Today’s Piraro/Wayno Bizarro crosses iconic space aliens from popular culture (sequestered, according to lore, in Area 51 in Nevada) with an anthropomorphic Heinz ketchup bottle (advertising itself, on its label, as one of the Heinz 57 varieties):
(#1) This unlikely couple met on the arid high desert of Nevada; but the ways of the heart are inscrutable, so they now live together in a rough cabin in Area 54, along with their oddly tasty progeny — bottled as Out Of This World salsa verde (If you’re puzzled by the odd symbols in the cartoon — Dan Piraro says there are 6 in this strip — see this Page.)
Background: Area 51. From my 3/7/18 posting “Aria 51”:
Yesterday’s Rhymes With Orange, with a challenge to cartoon understanding:
(#2)
For basic appreciation of the cartoon, you need to recognize that the event in it is a stage performance by a singer with accompanying trio; to recognize that all the figures in the cartoon are conventional space aliens from popular culture; to know that an aria is a song in an opera; and to know that Area 51 is a highly classified area in Nevada associated in popular culture with the investigation of extraterrestrials.
Then you can groan at the aria vs. area pun.
Background: Heinz 57. From Wikipedia:
Heinz 57 is a [short form] of the historical advertising slogan “57 Varieties” by the H. J. Heinz Company located in Pittsburgh [PA]. It was developed from the marketing campaign that told consumers about the numerous products available from the Heinz company.
Henry J. Heinz introduced the marketing slogan “57 pickle Varieties” in 1896. He later claimed he was inspired by an advertisement he saw while riding an elevated train in New York City (a shoe store boasting “21 styles”). The reason for “57” is unclear.
(#3) H. J. Heinz Company marketing material c.1909 (from Wikipedia)… The first product to be promoted under the new “57 varieties” slogan was prepared horseradish. By 1940, the term “Heinz 57” had become so synonymous with the company the name was used to market a steak sauce.
The Wikipedia article has a 1934 Heinz cookbook list of 57 varieties: baked beans, soups, pudding, peanut butter, cooked pasta, pickles, relishes, sauces, condiments, olives, vinegars, breakfast cereals, tomato juice. Yes, of course, jiggled so as to end up with 57. (The company, already a huge conglomerate by 1934, markets considerably more than 57 products.)
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