Buzz
Radio presenter Al Crowder devised an extraordinary product line that left the world stunned—at least the part of the world that purchased these items and returned the included registration forms. Crowder dubbed the collection "BunaB," and they were wonderfully, utterly useless. The first item, named "Improved #7 BunaB," was created in 1951, priced at $0.98, or two for $2.00.
The Improved #7 BunaB consisted of two 1.75-inch segments of insulated wire, joined at the ends with tape. It came in a compact plastic case designed for a clarinet reed, featuring the gold-stamped tagline, "Genuine, Improved, #7 BunaB." Crowder produced the Improved #7 in his Mason City, Iowa home, yet marketed it as the brainchild of a fictional company called Orville K. Snav and Associates. Crowder even referred to his residence as Snav Towers.
In the manual, Crowder penned the following:
"The #7, when properly maintained, promises years of hassle-free operation. It has undergone thorough scientific inspection and is verified against the master model at the factory. The Improved #7 BunaB is designed to meet or surpass industry standards for precision, durability, and operational simplicity. With no moving components, it guarantees unwavering consistency."
Along with a few wires and a plastic container, the #7 included a registration card. If you completed and returned it to Crowder, he would reply with a personal letter (disguised as Orville K. Snav, "the Wizard of Lime Creek"), sharing fictional accounts of Snav and his colleagues. In Crowder's world, Snav was constantly overlooked for the Nobel Prize, threw long-lasting parties in his tower, and mysteriously vanished after "the incident in Peoria."
Along with Crowder's letter, those who sent back the registration card quickly earned the title "Assistant to the President of BunaB International," though Crowder reserved the title of "Chief Assistant to the President." It is estimated that over 40,000 Improved #7 units were sold by the time of Crowder's passing in 1981. (Following his death, his wife Louise continued the business, responding to inquiries under the alias Dame Minerva P. Snav.) Several famous personalities owned their own #7s, including all seven of the original Mercury astronauts.
THE FULL BUNAB PRODUCT RANGE
Although it all began with the Improved #7, Crowder's BunaB line gradually expanded. Most items were priced at $0.98 each, or twelve for $12.00. Below is a breakdown of the product collection:
BunaB #2: Zudirk. A tiny, unplayable board game. It came with a game board, pieces, and a note that stated, "Totally unplayable, regardless of how many times you read the instructions."
BunaB #3: The Man's Between Shave Lotion. An empty bottle that could be refilled with water. Intended for use in the 23.75-hour window between Men's Before Shave Lotion and Men's After Shave Lotion. (Neither of which existed.) Initially priced at $117 per barrel, the $0.98 version was a "new Giant Petite" size containing 960 minims.
BunaB #4: Micro-Precision Dial. A simple on/off dial. It came with a sticky pad for attaching it to various surfaces.
BunaB #5: Companion to TV. A 12-inch vinyl record with no sound, meant to be played while watching television. (Crowder claimed it was the original soundtrack to a silent film.) It was priced at $3.95, but never actually released, thus offering "a savings to you of $3.95."
BunaB #6: Very Similar to #7. Essentially identical to the Improved #7.
OTHER SNAV PRODUCTS
In addition to the main BunaB series, Orville K. Snav and his team developed several other products. The most famous among them was the Post Meridian Morning (PMM) Shield, a translucent half-circle designed to obscure the morning hours on a clock, ensuring the day would begin at 12:01 p.m. Crowder referred to the morning as "one of the anathemas of modern civilization."
Another innovation was the "Exigency Conversion Apparatus" (ECA), which enabled users to turn any room into a restroom by applying a simple decal to the door. Then there was the Primeval Combustion Device (PCD), which involved rubbing two sticks together to create fire.
The Improved #7 remains the most well-known Snav product. It served as the focal point for an April 1958 article about Crowder in Playboy. In the piece, journalist Bernard Asbell described the Improved #7 as follows:
It does absolutely nothing—at least physically. But psychologically, it is as revolutionary as digital computers or any other complex device, whether genuinely useful or just hype, that populate our increasingly mechanized world. Its supporters see it as a tiny, transparent Bronx cheer directed at our technological age, a humorous critique of overhyped innovation and its supposed benefits.
BUNAB ON CAMPUS
Alongside its fame with astronauts and celebrities, BunaB products began to gain traction on college campuses during the 1970s, just in time for Crowder to bask in his success before passing away from prostate cancer in 1981. In his book The True-Life Adventures of Captain Wa Wah, author John Peterson shared the following memory:
... During a particularly tense political atmosphere on campus in 1970, I sent a #7 to one of the prominent leaders of the radical student groups, known for his serious and unyielding political views. He was always stone-faced. About two weeks after he received his BunaB, I asked if he had received his #7 and if he'd become an Assistant to The President [...]. A shy grin slowly spread across his face, and he said, "Orville K. Snav is a very wise man."
Special thanks to Rochelle Higgins for the artistic interpretation of the Improved #7.
