After Mary Poppins became older, she gave up being a nanny and retired to the West Coast of the United States. After a while, she became bored and decided to open up a small detective agency specializing in solving crimes using her psychic ability and strong nose. She opened a small space on Hollywood Boulevard and posted her sign proudly. It read:

“Super California Mystic, Expert Halitosis.”

Lloyd Botway asked about the source of this well-traveled pun and I said that I did not have any idea, upon which he replied:

“Thanks for the reply. The reason I ask is that this pun was published and copyrighted in Games Magazine, Feb. 1983, by me. Yes, stories do have a way of being repeated. I just wondered if it wouldn’t be appropriate for you to credit the author(s).”

As you can see throughout this collection, we do try to document sources when known to us. We appreciate the information from Lloyd Botway. There are many different versions of the “supercali…” phrase, but I think his was the first.

Alan C
Sept. 2000