Oh my, how low can we go in this app business? There are already a billion of these things, and probably 99% of them are totally useless, but a new one made its apparition on some ladies’ Android smartphones. ‘The Chubby Checker’, an app designed by Hewlett-Packard subsidiary Palm, Inc.., estimates penis length using guys’ simple data such as shoe size, … I kid you not, this is what they declared:
‘Any of you ladies out there just start seeing someone new and wondering what the size of there (sic) member is? All you need to do is find out the man's shoe size and plug it in… Now with the Chubby Checker there is no need for disappointment or surprise…’
The totally ‘accurate’ app certainly sounds totally scientific and useful to me, but how does this relate to music? Chubby Checker, an American singer-songwriter of the 60s, is suing the company claiming that it has done ‘irreparable damage and harm to his name’, and declaring that people will associate it with ‘the obscene sexual connotation and images’ of men’s penises! And who could blame him? The guy was made famous for this innocent song ‘The Twist’, and now his name sounds like a porn outfit.
Checker’s attorney released this statement:
‘This lawsuit is about preserving the integrity and legacy of a man who has spent years working hard at his musical craft and has earned the position of one of the greatest musical entertainers of all time. We cannot sit idly and watch as technology giants or anyone else exploits the name or likeness of an innocent person with the goal of making millions of dollars. The Defendants have marketed Chubby Checkers' name on their product to gain a profit and this just isn't right.’
Why the hell did they use his name without his authorization? Checker is asking all profits earned from the app, but the only problem is that it hasn’t been very popular: the app was downloaded only 84 times!!