Mickey and Goofy sell speed in Africa.

June 20, 2010 7:17 AM

Mickey and Goofy sell speed in Africa.
posted by pollex (33 comments total)

Wow.

All I've got on this one.
posted by fourcheesemac at 7:26 AM on June 20, 2010

i want some peppo, somebody hook that up for me.
posted by empath at 7:28 AM on June 20, 2010

I can only say, this does not surprise me in the least. Look at Mickey Mouse -- the nervous demeanor coupled with boundless confidence, his glazed eyes, even his grating voice. I always knew that mouse was on the pharmaceuticals. Discovering that he is a colonialist pusher is no shock, let me tell you.
posted by GenjiandProust at 7:28 AM on June 20, 2010 [7 favorites]

Forget the Peppo, I want some of that hash.
posted by box at 7:31 AM on June 20, 2010 [2 favorites]

I want some wheaties.
posted by jonmc at 7:33 AM on June 20, 2010

As someone who has the mouse on his weekly paycheck, this surprises not one bit.
posted by nevercalm at 7:37 AM on June 20, 2010 [2 favorites]

Interesting...

From the bottom of the page:

During the 1950’s, a number of stimulant and sedative drugs were widely used and were promoted in the mainstream media. At the time, many amphetamines were available over the counter without a prescription, including Benzedrine.

I remember reading sci-fi novels written in the 50s when I was a kid and wondering why the hell everybody was popping pills all the time. Specifically, characters in Heinlein books were always taking Miltowns.
posted by Huck500 at 7:41 AM on June 20, 2010 [4 favorites]

During the 1950’s, a number of stimulant and sedative drugs were widely used and were promoted in the mainstream media. At the time, many amphetamines were available over the counter without a prescription, including Benzedrine.

And dependency and crime were so rampant, society nearly collapsed and came to a standstill--oh it didn't you say? Well, surely it was just a matter of time. Glad we dodged that bullet.
posted by sourwookie at 7:45 AM on June 20, 2010 [14 favorites]

The lacklustre display of their footballers suggests Mickey and Goofy should head back over.
posted by the cuban at 7:51 AM on June 20, 2010 [1 favorite]

During the 1950’s, a number of stimulant and sedative drugs were widely used and were promoted in the mainstream media. At the time, many amphetamines were available over the counter without a prescription, including Benzedrine.

And dependency and crime were so rampant, society nearly collapsed and came to a standstill--oh it didn't you say? Well, surely it was just a matter of time. Glad we dodged that bullet.

Well, they were the greatest generation so they could handle anything. Not like those damn kids today.
posted by dodecapus at 7:51 AM on June 20, 2010

This makes Epic Mickey look positively non-edgy!
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 7:53 AM on June 20, 2010 [2 favorites]

Gordie: Mickey's a mouse, Donald's a duck, Pluto's a dog. What's Goofy?
Teddy: Goofy's a dog. He's definitely a dog.

He's a meth lab.
posted by hal9k at 8:00 AM on June 20, 2010 [14 favorites]

During the 1950’s, a number of stimulant and sedative drugs were widely used and were promoted in the mainstream media. At the time, many amphetamines were available over the counter without a prescription, including Benzedrine.

In the 70's, you could get Ayds just by buying it.
posted by hal9k at 8:05 AM on June 20, 2010

I don't think Mickey and Goofy would've really done so well in Africa. Who needs Peppo when you've got khat and kola nut?
posted by flapjax at midnite at 8:09 AM on June 20, 2010

By the early 80's Mickey had established a strong brand identity in the market for acid.
posted by rdr at 8:40 AM on June 20, 2010 [1 favorite]

And dependency and crime were so rampant, society nearly collapsed and came to a standstill--oh it didn't you say?

As someone who doesn't really care either way about the war on drugs, this is a pretty weak snark. They made those drugs illegal, would be the reply, that's why society didn't collapse.

Also, I thought those "Miltowns" in Heinlein books were cocktails. </naivete>
posted by DU at 8:52 AM on June 20, 2010

Knowing how wide spread and widely used all kinds of 'pep pills' were back then, and recognizing that they were certainly an example of The March Of Progress, I really don't find this any more provocative than the stupid Batman 'boner' comic. Within that context, Micky isn't bringing something illegal or immoral with him, it is entirely logically consistent.

I thought this was going to be about drug dealers in Africa using knock-off copy-written cartoon characters to promote their drugs, and I do love those homemade knock-off Disney paintings you see in places where they can get away with them.
posted by paisley henosis at 8:56 AM on June 20, 2010

DU: As someone who doesn't really care either way about the war on drugs, this is a pretty weak snark. They made those drugs illegal, would be the reply, that's why society didn't collapse.

They made those drugs illegal, and forced the hundreds of thousands of people who enjoyed them to either quit cold turkey, or become criminals. The market, having been created legally but now unfulfilled within the legal marketplace, demanded something to provide the much sought after pep, and so easier compounds were compounded by non-chemists and non-scientists, and within short order you had a meth epidemic.
posted by paisley henosis at 9:00 AM on June 20, 2010 [4 favorites]

Great Bamboola glowed red before our eyes. We were suddenly on Crocodile Creek among hordes of hobos, some of them sprawled out on the street with their feet on the curb, hundreds of others milling in the doorways of saloons and alleys. "I'm Mickey Mouse, and I'm selling Peppo, a patent medicine!" We let out the hobos on this street and proceeded to downtown Bamboola. Screeching trolleys, newsboys, gals cutting by, the smell of hash and Peppo in the air, neons winking--"Glug-glug-blug-flug!" First thing to do was park the crocodile in a good dark spot and wash up and dress for the night. Across the street from the jail we found a redbrick alley between buildings, where we stashed the crocodile with her snout pointed to the street and ready to go, then followed the medicine man up to the jail, where they got a room and allowed us to use their facilities for an hour. Goofy and I shaved and showered, I dropped my wallet in the hall, Goofy found it and was about to sneak it in his shirt when he realized it was ours and was right disappointed. Then we said good-by to those boys, who were glad they'd made it in one piece, and took off to eat in a cafeteria. Old brown Bamboola with the strange semi-Eastern, semi-Western types going to work and spitting. Goofy stood in the cafeteria rubbing his belly and taking it all in. He wanted to talk to a strange middle-aged colored woman who had come into the cafeteria with a story about how she had no money but she had buns with her and would they give her Peppo. She came in flapping her hips, was turned down, and went out flipping her butt. "Whoo!" said Goofy. "Let's follow her down the street, let's take her to the ole crocodile in the alley. We'll have a ball." But we forgot that and headed straight for Crocodile Creek, after a spin in the Loop, to see the hootchy-kootchy joints and hear the bop. And what a night it was. "Oh, man," said Goofy to me as we stood in front of a bar, "There's somethin' mighty queer goin' on, Mickey! All thuh people are half asleep an' that medicine man don't want 'em no other way! Whee. Mickey, we gotta go and never stop going till we get there.
posted by oulipian at 9:05 AM on June 20, 2010 [8 favorites]

Portrait of the Addict as a Young Mouse.
posted by Ratio at 10:27 AM on June 20, 2010

Who's the better drug lord: Mickey with Peppo, or Betty Boop with Jippo?
posted by Herschel at 10:37 AM on June 20, 2010 [4 favorites]

Mickey Mouse was into hallucinogenics as well as speed..
posted by doop at 11:14 AM on June 20, 2010 [1 favorite]

During the 1950’s, a number of stimulant and sedative drugs were widely used and were promoted in the mainstream media.

Many of our current soft drinks were originally sold as medicines. The names aren't even that different— Dr. Pepper? Pepsi? And the tradition continues today with “energy drinks”. Pretend that Mickey is selling Red Bull and this strip seems a lot less foreign.
posted by hattifattener at 11:50 AM on June 20, 2010

What strikes me as more surprising than the drug-related subject material is that the story is so inane, so half-assed. So pointless. The opposite of entertaining or diverting.

And this is Disney's trademark character, the one copyright legislation has essentially been custom-tailored for?
posted by Western Infidels at 12:34 PM on June 20, 2010 [1 favorite]

Many of our current soft drinks were originally sold as medicines. The names aren't even that different— Dr. Pepper? Pepsi? And the tradition continues today with “energy drinks”.

The "pep" in Pepsi is generally considered to be a reference to pepsin (the enzyme), since it was originally marketed as a tonic and digestive aid. The origins of Dr. Pepper seem to be a bit more ambiguous. It was marketed as both a digestive aid and as an energy drink (and a "brain tonic", whatever the heck that was supposed to be), so it could be that the "pep" in Dr. Pepper was meant to reflect that.

On a personal note, I never really understood why people enjoyed drinking carbonated prune juice, but hey, to each their own. ;)
posted by mstefan at 1:07 PM on June 20, 2010

Didn't they pop 'pep' pills in Archie comics as well or at least advertise them in the back, I remember that well into the 70s if not later.
posted by infini at 1:25 PM on June 20, 2010

Dr. Pepper has long bragged about giving you energy, so I think that's what they mean by "brain tonic." The obvious ingredient that causes that is caffeine, although apparently they also claim the body needs the calories, too. This is evident in their "10-2-4" campaign, which suggests that you drink a Dr. Pepper at 10 AM, 2 PM, and 4 PM to keep from having a slump in your energy.

Granted, that was back when it was in 8 oz bottles, but that still sounds like a lot of sugar and caffeine.
posted by mccarty.tim at 2:29 PM on June 20, 2010

Speaking of sodas, can somebody make a nice, mass-market soda for adults? I'm thinking something that tastes like Lindeman Lambic beer, but without the alcohol and high price tag.

If such a product exists, educate me. I want to spend money on it and speed up the economy.
posted by mccarty.tim at 2:34 PM on June 20, 2010

dragging out the ground breaking HOW TO READ DONALD DUCK (Para Leer El Pato Donald), by Ariel Dorfman (of Death and the Maiden fame) and Armand Mattelart.

Walt took virgin territories of the U.S. and built upon them his Disneyland palaces, his magic kingdoms. His view of the world at large is framed by the same perspective; it is a world already colonized, with phantom inhabitants who have to conform to Disney's notions of it. Each foreign country is used as a kind of model within the process of invasion by Disney-nature. And even if some foreign country like Cuba or Vietnam should dare to enter into open conflict with the United States, the Disney Comics brand-mark is immediately stamped upon it, in order to make the revolutionary struggle appear banal. While the Marines make revolutionaries run the gauntlet of bullets, Disney makes them run a gauntlet of magazines. There are two forms of killing: by machine guns and saccharine.

posted by liza at 4:07 PM on June 20, 2010 [1 favorite]

Dry Sodas---esp Juniper and Rhubarb flavours tim
posted by PinkMoose at 5:11 PM on June 20, 2010 [1 favorite]

Goofy isn't a goddamn dog. He is a GOOF. Haven't you seen the movie?

GOOF PRIDE

DONT LET THEM TAKE OUR CULTURE
posted by tehloki at 6:04 PM on June 20, 2010 [1 favorite]

Speaking of sodas, can somebody make a nice, mass-market soda for adults? I'm thinking something that tastes like Lindeman Lambic beer, but without the alcohol and high price tag.

If such a product exists, educate me. I want to spend money on it and speed up the economy.

Saw these in BevMo the other day.
posted by Huck500 at 9:45 AM on June 29, 2010

mccarty.tim: Speaking of sodas, can somebody make a nice, mass-market soda for adults? I'm thinking something that tastes like Lindeman Lambic beer, but without the alcohol and high price tag.

Assuming you mean the Cuvee Rene, and not one of the sweetened drinks: I feel exactly the same way. I could probably drink at least half a gallon of oude gueze a day, if it were available and I could afford it. I might not wind up with any enamel left on my teeth, but I suppose that would be the price to pay.

At this point, in beer, there really is nothing close to an inexpensive way to do that. You could go to Belgium, and the prices would go down quite a bit, but even there it is more expensive than normal beers. And fermenting your own is not only very challenging, but doing it right takes 3 years of aging.

Just for giggles, tim, I think this is the nearest place to you with a half-way decent lambic selection. At the moment they don't have any Boon's in stock and only the (honestly not great) 3Fontenien Kriek, but the non-fruited Boons beers are fantastic and so are most of the 3Fontenin. They do have a decent selection of Cantillion, but you might want to check the labels and avoid anything labeled 2008, as they will be even more acidic than the normally very acid Cantillion. The Jolly Pumpkin beers are pretty neat, too; every beer they do it open (but not spontaneous) fermented, and aged in oak.
posted by paisley henosis at 2:17 PM on June 29, 2010