Monday, January 23, 2012

The History of Doof Merchandise: Part One


The image of the Doof was once considered a valuable commodity and was used to promote various types of products for consumers to consume. By all indications using the Doof as an endorsement to sell merchandise was not a sound idea.


Doof Wonderments



In the aftermath of the fiery demise of Music-toons Productions, a somewhat phoenix rose out of it ashes. One of the now unemployed sales force, a man by the name of Arturo Sukini created a small fortune from the salvaged image of the Doof.
Sukini, who everybody called Sal, was a smart and resourceful man. Losing his job at the studio was not a great setback. He was a salesman and knew that all he needed was a product to sell. He remembered befriending in a bar an out of work chemist, Earl Headly. He looked up Headly, offered him a business opportunity and together they developed a line of medical salves and ointments. In 1939, Doof Wonderments was in business. As the story goes, it was the salesman's use of the Doof image to represent the brand that fueled sales. He saw how Mickey Mouse’s image was very successful and he banked on the Doof to appeal to the public as well. Doof Wonderments products made a modest profit for the two men at first but things quickly ended with tragedy. It was discovered that many of the
chemicals that Headly used, when mixed with each caused strange abnormalities to the people who were using them. People were literally losing the use of arms and legs and the dead
appendages were wilting off their bodies. Soon people began protesting and demanding refunds from the company. Getting no response from the company, an angry mob stormed the Wonderments factory and set fire to it. The two owners made their way out a back door and into a waiting car that was never seen above the equator again. Afterwards, the victims, their families and the people who supported them formed a grass root political group, Doof Culture and tried to get their voice heard in Washington about regulations on cure-alls, but with the declaration of war by Japan on the United States, the group disbanded as many of its members enlisted in the armed forces.




Miracle Toy Company


Doof Wonderments spawned Miracle Toy Company, which manufactured Doof toys for children. Although it boasted that the toys were made in the United States, the toys were made in Usa, a tiny province of China. The toys hit the market and it wasn’t long before 12
children were diagnosed with radiation poisoning in 1940. It was believed that the materials used in the manufacturing of the toys were rare and radioactive. The children developed strange mental abilities and after a week of terrorizing the little southern town that they lived in, were herded off by the government to a top secret installation in Nevada. The toys were quickly taken off the shelves in the spring of 1941, the company was quickly sued and was forced to closed down due to the power of the Doof Culture political party.

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