Rand McNally - Cultural References

Cultural References

• The company has always been named "Rand McNally," but it has been jocularly referred to as "Rand and McNally," as in the opening to O. Henry's story, A Municipal Report: "...it is a rash one who will lay his finger on the map and say: 'In this town there can be no romance—what could happen here?' Yes, it is a bold and a rash deed to challenge in one sentence history, romance, and Rand and McNally."

• In an episode of The Simpsons, Bart vs. Australia, the Rand McNally logo on the globe was mistaken by Bart for a country named Rand McNally; Lisa mocks him saying "In fact, in Rand McNally, they wear hats on their feet and hamburgers eat people."

• In an episode of ALF, Willie finds a map in Alf's spaceship, entitled "Rand McNally Map to Space".

• In the Canadian children's television series Jacob Two-Two, Morty recommends to his son Jacob (the titular character) an atlas made by Grand McPally, an obvious parody of Rand McNally.

• Bing Crosby used to tell of a fishing spot so secret that Rand would not tell McNally.

• Jason Mraz has a song titled "Dream Life Of Rand McNally" which can be heard on the album Live at Java Joe's as well as on fan traded audience recordings. It tells the story of a man who gets into trouble all over the world and draws maps to, "remember never to go back to that place again."

• One of the drummers for American punk rock band The Dils called himself Rand McNally.

• In the second episode of the second season of the Anime Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei Itoshiki Nozomu is reading a book titled "Rand McNally's Guide to Death".