Don Rickles is the last man standing from the Rat Pack Days.

This insult comic has been hurling barbs at audience members for decades.  Typical jokes are ”Who picks your clothes? Stevie Wonder?” and “Eddie Fisher married to Elizabeth Taylor is like me trying to wash the Empire State Building with a bar of soap.”  He admits that his act is off the top of his head ad that he never writes anything down on paper.  That makes his grocery list easy to finish.

He once said, “I think if I took therapy, the doctor would quit.  He’d just pick up the couch and walk out of the room.”  No one believes that someone would walk out on Rickles.

In the 1960s, he was a guest on just about every comedy sit-com from Dick Van Dyke to Laugh-in.  For a couple of season, he starred in C.P.O. Sharkey a show where the comic played a drill instructor. During one taping, Johnny Carson visited the set to give Rickles a hard time for breaking a cigar box.  It is considered a highlight of the 1970s era Tonight Show.

Many younger people know him as the voice of Mr. Potato Head in the Toy Story trilogy of films.  He has done some more dramatic roles in such flicks as Kelly’s Heroes and Casino.  He has also released two comedy recordings and two books.

The best way to experience Rickles is to see him live in Las Vegas.  He still performs there every year to sell-out crowds.

The funsite Dark Roasted Blend promises “weird and wonderful things,” and that includes a photo collection celebrating bumper cars, a staple of carnivals and midways for almost a century now.

The item includes not just photos of some of the oldest bumper cars — also called “dodgems” or “dashing cars.”

There are also photos of classic cars that have been made street legal with wheels and motorcycle engines. Most of these are the work of San Diego collector Tom Wright.

This article is another part of Dark Roasted Blend’s historical look at amusement parks. With these articles, you can enjoy the Midway without risking sunburn or stepping in something sticky.

For the record, Comedy Guys Defensive Driving does not advises bumping cars on the road, but in their proper place bumper cars can be fun.