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'The Art of the Novelty Item'

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As shoppers face the last grim stretch before Christmas, the rush to buy gifts for friends and relatives becomes desperate. But the S.S. Adams Company in Neptune, New Jersey has a few suggestions for presents that can lighten the mood.

One of the last novelty-item factories in the country, S.S. Adams manufactures joy buzzers, whoopee cushions, fake vomit and cans of jumping snakes -- all on the same machines that made these vintage items in the 1930s.

Mark Newgarden is the author of the new book Cheap Laffs: The Art of the Novelty Item. He joins NPR's Petra Mayer for a tour of S.S. Adams.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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