Every weekday, PR Daily associate editor Alan Pearcy highlights the day’s most compelling stories and amusing marginalia on the Web in this, #TheDailySpin.

Looks like Gerber has really been holding out on us. Considering how particular modern moms and dads are about what their children consume, it’s amazing that any of our parents or grandparents ever survived as kids. Then again, they had morphine, cocaine, and heroin to get them through a hard day of childhood. Today, kids just get Ragu. Yet judging by Babble’s amusing and startling collection of kids and family medicine ads from yesteryear, today’s parents can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that their little Johnny might be snacking on sidewalk chalk, but at least he’s not treating his chronic respiratory problems with the pack of Dr. Batty’s Asthma Cigarettes you bought.

The parents of Jorge Churano, better known to Reddit fans as the “drunk baby” after a passport photo of the five-month-old went viral, insist that although the image was humorous, their kid wasn’t “milk” wasted. He was merely tired.

[Related: A Reddit primer for PR and social media professionals]

Not sure if she was wasted or tired (or what), but American University professor Adrienne Pine had a recent milk incident when she brought her feverish daughter to the first day of class and then—wait for it—breastfed her while giving a lecture. Suffice it to say, the students were a bit uncomfortable and it sparked a controversy on campus. Didn’t Pine learn anything from Time magazine?

Students at Viola Elementary School in Arkansas have even greater reason to feel uneasy. As a result of growing allergy concerns, their school board enacted a “no peanuts” policy that bans all peanut-based products from its lunchroom. No PB&Js? Why don’t you just ban childhood altogether?

Toys take me down another avenue of childhood nostalgia. And while we all had our favorites, according to a survey conducted by The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, G.I. Joe tops the list as the most popular of the past century.

Nowadays, my favorite pastime has move beyond the toy box to whatever alcohol is chilling in the icebox. That said, Heineken hopes its new longer neck bottles will help it become a more popular choice of adults at playtime.

Too bad Heineken didn’t opt for this cube-shaped bottle devised by French industrial designer Petit Romain. They would have stacked nicely in the fridge along my many boxed wines.

Of course, design isn’t all about novelty aesthetics. It’s also about bringing functionality to one’s business, a notion that has Apple, Twitter, and Google each facing its own designer dilemma.

[Related: Graphic designer: 5 tips for working with me]

Alas, the chicest smartphones and online platforms aside, it’s hard to improve upon the simply functionality of pen and paper, perhaps your best tools for improving productivity.

Meanwhile, something that kills workplace productivity is your mutually hated and hilarious office hijinks. CollegeHumor explores six types of pranks to be aware of when planning your next onset of corporate shenanigans.

Fans of the McRib might hope it were purely a prank, but McDonald’s has, in fact, postponed the return of its cult-favorite until the winter holidays in hopes of driving December sales. On the plus side, my Christmas shopping just got a lot easier.

Quieting those obnoxious Chatty Cathys during a movie just got a lot easier, too—at least for one theater in London. The Prince Charles Cinema now has a team of volunteer ninjas who have a way of letting patrons know if they’re being too loud. Enjoy your show.



Is there something you think we should include in our next edition of #TheDailySpin? Tweet me @iquotesometimes with your suggestions. Thanks in advance.