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BunaB was the name of a line of purposely useless novelty products, promoted as if they were useful via carefully written marketing hype. They were created by American radio host Al Crowder (1904-1981). Beginning in the 1950s BunaBs were purportedly produced by the firm of Orville K. Snav and Associates and distributed from its headquarters in Snav Towers, Mason City, Iowa. The company's chief product was the Improved No. 7 BunaB, an assembly of two insulated wires, red and blue, held together with neatly applied yellow electrical tape at the ends. BunaBs have over time been viewed as examples of primitive conceptual art. ==History== In 1951 Al Crowder was a music store employee and radio host at KSMN in Mason City. A cryptic gift of an object resembling a water jug from Crowder's father-in-law to Crowder's son inspired Crowder to write to the manufacturer, the International Latex Corporation, to ask what the object was. The response, received from E.C. Jakoswiak, Assistant to the President, stated that the bladder was a component of a World War II inflatable attack boat. Inspired by the apparently useless object and by the cryptic letter, Crowder created the Improved BunaB #7, the first of the line. The BunaB "...will meet, or exceed specifications set up by the industry for accuracy, durability and simplicity of operation. No moving parts insures constant stability... With a minimum of practice, results equaling the conventional instrument may be expected."〔 The instructions continued: "After prolonged use the BunaB may indicate a variation of one or two percent when checked against a new BunaB. In that case, the old one should be discarded immediately. Satisfaction in positive results will readily offset the slight cost of replacement."〔 Those who ordered the BunaB #7 received, in addition to their device, a registration card that, when returned to Snav Towers, automatically made the recipient an "Assistant to the President." Shortly afterwards a personal letter from Crowder would arrive, discussing in lengthy detail the difficulties that attended Snav's business empire and personal life. Crowder's use of the Snav name dated to a time in Fort Wayne, Indiana, when he would send a daily (but empty) envelope to a local radio station that was soliciting letters from listeners.〔 Crowder was "Chief Assistant to the President" from 1951 to his death in 1981. After he died, his wife Louise carried on as "Dame Minerva P. Snav" and managed the correspondence with the approximately 50,000 Assistants to the President and Key Personnel in the Field from the Hall of Science (an upstairs bedroom, said to cover "approximately 9000 square inches") at Snav Towers (the Crowder residence).〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「BunaB」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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