Soren Sorensen "Sam" Adams (May 24, 1879 – October 20, 1963) was a

Danish-American Danish Americans ( da, Dansk-amerikanere) are Americans who have ancestral roots originated fully or partially from Denmark. There are approximately 1,300,000 Americans of Danish origin or descent. History The first Dane known to have arri ...

inventor and manufacturer of novelty products, including the joy buzzer.

Biography

He was born Søren Adam Sørensen in Kolind,

Syddjurs Syddjurs municipality is a municipality (Danish, '' kommune'') in Region Midtjylland in Denmark just north of Aarhus and is a part of the Aarhus area. It covers an area of 696.7 km² and has a population of 41,671 (1 April 2014). On 1 Janua ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

in 1879 to Hans Sørensen, a clog maker, and his wife Sofia. They moved to the US when Soren was two, and settled in the Scandinavian community of

Perth Amboy Perth Amboy is a city in Middlesex County, New Jersey. Perth Amboy is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 55,436. Perth Amboy has a Hispanic majority population. In the 2010 census, th ...

, New Jersey where his father operated a saloon. In 1904 Adams found himself employed as a salesman for a dye company. One of the products he sold caused workers to sneeze, and Sam found a way to extract this derivative from the dye and called this new powder ''Cachoo''. He was inundated by requests for this product from his friends and so, he decided to sell his interest in a hotel in

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

, Pennsylvania, and used the money to launch the ''Cachoo Sneezing Powder Company'' in Plainfield, New Jersey. Within a few years, the sneezing powder craze that swept the country had subsided, and Sam set out to innovating new products. He also changed the name of the company to S.S. Adams Co. to reflect that it was no longer a one product company. The ''Exploding Cigarette Box'', the snake nut can,

itching powder Itching powder is a powder or powder-like substance that induces itching when applied onto human skin. This is usually done as a practical joke or prank to an unsuspecting victim. Description and uses The cause of the irritation can be mechanica ...

, the

stink bomb A stink bomb, sometimes called a stinkpot, is a device designed to create an unpleasant smell. They range in effectiveness from being used as simple pranks to military grade malodorants or riot control chemical agents. History A stink bomb ...

, and the

dribble glass A dribble glass is a drinking glass that has holes hidden in its etched design. The purpose of a dribble glass is for pranks. When a person tilts the glass to take a drink from this glass, they will end up spilling the liquid on their clothing as ...

all entered the Adams line in the next decade. In 1928, Sam invented the prototype of what was to become the joy buzzer, a mechanical device placed in the hand, which emitted a loud vibrating buzz, when a button on the buzzer was depressed. This would usually occur when two people shook hands. He took the prototype to

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

, Germany, where a tool and die maker created the tooling to make small parts for the item, which was now just 3.2 cm (1-1/4 inches) in diameter and 1.8 cm (3/4 inch) thick. The final item was patented in 1932. The success of the item allowed him to greatly increase his staff and purchase the former Symphonion music box factory building (constructed in 1893, demolished 2017) in

Neptune Neptune is the eighth planet from the Sun and the farthest known planet in the Solar System. It is the fourth-largest planet in the Solar System by diameter, the third-most-massive planet, and the densest giant planet. It is 17 time ...

, New Jersey, all during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

. In 1930, the JEM Rubber Co. of

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

, Canada, approached Sam with their new invention; a small, green, blow-up ball called Whoopee, which was to become the famous

Whoopee Cushion A whoopee (or whoopie) cushion is a practical joke device involving flatulence humour, which produces a noise resembling human flatulence. It has also been referred to as a farting bag, pooting cushion, windy blaster and Razzberry Cushion. Histo ...

. Sam said that "the whole idea seemed too indelicate" and would never sell. JEM Rubber then went and offered the idea to other distributors including Johnson Smith & Company, which ended up selling it with great success. S.S. Adams Co. later released its own version calling it the "Razzberry Cushion."

Later life and death

Sam and S.S. Adams went on to create many more successful novelties: ''The Bar Bug in Ice Cube'', ''The Money Maker'', ''The Squirting Nickel'', ''The Jumping Coin'', ''Laughing Tissue'' as well as an extensive line of novelty-based magic tricks and puzzles. He claimed to have devised over 600 different items, and patented about 40 of them. He continued to lead S.S. Adams Company until his death in

Asbury Park Asbury Park () is a beachfront city located on the Jersey Shore in Monmouth County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 15,188

, New Jersey in 1963 at age 84.

References

Sources

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External links

S.S. Adams Company
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Samuel Sorenson 1879 births 1963 deaths 20th-century American inventors People from Asbury Park, New Jersey People from Perth Amboy, New Jersey Danish emigrants to the United States Toy inventors People from Syddjurs Municipality