As awful as the Gulf Spill is, I just read an article that’s a good reminder of everyday ways that oil and gas reach the oceans in even greater amounts than the current disaster involves. The figures are stunning:

• Estimates of the Gulf Spill: 83 – 156 million gallons
• Estimated annual amount spilled worldwide from routine causes: 400 million gallons
• Estimated annual amount entering the ocean from natural seepage: 180 million gallons

The article mentions that routine discharges behind these estimates include oil drips from vehicles, gasoline spills at gas stations, recreational boating, commercial ships and tankers, and oil production.

For decades, we at New Pig have been helping workplaces control oil and other liquids that leak, drip, spill or spray — not only to keep floors safer but to keep liquids from reaching drains that may eventually flow to the seas.

Catch those pump drips …

Capture that overspray …

Block that drain …

… and the oceans will be cleaner for it.

Here’s an entry off the beaten path …

This weekend, I happened upon a recording of Hal Holbrook’s famous portrayal of Mark Twain. It’s double comic genius.

Then I happened to wonder about any connections between pigs and Mark Twain. I asked my buddy Google about that and was pointed to this quotation: (It’s a good one, but I gather in various sites that it’s not necessarily from Mark Twain):

Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes time and annoys the pig.

Hey, we’ve all been there, right?

Anyway, I also read that Twain based the character of the noble Jim in “Huckleberry Finn” on a pig farmer—yes, a farmer of pigs— named John T. Lewis. Here, I found a picture of the two men (no pigs in sight, but a man does need to knock off work now and then):

Here’s a quote from Twain about Lewis: “I have not known an honester man nor a more respect-worthy one.”

I’m sure that Lewis treated his pigs well through to their appointed ends. Mortality in the hands of an immortal.

Hm, I could use the previous sentence as a segue to mention New Pig’s forever guarantee. But no, that would just be ham-handed.

One of the wacky gals here in the office (she won’t let me give her name) combined two ideas and came up with …

Form-A-Funnel® cake

That right there is hilarious.

If you don’t know what funnel cake is, you haven’t lived, and you need to click here. It looks like this:

Mmmm. You need some now.

It’s found at fairs, carnivals and street fairs in discerning parts of the country. It’s made like this: (see the funnel???)

Find it. Get on a plane if you have to. Summer’s almost over.

I’m not proposing that anyone drain batter through a PIG® Form-A-Funnel® Flexible Draining Tool into bubbling grease. I can see issues with that. Save it for oil changes and other work in the shop.

But someone with some flair and cooking skills has to do something to make that phrase—Form-A-Funnel® cake!—come to life. It’s just too funny not to.

Is it just me?

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Speaking of bubbling grease and fine dining reminds me to remind you that there are PIG® products that help make commercial kitchens safer and more productive. Fry ‘em—er, try ‘em, you’ll like ‘em.

I’m here with a Pigalog® cover for the second post in a row because this one received some rare recognition. In fact, it’s recognition that’s about as rare as it gets for catalogs.

The cover below was named one of the 10 best catalog covers in the past 10 years! It appeared on The Big Pigalog® 2009.

Granted, this is a subjective list from one person’s perspective. But the list was in MultiChannel Merchant, the leading trade magazine for catalogs, and the judge is Glenda Sasho Jones, who’s been one of the top catalog consultants for a long time.

Just how long, you ask? Well, get this: Glenda was already a big name in cataloging in 1999, when she published her first list of the Top Ten Catalog Covers. New Pig made that list as well! This was the cover:

We’ve come a long way, piggy! Or at least, that’s what our Creative team tells me when they compare the design and layout of the two covers.

It’s satisfying and humbling to have an expert say that we’ve excelled over the years. The other two companies with covers on both of the Top Ten Covers lists are little outfits called Lands’ End and Patagonia—maybe you’ve heard of them. We’re proud to be in their company.

But what’s really nice is what Glenda Sasho Jones says about the companies whose covers she selected: “They take risks. They’re different. They’re bold and dramatic. They’re extremely relevant to their customer. And most of them generate an emotional response.”

Yes! That’s what we want. We want customers to notice and enjoy how much we care about serving them—and that starts with being noticed, period. We’re glad that we have some catalog covers that do the job!

Just about a year ago, I blogged about our winning the “Academy Award of Cataloging” in our category for the eighth time in a row.

Well, make that nine years in a row. We won again. The official name of the honor is: Gold Award, Industrial Supplies, 25th Annual Multichannel Merchant Awards. Here’s the cover of our winning catalog (which you can browse in its entirety online) :

And just for the sake of accuracy, I failed to mention last year that we had an earlier stretch of winning the award five years in a row.

Yes, we’re grateful for the recognition, but only because of what it reflects about New Pig as a whole: We reach for the highest in our work, which is helping solve leak and spill problems. This means product development, accounting, fulfillment, information technology—every area. We strive to serve our customers as well as any company on the planet. If that means having to find space for awards for catalogs that are judged to be informative, well-organized and maybe even stylish—then we’ll find the room!

P.S. If you want to see what the pig on the cover is using as a hiding place, click here.