Lo, a Saturday edition of Friday Robot Intermission! Before I jump into the topic I would like to welcome our newest writer, Savant, which I'm sure a few of you know from the forums. And Kristofer Rushing will also be joining us in coming days. Destructoid is always looking for new writers -- please submit your writing samples to Robert Summa and we'll miser over your ability to string sentences together. Help us spread teh funny! Anyway, one of the questions asked by readers covered in Episode 2 of the PodToid podcast was the origin of Destructoid. I touched on it a little bit in the show but wanted to elaborate, having now done all the research and mongering. Destructoid the robot is actually a modified stock photo we purchased from Getty Images created by an unknown artist. The cool thing we later learned is that this image was inspired by a vintage toy called "The Smoking Robot" Here's the retail description:

"This battery-operated 12" tall tin robot is a masterful creation that was first manufactured in Japan in the 1950s. When the robot is set in motion, this huge menacing-looking gray and red robot strides along noisily with its arms swaying and eyes and pistons on it's head flashing. Every few paces he stops, pauses, and puffs smoke from his mouth before resuming his rambling stride. The unsophisticated design adds to its robot image, while the facial expression has a human quality to it. The Smoking Robot makes an impressive toy gift or a great collectors item. Smoking Robot features: * Huge gray and red tin robot (12" tall) * Produces puffs of smoke every few steps * Eyes and pistons on it's head flash * On and off switch * Stop and Go action

Fascinating, isn't it? You can find The Smoking Robot for about $40-$100 online (the cheaper ones are made of plastic) in a few places online and have your own desktop Destructoid. We actually will be giving a few of these away for the holiday season so you'll have a chance to win one. So now you know! Naturally, we removed that ridiculous rooster crest on his head and build our own menacing life-sized helmet version, so he's taken on a new meaning since our debut at E3. But we won't forget our great ancestor; who knew he was Japanese?!! Very appropriate for a gaming site, I think.