Fun_People Archive
26 Sep
Re: The Gort (or Klaatu) Fan Club

Date: Tue, 26 Sep 95 17:53:21 -0700
From: Peter Langston <psl>
To: Fun_People
Subject: Re: The Gort (or Klaatu) Fan Club

From: Daniel Steinberg <daniel_steinberg@opcode.com>

Well, this just demonstrates that "Klaatu Barada Nikto" is not merely a
quotation from a 50's movie, but is really in the collective unconscious.
With a little digging, i was able to unearth these references that pre-date
The Day The Earth Stood Still:

from "The Revolutionary War Revisited"
    ...  After much deliberation, it was decided that Paul Revere would
    spread the warning of the  arrival of the British troops.  The signal
    was to be "Klaatu Barada Nicto" [sic], but it became clear that a
    more complex code was required in order to differentiate between
    a land-based and sea-based invasion, and thus the famous lantern
    signal ("one if by land, two if by sea") was chosen.

from "Witchcraft Through History"
    Of the evening's events little is known, save for the following
    account that was recorded in the town record:
            Guinelda Parsimon was burned this night laste before the
            witness of mayor and townsfolk.  Her rantings and ravings
            she bore forthe until the fires consumed her.  Such terryble
            curses she cried out, invoking the names of her trio of devyls:
            Klaatu, Barada, and Nikto.

from Egyptology Magazine, June 1933, page 47
             Recent translations of the hieroglyphs on the walls of
             chamber 173-A suggest a warding ritual whose purpose
             seems to be to protect the inner rooms from the spirits
             of vanquished enemies.  Though many of the hieroglyphs
             are recognizable,  several hitherto unknown glyphs have
             been identified.  Professor Saheem has not yet translated
             them fully, but is reasonably convinced that they would have
             been pronounced: Kla-too Ba-ra-da Nik-tow

from Painted Earth: Sioux Legends
              Then Crow spoke, and when he spoke, all listened.  "Klaatu!"
              he said, and the earth was made.  "Barada!" and the waters
              spread about the earth.  "Nikto!" and the sky embraced the
              earth.  But the earth was cold and dark, so Coyote called
              out "Gort!" and the sun was made.

© 1995 Peter Langston