Table Topics – Tell us about another magazine with a similar title

Table Topics is the impromptu speaking section of a Toastmasters club meeting. Participants give a one-to-two minute answer to a question. One series of questions could involve starting with a title, and asking to tell us about what would be in another magazine with a similar title.

For example, starting with Reader’s Digest we might think of the cartoon character Elmer Fudd, who refers to his nemesis Bugs Bunny as a wabbit, and come up (as shown above) with Weeder’s Digest. Obviously it would be a gardening magazine, and the cover story would be on wascally wabbits and how they want our wutabagas. That title is already used for a gardening newsletter in Washington from the WSU Whatcom County Extension.

Starting with Popular Science we might come up with (as shown above) a paranormal magazine called Popular Séance. It might have articles on topics like how to run a Séance or do a Cold Reading.

At a supermarket checkout counter I saw a copy of Clean Eating, (a questionable concept) which inspired (as shown above) its opposite.

Sears catalogs used to have a selection of products labeled Good, Better and Best (which can be flipped to Bad, Worse, and Worst). The venerable Good Housekeeping magazine could inspire its opposite (as shown above). Similarly, Better Homes and Gardens could inspire the Worse ones.  

Images of Houdini, a chitlins sign, and a back porch all came from Wikimedia Commons.