THE MOUSE AND THE MASK

[defrog]

ITEM [via Mostly Forbidden Zone]: On January 7th, 1942, one month after Pearl Harbor, the Sun Rubber Company introduced the Mickey Mouse Gas Mask for children.



According to the Gas Mask Lexicon:

The mask was designed so children would carry it and wear it as part of a game. This would reduce the fear associated with wearing a gas mask and hopefully, improve their wear time and, hence, survivability....

Ultimately, the Office of Civil Defense bought the M2 Noncombatant Gas Mask for small children to protect them from chemical agents. In tests, with proper coaching and good salesmanship by the leader, young children could be induced to wear the gas mask for extended periods....

The Mickey Mouse Gas Mask was produced as part of the war production program. The Sun Rubber Company produced approximately 1,000 Mickey Mouse gas masks and earned an Army-Navy ‘E’ for excellence in wartime production in 1944. Overall, production of the Noncombatant Gas Masks (and in fact, all gas masks) was one of the most successful production programs of the war. In fact, production had to be curtailed early due to the vast quantity produced.

Which makes me think how surreal you could make a conventional ground offensive by making an adult military version of this mask.

Imagine being on the front line and seeing a pack of giant armed Mickey Mice coming for you.



It’s a gas gas gas,

This is dF

Comments

[nebris.livejournal.com]

My mother had one of those.

~M~

[garbagecanmusic.livejournal.com]

This is the stuff that nightmares are made of...

[thelastaerie.livejournal.com]

and they thought children would fear less of those?? it's creepy and hideous.

[jasonfranks.livejournal.com]

Proof that Grant Morrison is in fact a documentary maker.