The first time I heard of Josh. A Cagan was his brilliant “Letter From Hollywood” he wrote for The Morning News during the Hollywood writers’ strike of 2007. I forgot about Josh until he joined Twitter and started dropping hilarious one-liners and eventually headline-inspired punchlines. When he opened up “Punchline Friday” as a user contest, I thought I’d participate and offered up my own entry. I won that first contest, possibly due to a lack of other entrants. Josh followed up to get my address so he could send my prize. I thought the whole thing was a joke, but sent him my address anyway.
The next week, I got a delivery addressed from “American Science & Surplus.” I opened the package (a reused McDonald’s coffee cup box) to find a box full of a random assortment of bizarre consumer goods and toys including glow-in-the-dark temporary snake and lizard tattoos, a jumbo key holder (shaped like a key, naturally), a fanny pack, and a 9-piece wood turkey decoration set. Surprise! I knew right then and there that I’d made a very special new Internet friend.
When we launched Plinky, Josh joined and started writing some of the best answers we’d seen. So it’s our pleasure to present the week of Cagan from today through Sunday, during which you’ll be delighted, challenged, repulsed, and more by Josh’s fantastic prompts. Enjoy.