Day 49: What Did Batman Say To Robin?

Holy Competition Batman! These Two Things Are Sort Of The Same, But Different. But The Same. But Different. 

Why is the Alphabet Song and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star sung in the same tune?

We are all familiar with the Alphabet Song. We are all familiar with Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. We are all familiar with Coke. We are all familiar with Pepsi. We are all familiar with Barnes & Noble. We are all familiar with Borders. What do all of these things have in common? One came first, the other came second, and also, no one cares why.

One great idea spawns an even better second idea. Competing products start and are defined by the consumer. Like who invented the first chair? And who invented the 2^nd chair? And why are lions so afraid of chairs? Obviously, people were tired of standing around. Enter chair. The first chair was just a stick in the middle of a flattened surface. This was good for the time, but people eventually got confused on which part to sit on. Ass injuries went through the roof. Enter 2^nd chair, a beautiful, yet simple design. 4 legs, a flat surface, a back to lean on.  

Before you knew it, people started making all kinds of chairs. Benches, bleachers, stools, folding chairs, beach chairs, folding chairs, stools, plastic chairs, wooden chairs, metal chairs, soft chairs, sofas, love seats, car seats, wheel chairs, rocking chairs. I think that’s all the kinds of chairs there is.

The story is similar with the Alphabet Song.  Because people were far, far stupider in beginning times, they needed a short mnemonic device to remember the alphabet. “Always Beware of Cats Darting Erratically Forward Going Halfway Into Jungles, Kathy, Lest Mopey Neighbors Open Poorly Quitted Radioactive Sunlamps To Ultra-Violet Waves or X-rays, Yo Zack!”

It eventually took the dedication of famous cryptographer, Althea Thoon, to write a simple, yet catchy song with only letters to remember the alphabet as we know it.  Before anyone could realize the popularity of the song, an astronomer, known only by his moniker, “That Lonely Guy” took that melody and started applying it to the only things he spent most of his weekend nights with, the stars. Hence Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. This resulted in two songs of the same tune with no one understanding which came first or why. Well, dear reader, I hope you can sleep easier having one less question.