Category:
Smoking and Tobacco
Smoking and Tobacco
Cheese-Filtered Cigarettes
We've previously posted about "cheese candy", which was the invention of Wisconsin lumberman Stuart Stebbings. Another of his inventions was cheese-filtered cigarettes. He was, apparently, a man driven to find new uses for cheese.
Lab tests demonstrated that a cheese filter could remove 90 percent of the tar in cigarettes. A hard cheese worked best, such as Parmesan, Romano, or Swiss. Although an aged cheddar could also be used. Or even a blend of cheeses.
In 1966, Stebbings was granted Patent No. 3,234,948. But as far as I know, his cheese-filtered cigarettes never made it to market.
Mason City Globe-Gazette - Feb 8, 1960
Posted By: Alex - Sun Jan 03, 2021 -
Comments (3)
Category: Food, Inventions, Smoking and Tobacco, 1960s
Kent, the asbestos-filtered cigarette
In 1952, in response to growing concerns about the safety of cigarettes, the Lorillard Tobacco Company introduced Kent cigarettes, boasting that they contained a "Micronite filter" developed by "researchers in atomic energy plants".Turned out that the key ingredient in the Micronite filter was asbestos. From wikipedia:
Kent widely touted its "famous micronite filter" and promised consumers the "greatest health protection in history". Sales of Kent skyrocketed, and it has been estimated that in Kent's first four years on the market, Lorillard sold some 13 billion Kent cigarettes. From March 1952 until at least May 1956, however, the Micronite filter in Kent cigarettes contained compressed carcinogenic blue asbestos within the crimped crepe paper. It has been suspected that many cases of mesothelioma have been caused specifically by smoking the original Kent cigarettes.
According to Mother Jones, the company is still battling lawsuits to this day.
Chicago Tribune - Apr 1, 1952
Posted By: Alex - Mon Dec 14, 2020 -
Comments (1)
Category: Health, Atomic Power and Other Nuclear Matters, Smoking and Tobacco, 1950s
“Perfect smoke column from end to end”
The model looks slightly out-of-it as the "Accu-Ray" machine deposits an endless supply of cigarettes into her hand. Perhaps, like James Bond, she had a 70-cigarette-a-day habit that had to be constantly fed.
Posted By: Alex - Mon Nov 23, 2020 -
Comments (2)
Category: Advertising, Smoking and Tobacco, 1950s
Admiral Cigarettes Film
The cigarette genie appears!
Posted By: Paul - Mon Nov 23, 2020 -
Comments (2)
Category: Magic and Illusions and Sleight of Hand, Advertising, Smoking and Tobacco, Nineteenth Century
Trim Reducing-Aid Cigarettes
The Cornell Drug Corporation came out with Trim Cigarettes in 1958, claiming that smoking three of them a day would reduce appetite and thereby help with weight loss:Smoke a TRIM reducing aid cigarette and you'll be amazed to find yourself shaking your head as the food is passed around. There'll be no argument, you won't have to close your eyes and grit your teeth, you just won't want!
The FDA promptly banned them. More info: wikipedia
Miami News - May 16, 1958
Posted By: Alex - Sat Nov 14, 2020 -
Comments (0)
Category: Smoking and Tobacco, 1950s, Dieting and Weight Loss
A silly millimeter longer
In 1966, Benson & Hedges introduced the "100" — an extralong, 100-millimeter cigarette. Their tongue-in-cheek commercials focused on the supposed disadvantages of such a long cigarette.Not to be outdone, the makers of Chesterfields responded by introducing the "101", which was 101 millimeters long. As they put it, it was a "silly millimeter longer."
As far as I know, no one ever introduced a "102" cigarette.
Posted By: Alex - Fri Sep 04, 2020 -
Comments (5)
Category: Smoking and Tobacco, 1960s
Cockroach trained to carry cigarettes
1938: Prisoners in solitary confinement in Amarillo, Texas figured out how to get cigarettes by training a cockroach to carry them under the cell door.
Salt Lake Tribune - Mar 2, 1938
Klamath News - Apr 9, 1938
Posted By: Alex - Mon Aug 17, 2020 -
Comments (1)
Category: Prisons, Smoking and Tobacco, 1930s
Follies of the Madmen #483
Our product turns you into an arrogant jerk.
Source.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Jul 19, 2020 -
Comments (3)
Category: Business, Advertising, Emotions, Smoking and Tobacco, 1970s
James Bond’s Cigarettes
According to Ian Fleming's books, James Bond was a heavy smoker, consuming 60-70 cigarettes a day. By my quick calculations, that means Bond smoked a new cigarette about every 15 minutes.Bond was also loyal to a specific brand: Morland cigarettes. These were custom cigarettes created specifically for him by Morland & Co. of Grosvenor Street from a blend of Balkan and Turkish tobacco. They had three gold rings around the butt.
These were real cigarettes which one could buy, and which Fleming himself smoked. They were sold as the "James Bond Special No. 1". However, you can't buy them anymore since the company went out of business soon after Fleming's death.
More info: Fleming's Bond
Posted By: Alex - Fri Jun 19, 2020 -
Comments (6)
Category: Literature, Smoking and Tobacco
Let’s try to stop smoking!!!!!!
Capitol Records released this album in 1964, on the heels of the Surgeon General's report detailing the harmful effects of smoking. Apparently that report inspired a fad for anti-smoking records. (See our earlier post about the 1964 album Music To Help You Stop Smoking).The Capitol Records release claimed to help listeners kick the smoking habit by hypnotizing them. The hypnotist was said to be a doctor, but for reasons of professional ethics he didn't reveal his identity, instead using the pseudonym Scott Gordon.
Discogs.com notes, "The title has one exclamation point on the back of the jacket and spine, no exclamation point on the label, and 6 on the front of the jacket."
Although I couldn't find any audio clips from the record online, I did come across this video posted by a British dance company in which they perform to a brief excerpt of Scott Gordon hypnotizing listeners.
Posted By: Alex - Tue Mar 31, 2020 -
Comments (2)
Category: Smoking and Tobacco, 1960s
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| Alex Boese Alex is the creator and curator of the Museum of Hoaxes. He's also the author of various weird, non-fiction, science-themed books such as Elephants on Acid and Psychedelic Apes. Paul Di Filippo Paul has been paid to put weird ideas into fictional form for over thirty years, in his career as a noted science fiction writer. He has recently begun blogging on many curious topics with three fellow writers at The Inferior 4+1. Contact Us |