History Main / TheMagazineRule

* In David Feldman's ''Why Do Dogs Have Wet Noses?'', an illustration accompanying the entry on why many magazine subscription orders are sent to Boulder, Colorado depicts a man and woman reading copies of ''Feldspar Quarterly'' and ''Schist Digest''.

Named after "The Wiki Rule", its online equivalent. Related to CollectorOfTheStrange and PastimesProvePersonality. If a [[TestosteronePoisoning Manly Man]] subscribes to ''[[TextileWorkIsFeminine Cross-stitch Quarterly]]'', it's RealMenWearPink, and if a NightmareFetishist has managed to find a publication of ''Cross-stitch Bondage Babes'', it's Rule Thirty Six.

Named after TheWikiRule, its online equivalent. Related to CollectorOfTheStrange and PastimesProvePersonality. If a [[TestosteronePoisoning Manly Man]] subscribes to ''[[TextileWorkIsFeminine Cross-stitch Quarterly]]'', it's RealMenWearPink, and if a NightmareFetishist has managed to find a publication of ''Cross-stitch Bondage Babes'', it's Rule Thirty Six.

* ''ComicStrip/{{Garfield}}'': [[https://www.gocomics.com/garfield/2022/04/23 Garfield is reading a magazine until he gets too tired to stay awake]]. Jon says "he can never make it through an entire issue of "napping gazette"".

* In David Feldman's ''Why Do Dogs Have Wet Noses?'' an illustration accompanying the entry on why many magazine subscription orders are sent to Boulder, Colorado depicts a man and woman reading copies of ''Feldspar Quarterly'' and ''Schist Digest''.

* In one episode of ''Series/BoyMeetsWorld'' Eric subscribed to 26 different magazines, each one's title beginning with a different letter of the alphabet, as part of poorly thought out attempt to game the Publisher's Clearing House contest. Among these magazines is ''Chester'', a magazine for people named Chester (Eric had to lie about his name to get the subscription).

[[folder:Web Comics]]

** There is apparently an ''A-Cup Aficionado Quarterly'' publication, which voted [[ACupAngst Sidney]] "Sexiest Superheroine".

A character subscribes to a weirdly specific fandom magazine or trade publication you would never expect to have an audience, or that [[PastimesProvePersonality speaks volumes about their character]]. This either represents their interest in a very niche hobby, or shows that a perfectly ordinary part of life is SeriousBusiness to them. If it's a trade publication, they probably belong to a WeirdTradeUnion. As magazines are starting to fall out of fashion (particularly the niche magazines this trope parodies), this trope is becoming increasingly less common, but still maintains some ground.

Named after TheWikiRule, its online equivalent. Related to CollectorOfTheStrange and PastimesProvePersonality. If a [[TestosteronePoisoning Manly Man]] subscribes to ''Cross-stitch Quarterly'', it's RealMenWearPink, and if a NightmareFetishist has managed to find a publication devoted to ''Cross-stitch Bondage Babes'', it's Rule Thirty Six.

* Creator/GeorgeCarlin devoted a small part of his HBO special ''Jammin' in New York'' on this trope, saying that "any activity engaged in by more than four people in this country has got a fucking magazine devoted to it." In particular, he railed against the fact that there's a magazine for ''walking''.

* In ''Literature/HarryPotter'', there is ''Which Broomstick?''; although given the popularity of Quidditch in the wizarding world and the broom's ubiquity as a means of transport, this is probably not so obscure; they're essentially the wizards' equivalent of racing bikes or sports equipment.

* Used for a joke in ''VideoGame/Left4Dead'': while passing by a magazine stand, [[DeadpanSnarker Zoey]] may teasingly tell [[AccentuateTheNegative Francis]] that they have the latest issue of ''Hating Everything Magazine''. Francis' reply? "I hate latest issues!"

* Just about every industry has a trade journal. [[https://www.promonthly.com/magazine Including one for portapotty-operators]]

* Just about every industry has a trade journal.

* In David Feldman's ''Why Do Dogs Have Wet Noses?'' an illustration accompanying the entry on why most magazine subscriptions are sent to Boulder, Colorado depicts a man and woman reading copies of ''Feldspar Weekly'' and ''Schist Digest''.

* ''VideoGame/JaggedAlliance''. Never shown, but it's mentioned that Fox appeared in an issue of ''Babes & Bullets'' both as the centerfold and the author of a four-page article on treating hemorrhaging under battlefield conditions, and received glowing feedback from the readers on both.

** In a later episode, Wendy tries to avoid answering an uncomfortable question by burying her face in a copy of "Avoiding Eye Contact Monthly".

* In ''Literature/HarryPotter'', there is ''Which Broom?''; although given the popularity of Quidditch in the wizarding world and the broom's ubiquity as a means of transport, this is probably not so obscure; they're essentially the wizards' equivalent of racing bikes or sports equipment.

** The comics at one point had Bart perusing the mature section at the Kwik-E-Mart, containing ''Sensuous Single Moms'', ''Barely Senior'' and, most bizarrely, ''Hemp-Made Hot Rods''.