每日外刊 | 1104-科技巨頭們在萬聖節前夕的裝飾上相互競爭

2022年11月04日10:45:27 教育 1590

背景知識

提起萬聖節，必然會跟“恐怖”和“鬼魂”等元素聯繫起來。每年這天大家都很忙，小孩兒忙着“不給糖就搗蛋”、派對青年們忙着給自己化一個驚艷而不失浮誇的鬼臉裝、商家們忙着找噱頭來營銷，各大科技公司們也在萬聖節的裝飾上費盡了心思。

正文閱讀

Tech titans rival one another in Halloween decor

科技巨頭們在萬聖節前夕的裝飾上相互競爭

Rivalry between Apple and Google has often been fierce. Sometimes it has played out in the courts. But once a year their competition has also been visible on the streets—in the form of Halloween decorations. Steve Jobs started it. In the 1990s, when Apple's co-founder had young children, come October the front garden of his rambling English cottage in a leafy Palo Alto neighbourhood sprouted gruesome decor—not just skeletons and pumpkins but sound effects and special lighting—leading to a cauldron overflowing with dry ice at the front door. Jobs himself could be spotted handing out (now defunct) Odwalla health bars, an annual disappointment for trick-or-treaters who heard rumours of free iPods. The family later upgraded to goody-bags that included Toblerone.

蘋果和谷歌之間的競爭經常是激烈的。這種競爭有時也會在法庭上上演。但是，他們的競爭每年也會以萬聖節前夕裝飾的形式出現在街頭。這種競爭是史蒂夫·喬布斯開創的。20世紀90年代，當蘋果的聯合創始人有了小孩時，到了十月，他在一所雜亂的英國小屋的前花園（該小屋坐落於帕洛阿爾托一片綠樹成蔭的小區里）開始出現可怕的裝飾——不僅是骷髏和南瓜，還有音效和特殊的燈光——這些裝飾通往前門那個裝滿了乾冰的大鍋。人們可以看到喬布斯親自發放Odwalla健康棒(現在已經不存在了)，這是一年一度讓“不給糖就搗蛋”的人所失望的事情，因為這些人聽傳言說可以領免費的iPods。後來，這家人又推出了包括三角巧克力在內的禮品袋。

When Larry Page, co-founder of Google (now Alphabet), moved into a home on a cul-de-sac round the corner some years later, he was not to be out-spooked. His displays had themes: a carnival one year, a Little Red Riding Hood forest the next. Jobs died in 2011, but his widow continued to match Mr Page's shows. Neighbours recall hundreds of carved jack-o-lanterns illuminating the apple orchard outside the Jobs home, and actors dressed as monsters playing hockey in the driveway.

幾年後，當谷歌(現在的Alphabet)聯合創始人拉里·佩奇搬進附近一條死胡同里的一所房子時，他並沒有被嚇到。他的展覽都有主題:一年是狂歡節，第二年是小紅帽森林。喬布斯於2011年去世，但他的遺孀所辦的展出繼續與佩奇的展出不相上下。鄰居們還記得，喬布斯家外的蘋果園裡有數百個雕刻的南瓜燈，還有裝扮成怪物的演員在車道上打曲棍球。

Others joined in. Not far away Yahoo's former boss, Marissa Mayer, took to handing out king-size candy bars and stuffed animals. The tech titans' glitz and goodies drew growing crowds and hour-long queues. Locals have mixed feelings that a hometown tradition has become a regional attraction. "People here love community events so much that they risk suffocating them to death," says Pat Burt, Palo Alto's mayor, while cycling through the neighbourhood.

其他人加入。不遠處，雅虎的前老闆瑪麗莎·梅耶爾開始分發超大號糖果和布絨動物玩具。這些科技巨頭的浮華和美食吸引了越來越多的人，人們排起了數小時的長隊。家鄉的傳統已經成為一種地區性景點，當地人對此有着複雜的感受。“這裡的人們如此熱愛社區活動，以至於他們冒着窒息而死的風險也要參加，”帕洛阿爾托市長帕特·伯特在騎車穿過社區時說。

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