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May 2005 Issue [Readings]

The Shape We’re In

From similes recently used in newspapers and magazines to describe the shapes of federal and state legislative districts.

Like yogurt cups
Like doughnuts
Like a crescent moon
Like embryos
Like the head of a pipe wrench
Like a horseshoe
Like a crab with two narrow claws
Like a ribbon of shame
Like the bread of a sandwich
Like a boomerang
Like a spaghetti noodle
Like they were drawn by a drunk with an Etch-a-Sketch
Like a cow’s tail
Like bug splats
Like a dragon
Like a fat snake
Like a bad restaurant-floor accident
Like a skewed bow tie
Like an upside-down swan
Like a tornado
Like Chile
Like a question mark
Like a backward C with a fat middle
Like a bucket of earthworms
Like long fingers
Like serpents
Like a gun pointed east
Like Rorschach tests


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May 2005

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