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US vice presidents get octopus headwear in new book

Kickstarter project pairs up cephalopods and all former vice presidents in an arty and unusual book.

Gael Cooper
CNET editor Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, a journalist and pop-culture junkie, is co-author of "Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops? The Lost Toys, Tastes and Trends of the '70s and '80s," as well as "The Totally Sweet '90s." She's been a journalist since 1989, working at Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, Twin Cities Sidewalk, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and NBC News Digital. She's Gen X in birthdate, word and deed. If Marathon candy bars ever come back, she'll be first in line.
Expertise Breaking news, entertainment, lifestyle, travel, food, shopping and deals, product reviews, money and finance, video games, pets, history, books, technology history, generational studies. Credentials
  • Co-author of two Gen X pop-culture encyclopedia for Penguin Books. Won "Headline Writer of the Year"​ award for 2017, 2014 and 2013 from the American Copy Editors Society. Won first place in headline writing from the 2013 Society for Features Journalism.
Gael Cooper
2 min read

Despite being held in Farmville, Tuesday's vice presidential debate was a little less exciting than last week's debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, which is being called the most-watched debate ever.

You know what would've made it better? Octopuses on the candidates' heads.

Artist Jonathan Crow has drawn a picture of every American vice president, from John Adams to Joe Biden, with an octopus perched on each of their heads. Now he's made his drawings into a book, "The Veeptopus Book: 48 Vice Presidents & Octopuses," and is moving towards his Kickstarter goal of $9,500.

"If you like cephalopods, and/or Joe Biden, I think you're really going to like this book," a wry Crow said in his Kickstarter video. The book also includes trivial tidbits about veeps past, but really, it's all about the portraits, including a dignified Walter Mondale oblivious to the cuddly octopus snuggling his head.


Crow said the book is 90 percent done, and he's just waiting on the outcome of the election so he can include the winning veep. He's already completed octopus-topped images of both Clinton's running mate Sen. Tim Kaine and Trump's running mate Gov. Mike Pence, all set to add in.

What's the connection between octopuses and vice presidents? Crow noted that some vice presidents did make a name for themselves, but others faded away into obscurity. He calls them "the bronze-medal winners of history." And while octopuses are smart, he pointed out they make lousy hats.

"In other words, they're the perfect accessory for a job as public, awkward and absurd as the vice presidency," Crow said.