March 4, 2008
Historical Fun Facts

wilsonIn September 2005, the Detroit Free Press published an article consisting of twelve cartoons depicting the unobstructed face of Wilson Wilson, Tim Taylor’s eccentric neighbor from the hit TV show Home Improvement. This move outraged The Church of More Power, a self-described religious cult of Home Improvement fanatics, which considers any unobstructed depiction of Wilson’s face blasphemous. The Church sent a strongly-worded letter to Governor Jennifer Granholm, urging her to publicly denounce the cartoons, but Granholm declared that “the freedom of expression has a wide scope… the Michigan government has no means of influencing the press.” Angered by what they perceived to be a smear campaign against sitcom fanatics, members of The Church set fire to the offices of the Detroit Free Press and the governor’s mansion, leading to statewide riots. Stars of Home Improvement, including Tim Allen, Richard Karn and Jonathan Taylor Thomas, held a joint press conference denouncing the violence and calling for peace. Soon afterward, Church leaders sat down with state officials and the two groups reached a mutual agreement whereby a small area of Detroit would be annexed into the sovereign nation of Binfordia.

Historical Fun Facts Archive