Harold von Braunhut
Harold Nathan Braunhut (March 31, 1926 – November 28, 2003), also known as Harold von Braunhut, was an American mail-order marketer and inventor, most famous as the creator and seller of both the Amazing Sea-Monkeys and the X-Ray Specs.[1] His grandfather Tobias Cohn was head of the T.Cohn Toy Company until the early 1940s.
Personal life[edit]
Braunhut was born in Memphis, Tennessee on March 31, 1926. He grew up in New York City and resided there until the 1980s, when he moved to Maryland.[2] According to a Washington Post report, he was raised "as Harold Nathan Braunhut, a Jew"[3] - notable in light of his later association with white supremacist groups. He added "von" to his name some time in the 1950s for a more Germanic sound.[4]
His first marriage was to Charlotte Braunhut. His second marriage was to actress Yolanda Signorelli, who took an active role in marketing Sea-Monkeys. He had a son, Jonathan, and a daughter, Jeanette LaMothe.
Harold von Braunhut died on November 28, 2003 at his home in Indian Head, Maryland, following an accidental fall.[5]
Business activities[edit]
Braunhut used comic book advertisements to sell an assortment of quirky products. He held 195 patents[1] for various products, many of which have become cultural icons, including:[4]
- X-Ray Specs, which advertisements claimed enabled the wearer to see through clothing and flesh. The product has appealed to generations of curious adolescents.
- Amazing Sea-Monkeys, which were tiny brine shrimp that came to life when water was added.[6] Sales took an upswing when comic book illustrator Joe Orlando drew comic book ads showing the humanized Sea-Monkeys enjoying life in their underwater fantasy world. Billions of the tiny creatures have been sold over the years and have generated fan websites, a television series, and a video game. Astronaut John Glenn took 400 million "Amazing Sea-Monkeys" into space with him in 1998.[1]
- Crazy Crabs, which were simply hermit crabs
- Amazing Hair-Raising Monsters, a card with a printed monster that would grow "hair" (actually mineral crystals) when water was added
- Invisible Goldfish, imaginary fish that were guaranteed to remain permanently invisible
Braunhut also raced motorcycles under the name "The Green Hornet", and managed a showman whose act consisted of diving 40 feet (12 m) into a children's wading pool filled with only 1 foot (0.30 m) of water.[1] Braunhut also set up a wildlife conservation area[7] in Maryland.
Racial views[edit]
The Washington Post stated in a report that, despite his Jewish ethnicity, he had a close association with white supremacist groups, buying firearms for a Ku Klux Klan faction and regularly attending the Aryan Nations annual conference.[3] In a 1988 interview with the Seattle Times, he referred to the "inscrutable, slanty Korean eyes" of Korean shop owners and was quoted as saying, "You know what side I'm on. I don't make any bones about it."[8]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d Evan Hughes (June 28, 2011). "The Shocking True Tale Of The Mad Genius Who Invented Sea-Monkeys". The Awl.
- ^ "The Battle Over the Sea-Monkey Fortune". New York Times Magazine. April 15, 2016. Retrieved 2016-04-15.
- ^ a b Bob Moser (Spring 2004). "Hitler and the Sea-Monkeys". Southern Poverty Law Center.
- ^ a b "Harold von Braunhut". The Daily Telegraph. December 24, 2003.
- ^ Douglas Martin (December 21, 2003). "Harold von Braunhut, Seller Of Sea Monkeys, Dies at 77". The New York Times.
- ^ Harold N. Braunhut, Method and Materials Used for Hatching Brine Shrimp. U.S. Patent 3,673,986. 1972.
- ^ Zeises, Lara. "Monkey Business To their adoring legions of fans, Sea-Monkeys are the ultimate in Kitsch. But their Maryland inventor says they're really a starter kit for environmentale awarness. [sic]". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved June 29, 2011.
- ^ Brott, Tamar (October 1, 2000). "The Sea Monkeys and the White Supremacist". Los Angeles Times.
