Arafat cheese puffs.

May 29, 2002 8:49 AM

Arafat cheese puffs. Is Yasser the first world leader to have a brank of snacks bearing his name?
posted by adampsyche (19 comments total)

Looks like, adampsyche. Although we did have Billy Beer after a world leaders brother, close but no cigar.
posted by jonmc at 8:53 AM on May 29, 2002

Damn! Make that "brand." You woulda thunk an English major would have more command on the English language.
posted by adampsyche at 8:58 AM on May 29, 2002

Actually, I kind of like the idea of cheese puffs being a form of medieval torture.

"Put him in the brank... the Cheezy-poof brank!"
posted by me3dia at 9:23 AM on May 29, 2002

Actually, I believe the first was Calvin Coolranch Chips.
posted by Doug at 9:35 AM on May 29, 2002

What about Teddy Roosevelt's Bull Moose Jerky, Doug?
posted by jonmc at 9:48 AM on May 29, 2002

What about Thomas Jefferson's Herbal Hemp Smoking Tobacco? (anyone else read Mason & Dixon?)
posted by cell divide at 9:51 AM on May 29, 2002

I preferred the Taft Pork Skins.

With a side of Gandhi Fries.
posted by Kafkaesque at 9:57 AM on May 29, 2002

What about GWB's Fine Texas Sour Mash?

Hmmm, a president who has a drinking problem, a dog and owns a ranch in Texas...wonder if he has a milk truck?
posted by m@ at 10:00 AM on May 29, 2002

Not one pretzel joke yet? Was starvos right?
posted by adampsyche at 10:05 AM on May 29, 2002

Ooh! A head-bag! It's chock-full of...heady goodness!
posted by davidmsc at 10:09 AM on May 29, 2002

In all seriousness, the Curtiss Candy Company has always claimed that the "Baby Ruth" bar was named after Grover Cleveland's daughter Ruth, but that cute story has unfortunately been pretty thoroughly debunked.
posted by yhbc at 10:13 AM on May 29, 2002

I can't locate definitive evidence, but IIRC Ronald Reagan's fondness for jelly beans gave rise in the 1980s to a Reagan-branded version. Today you can buy Reagan Jelly Beans online from the Reagan Foundation.
posted by Hieronymous Coward at 1:47 PM on May 29, 2002

Lets start a vicious rumor that they're spiked with alcohol. Or some non-halal product.
posted by ParisParamus at 3:04 PM on May 29, 2002

(all the Jews in the media should be able to do this : )
posted by ParisParamus at 3:05 PM on May 29, 2002

My favorite Israel boycott item was P&G's Ariel laundry soap. As in Sharon. No kidding.
posted by ParisParamus at 3:06 PM on May 29, 2002

I like cheesy poofs
You like cheesy poofs
If you didn't like cheesy poofs
Then you'd be a dirty infidel who shall die like a dog in the streets! A jihad upon you and all your generations! There shall be no peace until the unrighteous hatred of cheesy poofs is stamped out across the land!
posted by Dreama at 4:58 PM on May 29, 2002

Is Yasser the first world leader to have a brank of snacks bearing his name?

Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi has him beat in the snack and novelty department, it was discussed on mefi here, Arafat should heed Koizumi's lesson that these products aren't a sure thing in the long haul.
posted by bobo123 at 5:27 PM on May 29, 2002

Didn't President Clinton try to market a kind of mouthwash which he trialed on White House staff?
posted by Ragamuffin at 5:34 PM on May 29, 2002

Reagan's favorite brand was Jelly Bellies, though there were knockoff brands that tried to capitalize on the President's name as well.

This sort of thing actually used to be quite common, before the advent of 'personal image' law around 20 years ago. Before the FTC there used to be widespread abuse of the name and title of the president or other popular figures. I can't think of (nor find) an example, though, but some of the guesses above aren't that far off.
posted by dhartung at 7:03 PM on May 29, 2002