'Like you make pancakes.'

August 26, 2011 6:55 AM

'It was an instant success,' Stan says. 'It's not surprising, because it meets all the criteria of a good gag. It's very cheap to make, so you could make a decent profit on it. It sells for a very cheap price, so it's easy to sell. And people just went after it. The numbers we hear tend to vary, but the story is it initially sold about 100,000 units a year, which, at the time, was a lot. Fishlove did very well with it.' The Inside Scoop on the Fake Barf Industry.
posted by shakespeherian (29 comments total)

Um, there's enough fake barf sales to support an industry? Wow.
posted by tommasz at 7:01 AM on August 26, 2011

This perfectly complements the Glenn Beck post, thanks!
posted by elizardbits at 7:03 AM on August 26, 2011 [4 favorites]

Made with pride in the U.S.A.
posted by seanmpuckett at 7:06 AM on August 26, 2011

"The offspring can't bake for shit but they have OCD so at least it's neat and tidy."
posted by Foci for Analysis at 7:10 AM on August 26, 2011

Paging Bart Simpson.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 7:10 AM on August 26, 2011

Reminds me of CW Investments, Inc. v. Novelty, Inc., 482 F. 3d 910 (7th Cir. 2007), which contains this choice quote: "Somewhat to our surprise, it turns out that there is a niche market for farting dolls, and it is quite lucrative."
posted by jedicus at 7:12 AM on August 26, 2011 [9 favorites]

I love this fucking country.

Also, does anyone remember that aerosolized "Dog Shit" gag?
posted by griphus at 7:14 AM on August 26, 2011 [1 favorite]

Bah, why not just up the ante and for free make some fake poop?
posted by GavinR at 7:16 AM on August 26, 2011

Although the quote in the title suggests pancakes, the illustration in the article immediately reminded me of pecan pralines, which I now have a craving for. That probably makes me the only person who got hungry looking at a post about fake barf.
posted by TedW at 7:24 AM on August 26, 2011 [4 favorites]

not to rebuke
the rubber puke
it's pretty funny
and makes big money
but I preferred
the plastic turd
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 7:26 AM on August 26, 2011 [12 favorites]

And there are lots of other companies that try to make the same thing, but they’re not as good. The best one is really the original ‘Whoops.’”

Actually GLOP looks just like dog puke.
posted by nathancaswell at 8:05 AM on August 26, 2011

obligatory George Carlin link
posted by Mchelly at 8:43 AM on August 26, 2011

So, does every industry have a seedy underbelly?
posted by The Whelk at 8:58 AM on August 26, 2011

o_O meets $_$
posted by obscurator at 9:16 AM on August 26, 2011

Only if they frolic in the verge.
posted by seanmpuckett at 9:17 AM on August 26, 2011

Anyway, novelty shops remind me of my favorite zen koan
posted by The Whelk at 9:22 AM on August 26, 2011

Gallery of fake vomit gags (self link).
posted by stinkycheese at 9:44 AM on August 26, 2011

Oh, I am SO buying the pet puke for my wife. "Look, honey, Pepper left you a present!"
posted by ostranenie at 9:55 AM on August 26, 2011

"But the worst thing I ever done — I mixed a pot of fake puke at home and then I went to this movie theater, hid the puke in my jacket, climbed up to the balcony and then, then, I made a noise like this: hua-hua-hua-huaaaaaaa — and then I dumped it over the side, all over the people in the audience. And then, this was horrible, all the people started getting sick and throwing up all over each other. I never felt so bad in my entire life."
posted by Alt F4 at 10:35 AM on August 26, 2011 [7 favorites]

I don't know what you're talking about. It's funny that you would say that. They don't make fake barf. They make semiconductors for a very reputable computer company. What's wrong with that? Is there something wrong with that? Why is that something wrong to do? I don't understand that. Why are you pointing the finger at other people all the time? Why don't you point the finger at yourself? Do a little more reading, maybe? Some time in court—maybe that would be effective for you.
posted by Ratio at 1:00 PM on August 26, 2011

My friend Bobby got beaten with a belt by his Irish cop father for leaving one on the bathroom floor. This was in the late 1960s so beating your son like a gong was mandatory or something. We made sure to sprinkle water on it as per the instructions. I sure looked real.
posted by Splunge at 1:35 PM on August 26, 2011

It. ^
posted by Splunge at 1:36 PM on August 26, 2011

So, does every industry have a seedy underbelly?

Of course not. Some industries are seedy underbellies.
posted by JHarris at 2:31 PM on August 26, 2011

Weird that it says it's the inside scoop on fake barf, when fake barf is really a competitor.
posted by hypersloth at 4:12 PM on August 26, 2011

I am 100% certain that some of these people have tricked each other with real barf.
posted by vanar sena at 3:25 AM on August 27, 2011

"His son, Howard Fishlove, told the Timms about coming home as a schoolkid to find his kitchen counter covered in various types of fake barf."

Best. Dad. Ever.
posted by peagood at 9:28 AM on August 27, 2011

"Irving Fishlove, son of Howard Fishlove"

i feel like i stepped into a fucking dan clowes comic
posted by This, of course, alludes to you at 9:08 PM on August 27, 2011 [2 favorites]

Howard son of Irving

fuck im disoriented
posted by This, of course, alludes to you at 9:09 PM on August 27, 2011

Huh. When I was a kid in 1980s Pakistan we had to do it the old fashioned way. A jar full of chewed up food diluted with water. Its chief benefit was that you could retch dramatically and fling the contents of the jar onto the floor. It looked disgusting enough that 6-year-old me thought it would double as a handy way to poison Sauda Khan, the cook (I didn't like the cook. The reason is lost in antiquity, but might have something to do with his Hitler-esque moustache). Oddly enough he seemed to have no interest in drinking from a jar of fake vomit. I then tried spraying it at him with a (needle-less) syringe. The syringe clogged. I wasn't the brightest 6-year-old joker around.
posted by tavegyl at 6:33 AM on August 28, 2011 [1 favorite]