Sunday, April 01, 2012

IMITATION FLY PIN: AN EXACT IMITATION OF A LIVE FLY

Happy April Fools' Day!  Were you a victim of a prank today or were you the prankster? Maybe you got pranked by an imitation fly pin. Let's take a look at an old fly prank still on the original card.


I believe this fly pin was produced by Adams, the #1 maker of jokes and pranks. Not sure on the age, but I noticed the artwork was used in a 1957 Adams catalog that's pictured in Life of the Party: A Visual History of the S.S. Adams Company Makers of Pranks & Magic for 100 Yearsby Kirk Demarais.It looks older than '57 and it's interesting that it is marked Japan.


Yep, that's a convincing looking fly alright.  I had planned to do as the card suggested and stick it in some butter or on a sandwich. Unfortunately the stickpin is too rusted and I didn't want to take a chance and tear the card.

Years ago I was given a realistic looking fly that could be controlled with a magnet.  You could put the fly on a piece of paper and use the magnet to control it.  I used it a few times and tried to prank family members by putting the fly in a bowl of chips or on top of a hamburger bun.  Also, I had a giant rubber fly that I tied in a tree in hopes to get double-looks from neighbors walking by.  Ah, you can have a lot fun with a fake fly.

2 comments:

Kirk D. said...

I'd wager this is imitation fly is an imitation! That is indeed Adams art but the lack of the Adams name on the card and the "JAPAN" lead me to believe this is a forgery. The bad news: it's worthless to Adams collectors, the good news: it's priceless to bootleg Adams collectors!

Todd Franklin said...

Thanks for your thoughts on the fly! I was wondering if this might be an Adams knockoff.