MAD fold-in

The MAD fold-in is a feature found on the inside back cover of every MAD Magazine (except for "20 worst people places and things of " issues, in which it is sometimes found within the pages of the magazine) since it was introduced. Drawn by Al Jaffee, these fold-ins are one of the most well-known aspects of the magazine. The feature was conceived in response to fold-outs in other magazines.

Related Topics:
MAD Magazine - Al Jaffee

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A MAD fold-in consists of a picture with a paragraph of (usually fairly incoherent) text underneath, and a panel across the top with a question, instructions on how to use the fold-in, and a picture illustrating how to use the fold-in. Under the instructions are two arrows labeled 'a' and 'b'. When the paper is folded so that points 'a' and 'b' are touching, the text under the picture becomes the answer to the question, and the picture itself changes to reflect the new text. While a clever gimmick, an experienced reader can almost always tell what the revealed picture and text will be fairly quickly. As a buffer to this, there is sometimes a decoy fold-in: two pieces of an image that look like they will be produced in the fold in, but which are just part of the background.

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