew the Onion did print. Hell I never even knew they were alive since what, 1988? Damn, I really thought the Onion was just a small little website

by rfnslyr 13y ago

I never even knew the Onion did print. Hell I never even knew they were alive since what, 1988? Damn, I really thought the Onion was just a small little website with funny articles I saw on Reddit once in awhile, but not a widely known website. Sucks, I'd have loved to read a print version of the Onion.

jlgreco 13y ago
I know they at least use to have a few coin operated newspaper vending machines on street corners in Philadelphia. Not sure about elsewhere, I only ever noticed them in Philly.
- bmelton 13y ago
  Are you sure they were coin-op? Everywhere I've ever seen them, they were free. They were definitely in a ... well, I don't know what you call the newspaper distribution boxes, but they were in one (presumably to protect against rain and such), but they were always free to take everywhere I've seen.
  - jlgreco 13y ago
    They very well may have been free, I'm not sure. That same general sort of machine though at least.
    - bmelton 13y ago
      Ah. Well there goes the idea I had in which they charged for it everywhere except DC (which would have been hilarious).
    - ward 13y ago
      I believe they were free, or maybe the box...thing was just broken. I remember being amazed seeing The Onion in a printed version when I was in Philadelphia for a bit (I live in Belgium), always just assumed it was but a site. Saw them outside the Superfresh on South and 10th, I believe.
smacktoward 13y ago
It started out in print, founded back in the late '80s by a couple of students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. They were smart and jumped on the web very early (the mid-90s), which helped them build a national audience instead of just a local upper-Midwest one.
- jmadsen 13y ago
  I'll toss in my "isn't life weird?" story... When I was at Madison during that time, I applied at one of the 2 student papers to be a sales rep. I went on to be the Sales Manager for the paper. The guy I won out the job over decided to start the Onion with his friend. You've never heard of me :-( ---- When they first started, their sales tactic was that the paper was a small tabloid -ize, with the entire bottom 3 inches or so a double-column coupon book. So you just trimmed off the bottom of the weekly issue & went out to the bars/restaurants with it
  - rfnslyr 13y ago
    Man that's something that would stick with you forever. Ugh, not recognizing opportunities in their infancy always scares me.
    - AlexDanger 13y ago
      Or, to flip this on its head - remember this tale the next time you miss out on a job to 'the other guy'. Perhaps it will be a trigger for your own personal Onion moment.
    - mikeash 13y ago
      Personally, I think he should feel great. There's no guarantee he would have done something so remarkable if he had been the one to lose the job, but he indirectly helped get The Onion started this way.
      - jmadsen 13y ago
        That's the attitude! Personally, I just think it's an interesting story I bore people with at cocktail parties. I think people who are inclined to "start the Onion" tend to do so anyway; he may have done it on the side, or in a slightly different manner, but he would have done something similar. I don't think I really had any direct affect on his life's fate or karma
bmelton 13y ago
Might be due to locality. I was a fan of the Onion a long time ago, from their website, but it wasn't until I moved away from podunk Memphis, TN and into the DC-area that I ever saw a print copy. Not surprisingly, they're pretty pervasive (or, I guess were is more correct now) in the DC area, which is somewhat amusing as DC is the target of so much of their humor.

by rfnslyr 13y ago

jlgreco 13y ago

I know they at least use to have a few coin operated newspaper vending machines on street corners in Philadelphia. Not sure about elsewhere, I only ever noticed them in Philly.

bmelton 13y ago
Are you sure they were coin-op? Everywhere I've ever seen them, they were free. They were definitely in a ... well, I don't know what you call the newspaper distribution boxes, but they were in one (presumably to protect against rain and such), but they were always free to take everywhere I've seen.
- jlgreco 13y ago
  They very well may have been free, I'm not sure. That same general sort of machine though at least.
  - bmelton 13y ago
    Ah. Well there goes the idea I had in which they charged for it everywhere except DC (which would have been hilarious).
  - ward 13y ago
    I believe they were free, or maybe the box...thing was just broken. I remember being amazed seeing The Onion in a printed version when I was in Philadelphia for a bit (I live in Belgium), always just assumed it was but a site. Saw them outside the Superfresh on South and 10th, I believe.

smacktoward 13y ago

It started out in print, founded back in the late '80s by a couple of students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. They were smart and jumped on the web very early (the mid-90s), which helped them build a national audience instead of just a local upper-Midwest one.

jmadsen 13y ago
I'll toss in my "isn't life weird?" story... When I was at Madison during that time, I applied at one of the 2 student papers to be a sales rep. I went on to be the Sales Manager for the paper. The guy I won out the job over decided to start the Onion with his friend. You've never heard of me :-( ---- When they first started, their sales tactic was that the paper was a small tabloid -ize, with the entire bottom 3 inches or so a double-column coupon book. So you just trimmed off the bottom of the weekly issue & went out to the bars/restaurants with it
- rfnslyr 13y ago
  Man that's something that would stick with you forever. Ugh, not recognizing opportunities in their infancy always scares me.
  - AlexDanger 13y ago
    Or, to flip this on its head - remember this tale the next time you miss out on a job to 'the other guy'. Perhaps it will be a trigger for your own personal Onion moment.
  - mikeash 13y ago
    Personally, I think he should feel great. There's no guarantee he would have done something so remarkable if he had been the one to lose the job, but he indirectly helped get The Onion started this way.
    - jmadsen 13y ago
      That's the attitude! Personally, I just think it's an interesting story I bore people with at cocktail parties. I think people who are inclined to "start the Onion" tend to do so anyway; he may have done it on the side, or in a slightly different manner, but he would have done something similar. I don't think I really had any direct affect on his life's fate or karma

bmelton 13y ago

Might be due to locality. I was a fan of the Onion a long time ago, from their website, but it wasn't until I moved away from podunk Memphis, TN and into the DC-area that I ever saw a print copy. Not surprisingly, they're pretty pervasive (or, I guess were is more correct now) in the DC area, which is somewhat amusing as DC is the target of so much of their humor.