The best infographic I've ever seen

We get Parents magazine here at the house. That's because we're parents, even though the magazine isn't really aimed at all parents, just the lady kind. There's an article in the latest issue about kids without siblings. You know the kind of story: "The only child: Is it an advantage or a disadvantage?" (Useful answer: Both!).

There's an infographic with this story. In my day, I've seen good graphics and bad graphics. I was on hand for the famous "How to Ride an Escalator" graphic at the Register. In another job, I saw someone try to illustrate a story about the proliferation of grand slams in baseball with a graphic about -- I swear this is true -- how many Grand Slam breakfasts were sold at Denny's. So I'm no stranger to WTF graphics. But this piece in Parents is a serious masterpiece:



This is one of the most beautiful, random lists ever assembled. It's like the old "Spy List" feature in Spy magazine. You'd like to say they pulled names out of a hat ... except who would have even thought to put some of these names in that hat in the first place?

Daniel Radcliffe and Shawn Johnson, I understand. They're totally relevant right now, both to grown-ups and kids. Lance Armstrong? Well, OK, but I think he's getting pretty close to his sell date, with the Parents crowd if not everyone else. But here's where it starts going off rails. Alicia Keys is cool -- we saw her in person at the Letterman show -- but ... really? Condoleezza Rice? "Familiar" back when they were planning this feature, maybe, but kind of yesterday's news.

Then at the end, they hit us up with Blake Lewis. Blake Lewis! The runner-up from the hands-down worst season of American Idol. That beat-boxing guy who was on the show three years ago. Him.

I'm not criticizing. This is awesome.

And no shiitake mushrooms!

We've begun to go through a lot of baby food at our house. The boy who for so long considered solid food beneath him -- and as a result wound up with solid food all over him, and all over us -- is now going through a good 10 ounces of the stuff every day. A lot of it he likes: squash, sweet potatoes, carrots, pears, applesauce, green beans. Some of it he doesn't care for: bananas, peas, anything with meat in it.

One particular concoction has been met with considerable ambivalence: Vanilla Custard Pudding. He'll take a few bites, but he doesn't seem excited about it. It's sweet, so you'd think he would like it, but there's something funny about the consistency. Or maybe it's the label.

See, Gerber baby food now comes in little clear plastic containers rather than the jars of yore. The particular variety of food is printed on an inner lid that you peel off and throw away -- sort of like on a can of Pringles. Because that lid gets tossed, Gerber also prints the variety on the side of the container, so you know what it is if you put the leftovers in the fridge. There is limited space on the side, though, so sometimes they have to abbreviate. "Apples, Strawberries and Bananas," for example, becomes "APPLES STRAW BANANA."

So maybe when we're feeding him Vanilla Custard Pudding, the boy looks at the spoonful of sticky, whitish goo and then looks at the label ...



... and thinks to himself: Ah, no, I'll pass, thanks.