Pigasus

Pigasus may refer to:

Pigasus (politics)

Pigasus was a 145-pound (66-kg) domestic pig that was nominated for President of the United States as a theatrical gesture by the Youth International Party (Yippies) On August 23, 1968, just before the opening of the Democratic National Convention. At a rally announcing his candidacy, Pigasus was seized by Chicago policemen and several of his Yippie backers were arrested for disorderly conduct.

Campaign for U.S. President

In 1968, Pigasus was nominated for the U.S. Presidency by the Youth International Party (Yippies). The pig's name was a double entendre on Pegasus, the winged horse in Greek mythology and the famous saying "When pigs fly" used when a highly improbable event should occur.

Selected for the campaign by Dennis Dalrymple, Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin, candidate Pigasus was purchased from a farmer by folk-singer and fellow Yippie Phil Ochs. His candidacy was announced during the massive protests leading up to and during the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. The Yippies demanded that Pigasus be treated as a legitimate candidate, with secret service protection and White House foreign policy briefings.

Pigasus (literature)

The Pigasus was used by John Steinbeck as a personal stamp with the Latin motto Ad astra per alas porci (to the stars on the wings of a pig). The pigasus was supposed to symbolize Steinbeck as "earthbound but aspiring...not enough wingspread but plenty of intention."

Coincidentally, Pigasus was a character in the Oz books written by Ruth Plumly Thompson in the 1930s. Her Pigasus was also a winged pig. As with Pegasus, his riders gained the gift of poesy, speaking in rhyme while on his back. The character first appeared in Pirates in Oz.

John Steinbeck occasionally drew this on books that he signed at book signings.

See also

References