Danger, Will Robinson!

When I was young, I hated green peas more than anything. They grossed me out and I refused to eat them…or I would have if my parents would let me, and since they were both pretty eagle-eyed, the chances were slim. So, I developed another, more subtle technique: get my plate really close to my brother’s, and shovel as fast as I could. Before you begin (or keep) thinking of me as a terrible person, my brother liked green peas and there was no harm, no foul. But if I had my very own robot obeying my every command, I wouldn’t have needed to do the pea switcheroo. I could have had my robot dispatch the nasty little green devils and no one would be the wiser. An intriguing thought, isn’t it? Some mechanized being doing your bidding would be almost too tempting to pass up. Monday morning would lose its sting. Family gatherings could be more bearable. Sink full of dishes? Done. Piles of laundry? Finished. Bills? Yardwork? Diaper changing? No big deal. The only problem I see with having your own robo-assistant is the laziness that would surely come along with such a handy little piece of technology. Then again, you could just set your robot to operate in guilt mode for you and not worry about it. Dan Yaccarino gives Phil a robot in If I Had A Robot and everything is great until there’s only one piece of cake. Then it’s everyone or everything for themselves.

http://www.amazon.com/Had-Robot-Picture-Puffin-Books/dp/014056294X

http://www.danyaccarino.com/dy/