The Mystery of the Leaping Fish

In this unusually broad comedy for Fairbanks, the acrobatic leading man plays "Coke Ennyday", a cocaine-shooting detective who is a parody of Sherlock Holmes. Ennyday is given to injecting himself from a bandolier of syringes worn across his chest, and liberally helps himself to the contents of a hatbox-sized round container of white powder labeled "COCAINE" on his desk.

Wikipedia page.

Posted By: Paul - Tue Mar 24, 2020 - Comments (3)
Category: Addictions, Detectives, Private Eyes and Other Investigators, Drugs, Humor, Parody, Movies, 1910s

Latawnya the Naughty Horse

This book, first published in 1990, must be in demand by collectors. The cheapest used copy on Amazon is $50, while to get a new copy you've got to fork over $318.25.

The reviews are worth checking out.

There was a sequel, published in 2010, titled (boringly) Latawnya The Naughty Horse Two.

Posted By: Alex - Tue Jan 14, 2020 - Comments (2)
Category: Drugs, Books

South Dakota on Meth

South Dakota reportedly paid an advertising firm $449,000 to develop its new anti-meth campaign. The firm came up with the slogan, “Meth. We’re on it.”

The public reaction, so far, hasn't been kind.

More info: Philly Voice

Posted By: Alex - Thu Nov 21, 2019 - Comments (3)
Category: Drugs, Advertising

Opiated Hash

You might think that ‘opiated hash’ would be marijuana laced with opium. But not so. According to Cincinnati policeman Carl Rauschenberger, in a 1970 interview, it was “droppings from guinea pigs which had been fed marijuana.” Presumably people were smoking these droppings.

The clipping below also contains a curious claim about kids supposedly injecting peanut butter or mayonnaise into their veins. I've looked into that claim at some length over at the Museum of Hoaxes.

Cincinnati Enquirer - June 7, 1970

Posted By: Alex - Tue Nov 12, 2019 - Comments (1)
Category: Drugs, Smoking and Tobacco

Hallucinogenic giraffe livers

It's possible that the livers of some giraffes might be hallucinogenic when consumed. Although the claim is controversial.



The idea was first introduced into the scientific literature in 1958 by anthropologist Ian Cunnison, in an article published in the obscure journal Sudan Notes and Records.

Cunnison had spent time with the giraffe-hunting Humr tribe of Sudan, and he reported that after a successful hunt they would often consume a drink called umm nyolokh made from the liver and bone marrow of the giraffe. Cunnison didn't try the drink himself, but its effects, as described to him by the Humr, seemed to be hallucinogenic, Here's the relevant passage in Cunnison's article:



It's noted on Wikipedia that, if the reports from the Humr were accurate, “this claim would make the giraffe the first mammal to be discovered to contain a hallucinogen in its bodily tissues,” However, Cunnison himself was skeptical, suggesting that the perceived effects might be “brought about subconsciously.”

Cunnison’s article didn’t attract much attention until 1998, when Richard Rudgely discussed it in his Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Substances. Rudgely was far more willing to believe that the giraffe livers really were hallucinogenic.

Since then people have speculated that the giraffes in Sudan might have been consuming plants, such as Acacia trees, that contained psychoactive substances, which then concentrated in their livers.

But to date, to my knowledge, the issue remains entirely speculative because no one has gone to Sudan to find and test some of this umm nyolokh.

Members of the Humr tribe skinning a giraffe after a hunt.
Source: Sudan Notes and Records

Posted By: Alex - Wed Sep 11, 2019 - Comments (4)
Category: Animals, Drugs, Psychedelic, Inebriation and Intoxicants

Cannabliss Wallpaper

Scratch-and-sniff wallpaper that smells like marijuana. Available from Flavor Paper.

Just a wild guess: most of the people who will buy this already have rooms that smell like marijuana.

Posted By: Alex - Tue Aug 20, 2019 - Comments (0)
Category: Drugs, Smoking and Tobacco, Interior Decorating

Narcotic Pangolin Scales?

Wildlife researchers would like everyone to know that the scales of pangolins (a kind of anteater) DO NOT contain the opiate tramadol, because apparently there’s a thriving black-market trade in the scales fueled by people who think they can use them to get high. In fact, the scales are made entirely of keratin, which is the same thing fingernails are made out of.

I wonder how this rumor ever got started. Was it as a joke? Or did someone seriously think they got high from pangolin scales?

More info: Nat Geo

image source: wikipedia

Posted By: Alex - Thu Aug 15, 2019 - Comments (7)
Category: Animals, Drugs

Gateway Drug

Posted By: Paul - Sat Apr 06, 2019 - Comments (1)
Category: Business, Advertising, Drugs, Candy, Bohemians, Beatniks, Hippies and Slackers, 1960s

Bridge player caught doping

A doping scandal has rocked the world of competitive bridge. The World Bridge Federation announced that top-ranked player Geir Helgemo has been suspended after he tested positive for synthetic testosterone and the female fertility drug clomifene while playing in the World Bridge Series in Orlando, Florida.

Of course, these drugs don't enhance or otherwise affect one's ability to play bridge. But apparently the World Bridge Federation is recognized by the International Olympic Committee, which means the bridge players need to follow the same anti-doping rules as Olympic athletes.

More details: globalnews.ca

Posted By: Alex - Sat Mar 09, 2019 - Comments (3)
Category: Drugs, Games, Sports

Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers Film

Alas, some four years after this teaser, the film seems no nearer to completion.

Posted By: Paul - Sat Jan 26, 2019 - Comments (3)
Category: Addictions, Cops, Drugs, Psychedelic, Movies, Stop-motion Animation, Stupid Criminals, Bohemians, Beatniks, Hippies and Slackers, Cats, 1960s