Drinking the cool-aid...

Oh, Wall Drug might be a place to get free ice-water and maybe even a big bottle of aspirin. However, you'd still be missing the bigger picture---such as just what in the hell is this place doing out here in the middle of nowhere??? And why does it employ more than 100 people and take up an entire block? And why does it have so much weird useless stuff like stuffed jackalopes, animatronic cowboys, large dinosaurs, and a place to go pan for gold?

We may never know the answers to those questions. However, one thing is certain---if Wall Drug were an academic enterprise, it would probably be called the Wall Supercomputing Center. Obviously, it would be filled to the brim with lots of expensive-looking gadgets, sleek posters of pretty computer graphics, dozens of smiling professors selling snakeoil, and amusing animatronic geeks that flail about and look like they might be doing real science--especially in the presence of program managers and for the two weeks prior to the annual Supercomputing conference. Of course, the WSC would also do something really unusual to distinguish itself from all of the other supercomputing centers. Hmmm. Oh, I know---maybe it could offer free sodas. Oh wait. Ah, nevermind.