Day 206's T-shirt is black. It's very very black. Black in almost all directions. I find this unusual because the brand it represents is a media outlet synonymous with technology giant Apple; a predominantly white branded company, thus highlighting my first curiosity about this T-shirt donated to my THREEHUNDREDANDSIXTEEFIVE challenge by MacUser magazine - the best resource for all the latest Apple product reviews and breaking news.
The second curiosity I have about this tee resides with the MacUser mouse emblem printed in white on the left breast. The magazine uses this emblem instead of stars in its product review ratings system. The more mice, the more... good. It's become so popular that it also appears across the magazine, its websites and various other elements connected with the MacUser brand, including T-shirts.
Well, almost.
You see, the mouse that appears here isn't quite... right. It's not exactly the same design; it's been altered slightly and possibly for some dark purpose?
I did some asking around and discovered that the original conception of the MacUser mouse occurred in 1985 when both the magazine and myself were born. At some point in the 1990's a second imagining of the mouse icon came from renowned illustrator and font designer Rian Hughes and until recently went by the moniker 'Chip'. In 2011, as part of the magazine's most recent redesign process, the Editor In Chief devised a third rendition of the icon to better suit the new look and the company motto “Parvus etiam potens” - small yet mighty. The icon now forms a circle resembling both a radioactive symbol and mouse head simultaneously, with facial features inspired by the typeface Katarine, by Tomáš Brousil, whose fonts are used throughout MacUser. The emblem has also been stripped of its name and gender.
In fact, it's probably this new found lack of identity that explains the irregularity I see on the T-shirt today. Looking carefully at my copy of the icon, it appears as though someone has climbed inside the mouse formerly known as Chip in a bid to pass themselves off as one of history's greatest mice. This infiltrator is looking to rub shoulders with the likes of Mickey and Jerry and is attempting to do so right under my nose. Literally. He's wearing a Chip like a hoodie and is shrouded in black ninja-like darkness to stealthily pull off his caper.
Well, Sir, you have failed to go undetected. I have smelt a rat...
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