November 19, 2007
It’s high time for an addition to Ummamum’s World since the last item was added on December 16, 2003, nearly four years ago. And maybe, just maybe, this is the biggest thing ever to appear in this section of The Oo Kingdom.
Ummamum’s World began with a page called “What Is This Ummamum?” on July 18, 2000. The page was later renamed “OK… So What’s an Ummamum?” and it remains on the site to this day.
“Where are you going with this?” you may ask. Well, on the old page I just mentioned is a section entitled “How Did It Get Started?” And guess what? That section doesn’t tell the whole story! That’s right, ladies and gentlemen; I’ve been holding out on the truth for over seven years, and it’s high time I spilled the beans, so here goes—
As I stated in that section:
My wife’s name is Wendi, and her middle initial is M, so sometimes I call her “Wendi Mmm.” At some point in time, I started throwing in extra M’s (M-M-M), just to be goofy. Later, I started doing it with my upper teeth out. Ummamum was born!
The missing piece of the puzzle is this: Why did I ever start saying “Wendi M-M-M” with my upper teeth out in the first place? Surely that seems odd, even unnatural.
Now for the weird confession…
Wendi and I used to watch the soap opera, Days of Our Lives, together. From 1996 to 1998 there was a character on the show named Susan Banks. Susan was a zany character, with buckteeth and a soft southern accent. She became an instant hit among fans, and even Wendi and I would imitate her accent and buckteeth. When I applied this to “Wendi M-M-M,” it led to the birth of the Ummamum.
Our son, Joe, drew the first picture of the Ummamum guy. He was called UmmaMummamon, and he was based on the Digimon anime series. But the reason his upper teeth are sticking out is because I was doing it while saying “Wendi M-M-M,” imitating Susan Banks. There, it’s out now!