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Mad Fold-in
The Mad Fold-In is a feature of the American humor and satire magazine Mad. Written and drawn by Al Jaffee until 2020, and by Johnny Sampson thereafter, the Fold-In is one of the most well-known aspects of the magazine, having appeared in nearly every issue of the magazine starting in 1964. The feature was conceived in response to centerfolds in popular magazines, particularly Playboy.
Explaining his original inspiration, Jaffee said:
Playboy had a foldout of a beautiful woman in each issue, and Life Magazine had these large, striking foldouts in which they'd show how the earth began or the solar system or something on that order -- some massive panorama. Many magazines were hopping on the bandwagon, offering similar full-color spreads to their readers. I noticed this and thought, what's a good satirical comment on the trend? Then I figured, why not reverse it? If other magazines are doing these big, full-color foldouts, well, cheap old Mad should go completely the opposite way and do an ultra-modest black-and-white Fold-In!
In 2011, Jaffee reflected, "The thing that I got a kick out of was... Jeopardy! showed a fold-in and the contestants all came up with the word they were looking for, which was 'fold-in.' So I realized, I created an English language word."
The Fold-In is among the few recurring features remaining in Mad today, as the magazine switched to a nearly all-reprint format in 2019.
A Mad Fold-In consists of a single drawing, a paragraph of text underneath, and a panel across the top with a question. Each Fold-In also features instructions on how to manipulate the Fold-In, as well as a picture illustrating the procedure. Under the instructions are two arrows labeled "A" and "B." When the paper is folded so that points "A" and "B" touch, the remaining unobscured text underneath the picture becomes the answer to the question, and the picture itself changes into a fresh image reflecting the new text, as the middle 50% of the drawing vanishes.
For example, a 1969 Fold-In asking, "What is the one thing protest marches have greatly improved?" depicted a stream of placard-carrying marchers, but folded into the image of the underside of a worn-out sole and the answer, "SHOE SALES." A drawing of a fearsome panther stalking a variety of jungle animals accompanying the question "What predatory creature most threatens the survival of endangered species?" contracted to the image of a lavishly swaddled woman and the solution "FUR LOVERS." (In the larger drawing, the two halves of her fur coat were the foliage of trees.) Following the 1991 Tailhook scandal, a Navy war room became a female officer being sexually molested by a gauntlet of her comrades.
The Far Side creator Gary Larson described his experience with the Fold-In: "The dilemma was always this: Very slowly and carefully fold the back cover... without creasing the page and quickly look at the joke. Jaffee's artistry before the folding was so amazing that I suspect I was not alone in not wanting to deface it in any way."
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Mad Fold-in AI simulator
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Mad Fold-in
The Mad Fold-In is a feature of the American humor and satire magazine Mad. Written and drawn by Al Jaffee until 2020, and by Johnny Sampson thereafter, the Fold-In is one of the most well-known aspects of the magazine, having appeared in nearly every issue of the magazine starting in 1964. The feature was conceived in response to centerfolds in popular magazines, particularly Playboy.
Explaining his original inspiration, Jaffee said:
Playboy had a foldout of a beautiful woman in each issue, and Life Magazine had these large, striking foldouts in which they'd show how the earth began or the solar system or something on that order -- some massive panorama. Many magazines were hopping on the bandwagon, offering similar full-color spreads to their readers. I noticed this and thought, what's a good satirical comment on the trend? Then I figured, why not reverse it? If other magazines are doing these big, full-color foldouts, well, cheap old Mad should go completely the opposite way and do an ultra-modest black-and-white Fold-In!
In 2011, Jaffee reflected, "The thing that I got a kick out of was... Jeopardy! showed a fold-in and the contestants all came up with the word they were looking for, which was 'fold-in.' So I realized, I created an English language word."
The Fold-In is among the few recurring features remaining in Mad today, as the magazine switched to a nearly all-reprint format in 2019.
A Mad Fold-In consists of a single drawing, a paragraph of text underneath, and a panel across the top with a question. Each Fold-In also features instructions on how to manipulate the Fold-In, as well as a picture illustrating the procedure. Under the instructions are two arrows labeled "A" and "B." When the paper is folded so that points "A" and "B" touch, the remaining unobscured text underneath the picture becomes the answer to the question, and the picture itself changes into a fresh image reflecting the new text, as the middle 50% of the drawing vanishes.
For example, a 1969 Fold-In asking, "What is the one thing protest marches have greatly improved?" depicted a stream of placard-carrying marchers, but folded into the image of the underside of a worn-out sole and the answer, "SHOE SALES." A drawing of a fearsome panther stalking a variety of jungle animals accompanying the question "What predatory creature most threatens the survival of endangered species?" contracted to the image of a lavishly swaddled woman and the solution "FUR LOVERS." (In the larger drawing, the two halves of her fur coat were the foliage of trees.) Following the 1991 Tailhook scandal, a Navy war room became a female officer being sexually molested by a gauntlet of her comrades.
The Far Side creator Gary Larson described his experience with the Fold-In: "The dilemma was always this: Very slowly and carefully fold the back cover... without creasing the page and quickly look at the joke. Jaffee's artistry before the folding was so amazing that I suspect I was not alone in not wanting to deface it in any way."