The Spot Where the Whoopee Cushion Was Invented Is Getting a Historical Plaque
The Whoopee Cushion is obviously a phenomenal invention, whether you’re using it to prank someone, or enlisting a group of giggling children to provide flatulent accompaniment to a piece of classical music.
But where did this marvel of faux fart sounds come from?
As The New York Times once reported, presumably on a slow news day, there have been suggestions that the origin of the Whoopee Cushion can be traced back to the Middle Ages, when “jesters turned pig bladders into flatulence simulators.” Although, as the Times noted, these stories are likely “apocryphal.”
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It turns out that the Whoopee Cushion, like Rush, insulin and every current celebrity named “Ryan,” originated in Canada. Around 1930, the JEM Rubber Company in Toronto came up with the device thanks to factory workers “experimenting with sheets of rubber.” It was originally called the “poo-poo cushion,” then the “boop-boop a doop” until they finally landed on “Whoopee.”
The “Whoopee” branding was possibly inspired by the popular 1920s tune “Makin’ Whoopee,” which was really all about sex. This may explain why the product sold so remarkably well.
Despite coming out smack-dab in the middle of the Great Depression, the fart simulators “sold like hotcakes,” no thanks to the not-so-catchy tagline: “It gives forth noises that can be better imagined than described.” What???
The rubber-makers initially offered to partner with practical joke magnate Samuel Sorenson Adams, who had invented “650 gags,” including the joy buzzer and sneezing powder. But he turned them down, believing the Whoopee Cushion to be too “indelicate.” Harsh words from the guy who created the stink bomb.
We don’t have to tell you that the Whoopee Cushion quickly became a ubiquitous part of modern life. Even now it’s a fixture of contemporary culture, as evidenced by the family of contestants on America’s Got Talent who were willing to risk breaking their necks nose diving into an oversized Whoopee Cushion.
But it all started with a random discovery in an old-timey Toronto factory. Thankfully, that moment in Canadian history/fart joke history is now getting the respect it deserves. In 2023, Heritage Toronto, a city agency that “promotes public awareness, understanding and appreciation of Toronto’s cultural, architectural, archaeological and natural heritage” announced that the location of the former JEM Rubber Company factory would be outfitted with a plaque honoring the “landmark invention in comedic history.”
The historic plaque, which has already been created and unveiled at an event last December, will reportedly be “installed publicly at a later date.” It should really brighten up the nondescript stretch of road between a grocery store and an apartment building where the factory used to be.
Until then, those looking for a public monument to fart jokes will just have to seek out Leslie Nielsen’s grave.
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