This SF Short Story Was Intended To Be The Butt of Many Jokes
From the latest edition of Ray X X-Rayer #157 ezine. This issue and previous ones are available at https://efanzines.com/RXXR/index.htm . Spaceways, v. 3, issue 4, May 1941 | The University of Iowa Libraries – https://digital.lib.uiowa.edu/islandora/object/ui%3Ahevelin_3517_2_2 On page 8 of this scanned fanzine there is a story The End of Pennywhistle listed under “HUMOUR by “damon knight.” The story opens in the year 1989 in the metropolis of Thickerwhichet-on-theStinglebottom, the unnamed narrator explaining how civilization fell apart. The cause of the Great Catastrophe is one Mortimer Pennywhistle – well, actually his hind end. A strange radiation emitted from that area disintegrates ratchet handles and the straws on brooms. These objects are destroyed when they enter the unearthly radiation zone. At first the odd effect only occurs within a few feet of Pennywhistle’s posterior. It’s thought lead pants might alleviate the problem but the radiation inten...