The Internet is a Playground: Irreverent Correspondences of an Evil Online Genius

by David Thorne

Overview

"There is usually a fine line between genius and insanity, but in this case it has become very blurred. Some of the funniest and most clever writing I have read in years." (Terrance Fielding, WIRED magazine)

"I laughed so hard and uncontrollably I could hardly breathe. Reading this on public transport is not a good idea." (Penthouse magazine)

"Brilliantly funny." (Jezebel.com)

From the notorious Internet troublemaker who brought the world the explosively popular "Next Time I'll Spend the Money on Drugs Instead", in which he attempted to pay his chiropractor with a picture he drew of a spider; "Please Design a Logo for Me. With Pie Charts. For Free," which has been described as one of the most passed-on viral e-mails of all time; and, most recently, the staggeringly popular "Missing Missy", which has appeared everywhere from The Guardian to Jezebel to Andrew Sullivan's The Daily Dish, comes this profoundly funny collection of irreverent Internet mischief and comedy.

Featuring all of Thorne's viral success, including "Missing Missy", The Internet Is a Playground culls together every article and e- mail from Thorne's wildly popular website 27bslash6.com, as well as enough new material, available only in these pages, to keep you laughing-and, indeed, crying-until Thorne's next stroke-of-genius prank. Or hilarious hoax. Or well-publicized almost-stint in jail (really).

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781585428816
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	04/28/2011
Pages:	368
Sales rank:	1,135,455
Product dimensions:	8.04(w) x 5.56(h) x 0.88(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

David Thorne is the author of The Internet Is a Playground: Irreverent Correspondences of an Evil Online Genius, I’ll Go Home Then, It’s Warm and Has Chairs: The Unpublished Emails, and more.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Overdue Account 3

It's Like Twitter 10

Slyseb 19

Flash Drive Infringement 23

I Wish I Had a Monkey 29

Recommended Tire PSI 32

Matthew's Party 34

IKEA 41

Grubby Tenant 45

Matchbox Contents 50

One Thousand Characters 52

Permission Slip 61

Good Ideas for Websites 72

Blockbuster 76

Shannon's Lunch 85

Working Out with Jeff 88

Flight Commander 50 95

Foggot 53 99

Tom's Huge Head 109

Pi 3.14159265

Scott's Blog 111

Nigerian E-mail Sex Scam 114

Missing Missy 116

Page 121 121

Mark's Headlice 129

Strata 133

Courier 139

Good Drawer 143

One Girl, Twelve Cups 145

Simon's Guide to Camping 151

Massanutten 157

Bill's Guide to the Internet 166

SA Police 170

Investment Opportunity 177

Tennis 179

Rocket Science 183

Portals 184

Kaleth 192

Frogs 195

Tom's Diary 198

Roz Loves Adelaide 205

Craig Loves Dolphins 212

A Baby's Smile 215

Sell Me Your Car 217

Wilderness Survival 223

Photography 227

Ten Jobs 230

Professor Thomas 236

Chatroulette 239

Thomas Brady 243

Magic 8-Ball 244

CCTV 251

Monarto Zoo 254

St. Kilda Swamp 256

Beverly Hills 90210

Shannon's iMac 259

Lucius 261

Aqua Lucius 264

Love Letters from Dick 265

Life-size Lucius 277

Three Weeks in the USA 279

Belly Messages 283

Mr. Carganovsky 286

Mr. Carganovsky's Lawyer 290

That Tuesday 296

Jason's MacBook Pro 302

Tom the Sad Caveman 305

Speech 306

Fine Art Scanning 313

Dunning-Kruger Effect 317

John's Bicycle 328

Josh 331

Jenny 8675309

Bees Like Yellow 333

Bamesyfan67 340

Bababada Didva 345

Fahrenheit 451

Lesley 346

About the Author 355

Editorial Reviews

Everything about David Thorne is subversive. Even the name of his website (27b/6) grates against any conceivable marketing concept and Thorne himself admits to planting snide negative comments in internet articles that praise him. Such odious manners have earned him a huge fan base: He has almost 50,000 followers on Twitter and his 26b/6 address has attracted as many as 500,000 hits in a single day. In his new book, he brandishes his most outrageous hoaxes for all to behold. Profoundly funny.

Starred Review.

Hailed as a humorist for the digital age, Australian graphic designer Thorne (www.27bslash6.com) became an internet sensation after posting e-mail correspondences in which he attempted to pay his chiropractic bill with a crude drawing of a spider. Thorne's first book is a laugh-out-loud collection of his e-mail exchanges and satirical essays. As a rule, Thorne says he never initiates an e-mail; he just responds "stupidly" to what he receives. The book includes the biting "Please Design a Logo For Me. With Pie Charts. For Free," considered one of the most-forwarded e-mails of all time, as well as "Missing Missy," in which Thorne designs a poster to help a friend find her missing cat; he has great fun-at his friend's expense. The book reads as if The Onion published Letters From a Nut, but some of Thorn's antics-such as inviting himself to a neighbor's housewarming party-will make readers squirm. Others may offend ("Sponsor a Poor Black Boy"), or shock ("Belly Messages," in which Thorne pretends to be a horny woman on the Internet). Thorne's electronic voice is pointed, effective, and childishly exuberant, a bracing mix. His sense of humor could be called immature, but some people just want to have fun; Thorne does so at everyone else's expense. Illus.
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