"Evelyn Woodhead Speed Reading Course" is a parody skit of the numerous speed reading courses available in the United States in the 1960s and 1970s written by Cheech and Chong that first appeared on the 1973 album Los Cochinos. The title refers to the Evelyn Wood course.
Voiced by Tommy Chong, the piece begins with the words delivered phonetically:
| “ | Ever since I took the Evelyn Woodhead sped ridin course, my ridin has im-PRO-v'd won-der-FULL-y. I ricommend these Evelyn Woodhed Speed Riddin Course to all my frens out there and you tell 'em that you heard it here first... on Roller Derby | ” |
The short spoken word testimonial style skit was an effective parody of commercials that were prevalent on television and radio stations in that era.
Famous quotes containing the words speed and/or reading:
“There was such speed in her little body,
And such lightness in her footfall,
It is no wonder her brown study
Astonishes us all.”
—John Crowe Ransom (1888–1974)
“The unread story is not a story; it is little black marks on wood pulp. The reader, reading it, makes it live: a live thing, a story.”
—Ursula K. Le Guin (b. 1929)