History of S. S. Adams Company

S. S. Adams Company is the largest manufacturer and purveyor of exploding cigars in the United States during the middle of the last century. Made more exploding cigars and other gag novelty items as of 1946 than its next eleven competitors combined according to The Saturday Evening Post.

Soren Sorensen Adams is the founder of the million dollar company and evidently where he got the nickname "king of the professional pranksters". He invented and patented many common gag novelties such as sneezing powder, itching powder, the dribble glass and the joy buzzer.

According to Adams the chemical explosive variety had fallen out of favor to non-chemical device since the 1915 aftermath on which a death caused by a homemade exploding cigar rigged with dynamite. Over the history prank exploding cigars have caused many injuries.

In 1906, a cigar shop was sued by Edward Weinschreider for an exploding cigar which badly burned his hand and three of his fingers were amputated.

The intended purpose of exploding cigars is not to cause physical harm as to the butt of the joke but as a form of hostile practical joke. But eventually it did caused a decline in their manufacture and sale due to the high risk of unintended injuries from their use.

Although there have been claims that exploding cigars were used as a means to kill or attempt to kill targets in real life it is still well represented as a fictional plot device.

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