The man, the myth the legend; this is Dr. Seuss. Known for writing some of the most popular children's books of all-time, Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss had an accomplished life. The man who wrote the beloved books of our childhood was undoubtedly ahead of his time. His success didn't happen overnight; he went through several plights. Now, we shine a light on what most may not have known about the self-proclaimed doctor.
Was He Really A Doctor?
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Surprise, Dr. Seuss wasn't a real doctor. He may have been surgical with the way he stitched together nursery rhymes, but he had no doctorate to show for it. He only gained an honorary doctorate once his alma Mater Dartmouth gave it to him in 1956.
Do you want to know how he got the name? He didn't call himself that for no reason. Dr. Seuss added the 'Dr.' part due to his father always wanting him to have a career in the medical field.
Seuss Didn't See Eye-to-eye With Kids
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Dr. Seuss' widow Audrey once said that Seuss was afraid of children. She said he would ask, "What might they do next? What might they ask next?" She added, "He couldn't just sit down on the floor and play with them." That's an unusual reaction to the audience he caters to.
In some cases, they say opposites attract. Perhaps his discomfort with children is attributed to his beautiful writing for them. Seuss is also quoted saying, “You have ‘em, I’ll amuse ‘em.”
A Bet Created Green Eggs and Ham
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Back in 1960, Dr. Seuss had an editor named Bennett Cerf. Competition often lives in the workplace, so Cerf bet Seuss that he couldn't write a book containing only 50 words.
The resulting product was
Green Eggs and Ham; one of the most classic books he has ever written. It's safe to say we know who won this bet. If Cerf were smart, he would have challenged Seuss more often to see what else he can produce.
When Making Up Words Pays Off
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Writers create different combinations of sentences all the time. They also figure out different techniques on how to make words flow together. One thing they aren't all that known for is creating new words. Dr. Seuss made a word people use every day.
Seuss' influence is more profound than you might think. In his book
If I Ran the Zoo published back in 1950, Seuss recorded the first usage of the word "nerd." Now you know who to thank whenever someone calls you that.
If At First You Don't Succeed...
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The used to be widely popular movie rental store Blockbuster turned down the chance of buying Netflix before they blew up. A newspaper fired Walt Disney for "lacking creativity." Look at both of them now. The same model of success holds true with Dr. Seuss.
Seuss' first book
And to Think I Saw It on Mulberry Street didn't get accepted by 27 publishers. He was close to burning the book. However, one publisher took it in 1937. The moral here is not to give up.
Seuss Had To Find A Way To Make Money
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Life is hard, and we have to make money to support ourselves. For Seuss, he had to take care of not only his self but his wife too. That was hard during the Great Depression so what did he do?
Dr. Seuss gathered money by drawing cartoons for advertisements. He garnered a name for himself with the pictures he drew for an insect-killing substance called Flit. He coined the phrase "Quick, Henry, the Flit!" He also drew for NBC, General Electric and many more.
Yertle The Turtle Was About...
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It took some relentless probing, but Dr. Seuss finally admitted who
Yertle the Turtle was about. Yertle was a direct representation of a man they call Hitler. The greedy turtle was a ruler of the pond but wanted more. He asked the turtles to stack up so that he can tower over the pond and survey the land better.
The crazy aspect about the book is what the publishers had a problem with. In the end, the turtle at the bottom lets out a burp, and the stack gets set free after Yertle falls. A burp had never happened in a children's book, so they were concerned about that.
Seuss Made Horton About Japan
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Dr. Seuss often used his books to speak about the social unrest in the world. Like we just discovered in the previous slide about Hitler, Horton Hears a Who wasn't merely about an elephant hearing noises.
This book was an allegory about the problems post-war Japan. More specifically, how America treated Japan. The argument was that the country needed help after WWII from a bigger nation. He wrote this book after a trip to Hiroshima. He also dedicated it to a friend from Japan.
Up next, Seuss played an interesting part in WWII.
Propaganda Cartoons Were His Thing At One Point
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Not only did Dr. Seuss draw advertisement cartoons, but he also let his art dabble in political affairs. He joined the army during WWII and was the commander of the Animation Department of the First Motion Picture Unit. His responsibility was to make war propaganda cartoons.
He had a list of other duties as well. Seuss was in charge of writing promotional films for the troops, and he developed a series of training films for the soldiers. Seuss was busy,
but did you know he wasn't always the man you know?
Seuss Was Not Always His Name
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Dr. Seuss' mother's maiden name is Seuss. However, he didn't use it until he reached college and for an interesting reason. One year, Seuss got caught with alcohol in his dorm room, and the school magazine asked him to step down.
To keep writing, he turned to Seuss. He used Seuss as a pen name that just so happens to be his real name. And a bonus fact, it was never meant to rhyme with goose. Seuss' original pronunciation sounds more like voice, but he eventually gave in to the popular articulation of the name.