Scalzi Brings the Irony to the Tune of $5,118.36

For those of you who don’t read John Scalzi’s blog The Whatever — the blog of the military science fiction writer who once taped bacon to his cat — I direct your attention to his latest amusing escapade.

First, the background:

Scalzi lives in Ohio, not far afield from the Creation Museum. Scalzi is also a vocal non-theist of one stripe or another (I don’t much pay attention to who calls hirself an atheist, who an agnostic), and a science-liker. One of his readers suggested that he should go to the Creation Museum and report back on what he finds there, for the amusement of all and sundry. We’ll get together and pay your way! proposed said reader.

Scalzi refused the offer to pay for his ticket, but he agreed to go if his readers would raise at least $250 for the charity Americans United for the Separation of Church and State.

His readers came through with $5,118.36.

As Scalzi points out, that’s 250 times the cost of a ticket to the creation museum. Scalzi says he finds the amount “gratifying, since it means what tiny bit of income the creationists running the museum gain by having me pass through the door will be utterly swamped by the amount I’m going to send to Americans United for the Separation of Church and State. Would that it worked that way for every admission to that place.”

P.Z. of Pharyngula has weighed in, too — “This is brilliant. Rather than sending a scientist to that joke of an exhibit, send a comedian. Laughing at these clowns is the best way to expose them.”

Scalzi first explains why he has no desire to go to the creation museum here. (“Thanks, no. I feel I can extract sufficient comedy value out of people who believe dinosaurs lived with humans and that T-Rexes had six-inch, knife-like teeth to open coconuts from a safe, non-contagious distance. “) The escapade was proposed here, and reported on here and here. Here’s the post with the results, and here’s the post where he reports having sent in the donation. I’ll put up a link to his report on the creation museum after he goes.

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Afterthought: The “whatever” tag on this blog has never felt so appropriate! (Why yes, I am easily amused.)