Mxyzed-up newspaper names

My last post took as its title a quote from Dignan in Bottle Rocket: “They’ll never catch me, man, . . . .” This reminded Bill of my 2023 post “Mr. Mxyztplk revisited,” where Mxy says “Catch me if you can!” and even Superman can’t catch him. Bill also mentions that Mxy is associated with things written and spoken backwards.

Specifically, Mxy had a newspaper that was printed in mirror image. I discussed what the name of their newspaper, the Planet, would look like printed backwards and then added:

In Metropolis's real-world analogue, New York City, the newspaper is called the Times. I would mention what that looks like printed backwards, but that would be, ahem, a "trope." A canard, if you get my drift. A bit anti-Times-ic.

On my way home tonight, I stopped at a gas station. It was a very surreal moment when I noticed one of the ads displayed on the wall next to the pump:

It’s an ad for Baumkuchen for Mother’s Day. Under the cake is a newspaper. That part of the newspaper’s name that is visible reads FNIACNIAL MIT . . . . Clearly it is the Financial Times, a major London-based paper, but the letters are in the wrong order — not backwards exactly, but still all mxyzed up. And the paper is even called the Times.

All that’s visible of the second word is MIT, which is TIM backwards. Incredibly, that 2023 post about Mxy mentions the name Tim backwards:

Mxy can be sent packing by getting him to say his name backwards. William Wright has run with this idea, reverse-reading such names as Curumo (alias Saruman) and Tim.

As part of the reversal theme, Bill has interpreted the word WOW in my dream — MOM upside down — as a reference to Ungoliant, Mother of Abominations. The ad is encouraging you to get Mom a Baumkuchen, or “tree cake.” A “tree” for her to eat. Ungoliant is known for “eating” (sucking dry, which is how spiders “eat” their prey) the Two Trees of Valinor.

Bill may be on to something with this Ungoliant theme.