The Paper

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Revision as of 01:02, 1 June 2007

The Paper, doing what it does best.

The Paper is the piece of printer paper that comes down from the top of the screen after nearly every Strong Bad Email. It usually reads:

In the first twenty emails, it contained just the first line without an email address. The Paper coming down usually signals the end of the email; however, the majority of Easter eggs can be found after The Paper has come down. One can either wait around or click on certain words Strong Bad has typed. It is unclear as to where The Paper actually comes from, since Strong Bad does not seem to have a printer above his computer. This seemingly magical paper can sometimes be seen manifesting itself out of the clear blue sky, where it can seem huge in comparison to its normal size. Some suggest that it's merely in the foreground. On occasion, Strong Bad has touched The Paper in closeup, making The Paper look even more like it's gigantic compared to everything else by having his hand seem notably smaller than The Paper.

From the sound it makes and the quality of the printout, the printer that produces The Paper can be assumed to be of the dot matrix variety. (However, The Paper prints upside-down from how a real dot-matrix printer would operate; that is, the last line prints first toward the free edge of the page.) The sprocket holes on the edges further indicate that it has a tractor feed mechanism. Both technologies are almost completely outmoded. According to the Strong Bad Email montage, it will be replaced by an inkjet printer as of email #173. The ending of email #172 more armies seems to be a prelude to its replacement, as it came down crumpled and torn, with Strong Bad remarking that this is "a bad sign."

The onomatopoeia for The Paper's sound effect is "preeeeow", mentioned in autobiography, haircut, part-time job, garage sale, lady fan, and coloring. It should also be noted that The Paper is always referred to with an integral article.

Abnormal Sayings

The Paper has displayed messages other than the standard "Click here to e-mail Strong Bad" link.

• At the end of Superbowl Dealie, it reads, "Due to the big game, the Strong Bad Email will be late this week."
• At the end of Arcade Game, it reads, "Click here to play the Trogdor arcade game."
• At the end of duck pond, it reads, "Click here to play 'Duck Pond'".
• At the end of King of Town Email, The Paper comes down and reads, "Nobody wants to e-mail The King of Town. For real."
• In the Toons Menu version of crazy cartoon, it appears in Powered by The Cheat form and reads ">>>The End<<<".
• In the DVD and Podstar Runner versions of Strong Bad Emails, it simply reads, ">>The End<<", due to the inability to link to Strong Bad's email address.
• It displays the menu options on the strongbad_email.exe DVD. There is also a "bottom-feeding Paper" reading "Make your selection and mash GO, moron!"
• In the email animal, it reads "Enough already, Strong Bad" above the usual email information.
• At the end of Sick Day, a very unhealthy-looking (crumpled) The Paper reads "Strong Bad, I can't come in today."
• At the end of cliffhangers, it reads, "Tune in next time for the cliff hanging conclusion!!"
• In retirement, The Paper translates what the broken Tandy 400 and Compy 386 are trying to tell Strong Bad. At the end of retirement A it read, "To Be Continued Tomorrow!" before retirement A and retirement B were merged. At the end of the email The Paper reads, "It was me. I like hushpuppies."

Other "The Paper" Oddities

General

• At the end of guitar, Strong Bad uses the BMW Lighter and unintentionally scorches The Paper.
  • In an Easter egg in the DVD version of caffeine, The Paper gets scorched again by Strong Bad's science project, "The Effects Of Gasoline On Fire".
• In sb_email 22, The Paper only comes down at the end of the press conference Easter egg.
• The printer for The Paper is apparently female; at the end of invisibility, the contrast knobs of the Tandy 400 can be repeatedly clicked to produce the message "tell the printer i'll miss her." However, The Paper itself is male, as mentioned in animal when Strong Bad asks "him" to come down and meet the new Lappy 486.
• Apparently, The Paper can also produce counterfeit money; in an Easter egg in couch patch, one can click on a hidden link to make The Paper print out an ASCII art million dollar bill.
• Strong Bad also uses The Paper in autobiography to print out the actual email. He runs the command "print_of_it.exe" to do so.
  • Later in this email, The Paper takes a while to signal the end of the email due to a paper jam (according to Strong Bad).
• In theme park, The Paper comes down twice.
• In extra plug, even when the power is out, The Paper still comes down, with the help of Strong Mad and The Cheat.

An inkjet printer in the future?

• In more armies, The Paper comes down crumpled and torn, prompting Strong Bad to comment, "that's a bad sign."
  • more armies is email number 172, just one before the email mentioned in montage in which Strong Bad is supposed to upgrade to an inkjet printer.

When it has a mind of its own

• At the end of 50 emails it comes down prematurely, ending an email which, in Strong Bad's opinion, was not quite over.
• The Paper can occasionally follow orders, though. In date and for kids, Strong Bad instructs The Paper when to come down to bring the email to a close.
• In the facts, The Paper comes down after Homestar says, "And that's the end of my show, DONK!" Strong Bad objects to this.
• In animal, The Paper nervously goes back up when meeting the Lappy. It then tells Strong Bad via printout (see above) that he's stopped being funny for the day.
• In part-time job, The Paper doesn't come down on its own. Instead, "ps: preeeeow" must be clicked to make it come down.
• In Sick Day, The Paper is wrinkled and produces a sick-sounding noise, and tells Strong Bad that it can't come in. It then retreats when Strong Bad asks if he can blow his nose on it.
• In retirement, The Paper suddenly appears and offers to translate the Tandy 400 and Compy 386's language of "extravagantly broken computer." Later, The Paper explains to Strong Bad that it is the one that likes hushpuppies.

When it shows up in odd places

• In stand-up, it comes down in front of the Telebision after the end of Strong Sad's video.
• In little animal, it appears at the top of the screen while Strong Mad chases Strong Bad around the room. It also remains there when you switch to Strong Man chasing Old-Timey Strong Bad and back.
• In the bird, it comes down from the sky. Pom Pom lifts the corner and peeks out from under it.
• In property of ones, it comes down over the Cold Ones needlepoint.
• In big white face, it appears above The Poopsmith, who pokes at it with his shovel.
• In replacement, it appears above Strong Bad's grave.
• In garage sale, it comes down from the sky. When viewing the Homestar Runner Easter egg, it remains centered on the screen even as the scene shifts to the left.
• In lady...ing, The Paper comes down to the right of the Lappy (although centered on the screen), after Strong Bad has fallen asleep on that side.
• In redesign, The Paper comes down in front of the "Redesigning SBEMAILS, JERK FOOT" logo.
• In retirement, it appears on the roof of Bubs' Concession Stand and in the field.

When it's not The Paper

Old-Timey The Paper

The Paper in email lady fan

• In the DVD Version of little animal, the Old-Timey version of The Paper is a Supra Modern Telegram reading "-the end-".
• In superhero name, a comic book with an "email Strong Bad" link appears in lieu of The Paper.
• In vacation, The Paper does not appear at all.
• In japanese cartoon, The Paper is replaced with an anime credits list.
• In crazy cartoon and mile, a Powered by The Cheat version of The Paper appears.
• In dreamail, The Paper takes the form of an upside-down copy of the United States Constitution, with the Strong Bad email link scribbled at the top.
  • This is the fifth time in seven consecutive emails that The Paper has had at least one unusual twist.
• In death metal, the link to Strong Bad's email address is on the bottom of the death metal worksheet.
• In lady fan, The Paper is shown coming out of a printer in a "boring soap-opera comic".

See Also

• Sound Effects to listen to an audio sample.