What is a LibertyBob

2009-05-14

Perhaps you've never heard of; I'm famous for my obscurity.

So I was asked by a curious gal, "What's a liberty bob?" She heard the name of the site, but out of context the name meant little. That makes sense. Still, I can't give a proper answer without my natural inclinations getting involved.

Using my inherent Power of Obnoxiousness, I started on a small story of historical note. You see, back in the Second World War, everyone in the country made sacrifices to pitch in. Many women donated their hair for use in the war effort. As a result, people called the short hair cut the "liberty bob". Ok, not really, I'll try again.

All right, I'll try it again. The phrase started out in frat houses on a college campus in Florida. During their drunken parties, many of the fellows walked around "stimulated" while not wearing trousers. Because things moved freely, the distinctive patter of motion earned the name "liberty bob" as it bobbed from side to side. Ok, maybe not.

Here's the way it really is. Once upon a time, there was a political candidate who created a web site. At the time, many voters were less web-savvy. To increase the likelihood that voters would visit the site, he made the name east to remember. He shortened his party name, Libertarian" and added his first name "Bob" to get LibertyBob.

After the failed campaign (he got his intended number of votes, but not his intended percentage) people kept visiting the web site. LibertyBob decided to keep adding content. It is also used, from time to time, to test out web programming ideas, though his real life job takes care of most of that. It is also a good place to write and use bad jokes.

So there you have it, one of the real stories behind LibertyBob.com. That's why I do what I do.