Mickey Mouse

Mickey Mouse is a comic animal cartoon character who has become a symbol for The Walt Disney Company. Created in the 1920s by Ub Iwerks, the mouse has evolved from being simply a character in animated cartoons and comic strips to become one of the most recognizable symbols in the world.

Social impact

Electoral career

In the United States, protest votes are often made in order to indicate dissatisfaction with the slate of electors presented on a particular ballot, or to highlight the inadequacies of a particular voting procedure. Since most states' electoral systems do not provide for blank balloting or a choice of "None of the Above", most protest votes take the form of a clearly non-serious candidate's name entered as a write-in vote. Cartoon characters are typically chosen for this purpose; as Mickey Mouse is the most well-known and well-recognized character in America, his name is frequently selected for this purpose. (Other popular selections include Donald Duck and Bugs Bunny.) This phenomenon has the humorous effect of causing Mickey Mouse to be a minor but perennial contestor of nearly all U.S. presidential elections.

Related Topics:
United States - Protest votes - Write-in vote - Donald Duck - Bugs Bunny - U.S. presidential election

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A similar phenomenon occurs in the parliamentary elections in Finland, although Finns usually write Donald Duck as a protest vote because Donald is more popular in Finland than Mickey.

Related Topics:
Parliamentary elections - Finland - Donald Duck

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Pejorative use of Mickey's name

"Mickey Mouse" is a slang expression used as a diminutive adjective and adverb meaning small-time, amateurish or of inferior quality. A poorly executed construction project, for instance, could be pejoratively described as a "Mickey Mouse job". Presumably, this comes from the insinuation that the object or action in question was taken as seriously as a Mickey Mouse cartoon (that is to say, not at all). The term does not imply any actual connection to Mickey.

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An alternative theory comes from the fact that Mickey Mouse watches were notorious for breaking down.

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In Finland, the software company Microsoft is often derogatorily called "Mikkisofta" ("Mickey Software").

Related Topics:
Finland - Microsoft

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"Mickey Mouse money" is a derogatory term for foreign currency, often used by Americans to describe indigenous currency in a foreign country in which they are traveling.

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It is common for residents of the state of Florida, home of Walt Disney World Resort, to refer to him as "Mickey Rat".

Related Topics:
Florida - Walt Disney World Resort

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In the 1996 Warner Brothers film Space Jam, Bugs Bunny derogatorily referred to the antagonistic "Monstarrs" alien basketball team as a "Mickey Mouse organization."

Related Topics:
1996 - Warner Brothers - Space Jam - Bugs Bunny

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