The Order of the Pineapple or DisOrder of the Pineapple honors those who have given extraordinary service to “the participatorial study of comedic attitudes and eccentric tendencies.” It is an annual honorary award given on 18 January or Pat Pineapple Day.
History[]
The Ĕk-sĕn-trĭks Cluborguild created the Order of the Pineapple on 18 January 1982. The Mt. Santa Juanita College club honored Founding Vice President Alien, who was presented with a pineapple. Alien said, "The pineapple was given to me by the club on 18 January 1982, Robert Anton Wilson's 50th birthday, as a joke. (A friend of his daughter was a member)."
Since then, the award has been given by several different groups. In addition to being awarded by the original Ĕk-sĕn-trĭks Cluborguild (1982-1987), it was given by the Merry Archers of Paganus Grimlove (1988-1990), Earth Chapter Five of the Ek-sen-triks CluborGuild (1991-1994), the Discordian Division of the Ek-sen-triks CluborGuild (2007-2010), and the Order of the Pineapple itself (2011-). The award was apparently not given from 1995-2006.
Honorees traditionally consume something containing or resembling pineapple on Pat Pineapple Day (18 January). However, creativity is accepted in what is considered pineappley.
Inspiration[]
While the date of the award was likely chosen for Wilson's birthday, the reason for choosing a pineapple is unknown. There are several possible inspirations.
Monty Python[]
"Self-Defense Against Fresh Fruit" appears in the fourth episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus. It first aired in 1969. It is often listed as one of the Python's greatest sketches. And the most feared fruit in the sketch?
Sgt.: Yeah, you try that with a pineapple down your windpipe.
Jones: A pineapple?
Sgt.: Where? Where?
Jones: No I just said: a pineapple.
Sgt.: Oh. Phew. I thought my number was on that one.
Jones: What, on the pineapple?
Sgt.: Where? Where?
Jones: No, I was just repeating it.
Sgt.: Oh. Oh. I see. Right. Phew.
A.I.S.S.[]
An ancient famous forerunner of the Order was Scotsman John Murray. The 4th Earl of Dunmore, and Governor of New York Province, organised Black Loyalists into the Ethiopian Regiment. He was one of the first activists of the Black Lives Matter movement, granting liberty to Blacks from enslavement by White Patriot masters. Returning to Scotland, he built the order's still-standing sanctuary, which hosts the initiation ceremonies at The Ancient Illuminated Seers of Scotland, a building known as Dunmore Pineapple. As a result, it could be argued that the modern Order of the Pineapple is a restoration of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of the Pineapple.
Palazzo Massimo alle Terme[]
A related pineapple mystery is in the Palazzo Massimo alle Terme. The museum lies close to Termini train station in Rome. It houses one of the world's most important collections of Classical art.
The museum's second floor houses a gallery dedicated to Roman mosaics and frescoes. On the mosaic floor, among pomegranates and figs and grapes, is a pineapple. This is a perplexing mystery. While the mosaic dates from the early First Century A.D., the pineapple wasn't known in that area until about the 15th century.
Honorees[]
External links[]
- The Order and Connie Dobbs
- Omar Khayyam Ravenhurst's award
- Contact: pineapple @ bsdmail (dot) com