| Consider the whoopee cushion, also referred | | | | There were primarily two companies that sold |
| to as the Poo Poo Cushion and Razzbery | | | | these types of pranks over the years. The |
| Cushion. An object of disgust for some, | | | | aforementioned S.S. Adams,which began |
| merriment for others. Invented around 1950 | | | | business in 1906, and Johnson Smith Company |
| by two employees of the Jem Rubber Company of | | | | that began business in 1914. Both companies |
| Toronto Canada, goofing around with scrap | | | | are still in business. The gag market |
| pieces of rubber sheeting. Sounds like it | | | | evidently is still very strong. Johnson |
| was a fun place to work! | | | | Smith published a 500+ page catalogue full of |
| | | | novelties and gags in the 1920's, and my Dad |
| The company tried to sell the new device to | | | | used to order from there from his childhood |
| Sam Adams, founder of the S.S.Adams Novelty | | | | days until a few years before his death in |
| Company. But Sam Adams refused, saying the | | | | 1993. Some comments from the Johnson Smith |
| item was too vulgar and would never sell. | | | | Company: |
| But other companies that Jem Rubber | | | | |
| approached did not think the same way. The | | | | "Our story is not without sociological |
| rest is history. | | | | aspects and influences. During the 1920s and |
| | | | 1930s, practical jokes and home hobbies |
| So what is the mystique of the whoopee | | | | provided an escape for people wracked with |
| cushion? Flatulence has never been proper | | | | economic struggle brought on by WWI and the |
| behavior in public, at least for many people. | | | | Great Depression. Our catalog provided hours |
| Things that are not proper are left wide | | | | of "escape," fun and fantasy for the |
| open to the imagination of folks with a sense | | | | depressed nation, even without having to |
| of humor. Flatulence jokes are found in the | | | | order! Even today we hear from people who |
| plays of the 5th century BC playwright | | | | remember our catalog and the "relief" we |
| Aristophanes, in the writings of Homer, | | | | provided!" |
| Geoffrey Chaucer in his Canterbury Tales, in | | | | |
| the Arabic tales translated by Sir Richard | | | | So there you have it. Sociological aspects |
| Burton Tales of 1001 Nights, Benjamin | | | | from pranks and jokes, including the whoopee |
| Franklin and Mark Twain both included | | | | cushion! There are also the technological |
| references to the fart in their writings. | | | | aspects of this that should not be ignored. |
| Famous company for such low brow humor, I'd | | | | The original whoopee cushion, made from |
| say. | | | | rubber and inexpensive, has given way to a |
| | | | wonder of technology, the remote control |
| My first experience with a whoopee cushion | | | | whoopee cushion! |
| was brought about by my Dad, one of the great | | | | |
| practical jokesters and pranksters I ever | | | | While there is always a price to pay for |
| knew. When us kids were called in to supper, | | | | technology, the modern version has 15 |
| we never knew what was in store. A dribble | | | | different sounds, can be operated with the |
| glass, a pile of rubber dog doo doo on our | | | | remote control up to fifty feet away. But |
| plates, soup spoons with clear plastic | | | | there is still room for the original version |
| inserts that soup would roll off of, a | | | | of the whoopee cushion. It does take a |
| telescopic fork that Dad would extend to | | | | certain degree of skill in use, and there are |
| swipe food off your plate, rubber vomit. And | | | | ways of getting different noises from the |
| between meals was no different. Chinese | | | | original whoopee cushion. For the purist, the |
| Finger Traps, Joy Buzzers, cans of mixed nuts | | | | original. For everyone else, the remote |
| that when opened out shot a long snake. By | | | | control version. |
| the time us kids were old enough to leave | | | | |
| home, we had pretty much seen it all, | | | | So whether the results of using a whoopee |
| prankster wise anyway. Some of us had enough | | | | cushion (either the vintage or new-fangled |
| of the pranks when we were kids, some of us | | | | style) make you laugh, cringe, or turn away |
| were hooked on them. I confess to being | | | | in disgust the whoopee cushion is here to |
| hooked on them. | | | | stay. |
| | | | |