what is the significance of potzrebie?

[datasuspect]

?

[Gildor Inglorion]

1. It's a magical incantation used by the creators of "Mad" magazine

to summon the Great Holy Divine Spirit, Alfred E. Neuman (more commonly seen as pot r. zebie)
:evilgrin:

[Gildor Inglorion]

2. Sorry, I couldn't resist. Here's a BETTER answer

Potrzebie
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Potrzebie is a seemingly nonsensical word (actually Polish), popularized by its use as a running gag in the early issues of MAD Magazine not long after the comic book began in 1952. The word is pronounced "po-TSCHEB-yeh" in Polish and means "as needed" or "as necessary". Its Eastern European feel was a perfect fit for the New York Jewish style of the magazine.

MAD editor Harvey Kurtzman spotted the word printed in the Polish language section of a multi-languaged "Instructions for Use" sheet accompanying a bottle of aspirin, and Kurtzman decided it would make an appropriate non sequitur. After cutting the word out of the instruction sheet, he made copies and used rubber cement to paste "Potrzebie" randomly into the middle of MAD satires. For instance, in "Book! Movie!" in MAD 13 (July 1954), the word was pasted in the background under a picture on a wall. It was illustrated as a rebus in "Puzzle Pages!" in MAD 19 (January, 1955). Frequent repetition gave it the status of a catch phrase or in-joke among the readership which continues to the present day. In the first "MAD Style Guide," edited by Bhob Stewart in 1994, the word was made available for display on T-shirts and other licensed products. It also sees occasional use as a metasyntactic variable by hackers.

A typical appearance of the word is exemplified by the MAD version of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, which begins:

"Whan that swithin potrzebie,
"The burgid prillie giben heebie-jeebie."

In issue 33, MAD published a partial table of the "Potrzebie System of Weights and Measures", developed by 19-year-old Donald E. Knuth, later a famed computer scientist. According to Knuth, the basis of this new revolutionary system is the potrzebie, which equals the thickness of MAD issue 26, or 2.263348517438173216473 mm. Volume was measured in ngogn (equal to 1000 cubic potrzebies), mass in blintz (equal to the mass of 1 ngogn of halavah, which is "a form of pie a specific gravity of 3.1416 and a specific heat of .31416"), and time in seven named units (decimal powers of the average earth rotation, equal to 1 "clark"). The system also features such units as whatmeworry, cowznofski, vreeble, hoo and hah.

The word had a great impact among readers, as evidenced by jazz trombonist Bob Brookmeyer's tune "Potrezebie" (sic), recorded on the album The Dual Role of Bob Brookmeyer (1954), reissued on compact disc in 1992.

[Mikimouse]

3. Is it not the headquarters of...

The North American Veeblefetzer Corporation?:evilgrin: (yeah, I read it too)

[Lydia Leftcoast]

5. And in their fake interviews and news stories, the subjects of the stories

would be from Potrzebie, Ohio or have Potrzebie as their last name.

When I was of the age to read MAD, I "thought" the word as "Port-Zeebie." It wasn't until later that I noticed that the first syllable wasn't "Port."

[MN ChimpH8R]

4. Gotta love MAD magazine

It was my introduction to subversiveness - the first thing that taught me that you can't believe everything you see or hear.

Now does anyone remember 43-Man Squamish?

http://www.collectmad.com/madcoversite/index-quiz_olympics.html

[trackfan]

7. 43-Man Squamish was one of my favorites

I loved the detailed descriptions and names of all the silly positions.
MAD Magazine was a major influence on my psyche when I was a youth.

[Rabrrrrrr]

9. Yes! Always been one of my favorites as well as Lance Parketrip,

Noted Notary Public.

I have a shitload (30?) of old MAD paperbacks that I can't wait to get out of storage and read through again.

[Mikimouse]

10. I loved that game! Gadfry, didn't realize tehre were so many MAD people on

this board. Though I should have known, if the number of Tom Lehrer fans is any indication.

[mykpart]

6. I thought it was the name of a fictional town

in Mad Magazine.

[Rabrrrrrr]

8. Its fershlugginer!

Much more so than the veeblefetzer.