''Our Own Oddities'' is an illustrated panel that ran in the
Sunday comics
The Sunday comics or Sunday strip is the comic strip section carried in some Western newspapers. Compared to weekday comics, Sunday comics tend to be full pages and are in color. Many newspaper readers called this section the Sunday funnies, t ...
section of the ''
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
The ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' is a regional newspaper based in St. Louis, Missouri, serving the St. Louis metropolitan area. It is the largest daily newspaper in the metropolitan area by circulation, surpassing the '' Belleville News-Democra ...
'' from September 1, 1940 to February 24, 1991.
The feature displayed curiosities submitted by local readers and is often remembered for its drawings of freakish
produce
In American English, produce generally refers to wikt:fresh, fresh List of culinary fruits, fruits and Vegetable, vegetables intended to be Eating, eaten by humans, although other food products such as Dairy product, dairy products or Nut (foo ...
, such as a potato that resembled
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...
. The style of the panel was very similar to ''
Ripley's Believe it or Not!
''Ripley's Believe It or Not!'' is an American franchise founded by Robert Ripley, which deals with bizarre events and items so strange and unusual that readers might question the claims. Originally a newspaper panel, the ''Believe It or Not'' ...
''.
Publication history
When it began September 1, 1940, it was titled ''St. Louis Oddities''. The title changed in the late 1940s.
[
The panel was produced by ''Post-Dispatch'' illustrator Ralph Graczak (pronounced ''Gray''-zak). He retired from the newspaper in 1980, but he continued to produce ''Our Own Oddities'' until it ended, in addition to doing a talk show on St. Louis's ]KMOX
KMOX (1120 AM broadcasting, AM) is a commercial radio station in St. Louis, Missouri, owned by Audacy, Inc. The station is a 50,000 watt List of North American broadcast station classes, Class A clear-channel station with a omnidirectional ante ...
radio.[John M. McGuire, "Still Odd after All These Years," ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'', June 27, 1990.] He died of a heart attack on August 3, 1997.
Content
The curiosities, including actual fruits and vegetables, were submitted to Graczak, who each week selected several items and produced a color illustration to be printed in the Sunday paper.
In addition to bizarre produce, ''Our Own Oddities'' featured other peculiar local trivia, such as a local woman who lived at 1919 Montgomery Street and was born at nine o'clock on August 19, 1919.
Anniversary special
In September 2003, the ''Post-Dispatch'' accepted submissions for a 63rd anniversary special of ''Our Own Oddities''. The best submissions, including a duck-shaped cucumber and a woman born on December 7, 1941
The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Empire of Japan on the United States Pacific Fleet at its naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941. At the time ...
, with the initials W.A.R., were illustrated by ''Post-Dispatch'' artist Dan Martin and featured in the October 6, 2003, edition.[Jeff Daniel, "It's Odd That You Should Mention It," ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'', October 6, 2003.]
Controversy
Despite its quaint illustrated style and typically benign subjects, the feature was the cause of controversy when on May 24, 1988, it included a sign on a truck-repair shop that read "These premises protected by a pit bull
Pit bull is an umbrella term for several Dog type, types of dog believed to have descended from bull and terriers. In the United States, the term is usually considered to include the American Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, A ...
with AIDS
The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...
."[Sue Ann Wood, "Stab at Humor Is Not Funny," ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'', May 29, 1988.] The newspaper printed several angry letters. Graczak and the newspaper's features editor expressed regret.
References
{{reflist
External links
Gallery: ''Our Own Oddities''History of ''Our Own Oddities''"Our Own Oddities, the book" ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' (May 14, 2009)
American comic strips
Educational comics
1940 comics debuts
1991 comics endings
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Non-fiction comic strips