April A to Z Blogging Challenge

What is the A to Z Challenge? It’s blogging a letter of the alphabet every day the month of April (with Sundays off for good behavior.) It began April 1st, with the letter A and ends April 30th, with the letter Z. You can click here to see who else is participating in this challenge.




Today's post is for the letter:

I guess we could talk about X-axis or X-rays today. If it were fall we could probably discuss xanthophyll. Xavier isn't a name you hear too often these days. Maybe we could wonder what a Xenosaurus looks like.

Instead, I want to talk about just the letter "X", because if you're a pirate, "X" marks the spot. I can't say I've ever come across a big "X" marked in the sand, but it seems to happen in cartoons and can be worked into film titles quite nicely.

In an episode of SpongeBob SquarePants (yes, you knew I was going there), SpongeBob and Patrick are recruited by Mr. Krabs to become pirates and search for the Flying Dutchman's treasure. After running the boat aground--which is a strange thing to happen underwater--Patrick reads the compass wrong and sends the group about 10,000 paces in the opposite direction. After they are about to give up the ghost, they stumble upon the "X" that marks the spot and begin digging.

In the first season of Josie and the Pussycats, they meet Professor Isaac Belfour, a scientist who invented an invisibility formula. They take him along for their gig in Puddletown, England, to protect him from Mr. X, a former laboratory assistant who stole the formula. Now doesn't that show my age.

X Marks the Spot was also the title of a 1942 movie starring Damian O'Flynn as Eddie Delaney. Here's the IMDB synopsis:

Delaney is a second lieutenant in the army, but also a private detective. Eddy swings into action, when his father, police-sergeant Timothy J. Delaney, is gunned down by rubber racketeers. With the help of his brave friend and radio disc jockey Linda Ward and police-lieutenant William 'Bill' Decker, Eddy goes after the racketeers. Eddie, Linda and Bill have during their search to deal with various criminals, like Marty Clark and the unscrupulous businessman and owner of the nightclub 'The Spot', John J. Underwood.

See, I told you the letter "X" comes in handy.

Can you think of any shows or films where the letter X is involved? There's a famous one about a couple of FBI agents that comes to mind.