Beer, Putty, and French writers

In both Nitra and Bratislava, I've spotted these signs. ("Pivo" is the Slovak word for beer.)

It's impossible for me to pass them without thinking, "What's your favorite word? What's your least favorite word? What sound or noise inspires you? What sound or noise do you hate?" and so forth.

But no one gets the joke. Bernard Pivot, pronounced exactly the same way as this brand of beverage, is a French journalist (and spelling-contest creator, and the eventual host of "Bullion de Culture"). Theatre kids or avid Bravo watchers might recognize the name from Inside the Actors' Studio, where James Lipton uses his 10-question interview to wrap each episode.

This being Europe, I thought the name might be deliberate wordplay. After all, France isn't so far from here, and it could be an international company. But thus far, no one I've asked has heard of Pivot the journalist, or Bernard the beer. Oh well. Jon called me a nerd when I asked him about it. I suppose he's right.

Silly Putty, on the other hand, is something known to ALL Slovaks. Right now, it's something of a craze. But the not-quite-solid, not-quite-liquid substance has grown, in its old age, from silly to intellectual - the stuff has undergone technological advances since its invention in 1950, and has taken a new name to match.

"Thinking Putty," a great gob of clay comparable to Nickelodeon's GAK, is apparently popular in places ranging from the preschool classroom to the executive boardroom. It's used as a stress-reliever, in much the same way Americans will have those bulbous pink rubber heads, with squishy ears and convex eyes, to poke and prod at their desks.

I came into the department last week to find my handler, Dusan, ordering a new supply of metallic putties from the web site. And if that's not spiffy enough, there's always the magnetic variety, or the thermal-sensitive color changing kind.

No little plastic egg, though. And don't expect to find this at ordinary 50-cent toy dispensers.

But I've heard it will still take the impression of newspaper comics, just like its predecessor.