Antarctic Item 020
Continuing with the circular theme: a long-discarded Planters Peanuts lid retrieved from Marble Point.
Incidentally, Mr. Peanut was created in 1916, the final year of Ernest Shackleton’s epic Endurance expedition. Judging by his rendered style here, this Planters man has been languishing in Antarctica since around 1940. Another awesome relic from the Dry Valleys collection of Randall “Crunch” Noring. (Crunch… peanuts… but of course..!)
This is hilarious, and surreal. In 1916 though, it must have been very eye-catching as it still is today.
I always thought the Planter Peanut (could be a woman, given its feminine posture, but it has a monocle) was one of the weirdest corporate representatives ever. It was right up there with Charlie the Tuna that could never trick the fishermen into making him into Chicken of the Sea.
Comment by Donovan Rittenbach — July 8, 2009 @ 7:32 am
Yes I’ve always found Mr Peanut awesomely surreal and meeting his 1940s incarnation in the Dry Valleys, of all places, was doubly surreal. This object is among my very favorite Antarctic finds.
Comment by mbartalos — July 10, 2009 @ 12:59 am