In just four months, Lorri Johnston has quickly proven her worth to AMD, tackling the issues the rest of us are afraid to address. Just this morning, in fact, between mouthfuls of leftover Halloween candy (thoughtfully provided by our good friends at ILF Media), she contemplated the lowly Milk Dud.
“Why,” she asked, “would you name something so delicious a dud?”
Truly, I felt as if I were in the presence of a Zen master—for this was no simple question, but a kōan meant to provoke the “great doubt.” She was testing me.
A quick glance in my American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language merely reinforced the paradox:
dud n. 1. A bomb, shell, or explosive round that fails to detonate. 2. Informal One that is disappointingly ineffective or unsuccessful.
Clearly, further meditation was needed. On to Wikipedia:
According to the manufacturer, the word “Milk” in the name refers to the large amount of milk in the product; the use of “Dud” came about because the original aim of having a perfectly round piece was found to be impossible.
So the Milk Dud is both a failure and a tasty treat! My analytic intellect is exhausted, my will spent; I am one step closer to enlightenment.
