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

Danish-American Danish Americans () are Americans who have ancestral roots originated fully or partially from Denmark. There are approximately 1,300,000 Americans of Danes, Danish origin or descent. Most Danes who came to the United States after 1865 did so ...

inventor and manufacturer of novelty products, including the

joy buzzer A joy buzzer (also called a hand buzzer) is a practical joke device that consists of a coiled mainspring inside a disc worn in the palm of the hand. When the wearer shakes hands with another person, a button on the disc releases the spring, whic ...

Biography

He was born Søren Adam Sørensen in Kolind, Syddjurs,

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

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 northeastern Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, within the New York Metro Area. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 55,436. Perth Amboy is known as the "City by the Bay", re ...

, 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 in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

, 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 A snake nut can is a practical joke device that closely resembles a can of nuts, but contains a long wire spring covered by a cloth or vinyl sheath, printed like snake skin, which leaps out of the can and startles the unsuspecting victim. The ite ...

itching powder Itching powder is a Powder (substance), powder or powder-like substance that induces itching when applied onto human skin. This is usually done as a Practical joke device, practical joke or prank to an unsuspecting victim. Description and uses Th ...

, 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

, 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 German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

, 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 and farthest known planet from the Sun. It is the List of Solar System objects by size, fourth-largest planet in the Solar System by diameter, the third-most-massive planet, and the densest giant planet. It is 17 t ...

, New Jersey, all during the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

. In 1930, the JEM Rubber Co. of

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, 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 cushion (also spelled whoopey cushion or whoopie cushion) is a practical joke device, which emulates the sound of flatulence. History and modern usage Records of a whoopee cushion date back to the 10th-century Aghlabid emir of Ifriqiy ...

. 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." Adams utilized the illustration skills of the Philadelphia-born artist Louis Glackens to promote his products. Glackens created the cartoon artwork for the packaging of many Adams toys and novelties.

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 United States census, the city's population was 15,188, a dec ...

, 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