By an interesting coincidence, barely 48 hours ago Susan Hough (renowned USGS seismologist and author) started a thread at the S.G.E. newsgroup titled "We have met the G.O. Fizzicists [and they are us]." Fans of Walt Kelley's "Pogo" comic strip will recognize the reference ("We have met the enemy . . .").

But the joke goes a little further than just the well-known Pogo quote (which itself is a take-off on U.S. Navy Commodore Perry's famous 1813 pronouncement); the Pogo statement appeared in a 1971 strip celebrating Earth Day. As an aside - Kelley's first use of that approximate formulation appeared in 1951, in "The Pogo Papers," as part of an attack on McCarthyism (" . . . we shall meet the enemy, and not only may he be ours, he may be us").

Finally, to complete the coincidence, and humor, Ms. Hough includes a link to an article she has recently written for the SSA, "Seismology and the International Geophysical Year,", (see link below), and that article, in the first paragraph, includes a link to a whole series of Pogo strips lampooning the first International Geophysical Year - an 18-month long year, which incongruity gives grist for the possum's mill ("Well, if you scientists can’t figure how long a year is any better than THAT … what’s we gone b’lieve when you gits done with the tape measure?”). That collection of strips was published by Kelley with the title "G.O. Fizzicle Pogo." It's well worth the read.

See link.

Mike Williams

• Seismology and the International Geophysical Year