The real story behind fake vomit, & the best SNL sketch about gag gifts

Over at Collectors Weekly, they’ve dug deep into the archives of fake vomit. Or rather, they talked to Stan and Mardi Timm, who collect novelty and gag items, and chronicle them online at Timm Stuff.

The Timms told Collectors Weekly all about their knowledge of fake barf and vomit novelties, as well as shared photos from a tour they took of Fun Inc. (formerly H. Fishlove) in Chicago, where they make “Whoops.” Mardi Timm said of the rubber and foam barf:

“It is a secret recipe. But I think we know what’s in it. It’s got foam pieces cut up, and it’s got latex. But the actual recipe, nobody outside the company knows that.”

Ah, well that settles that, then!

It reminded me of a classic Saturday Night Live sketch from season 10 — aka the all-star season of 1984-1985 before Lorne Michaels returned to run the show — which used the 60 Minutes template to investigate the novelty toy industry. With Harry Shearer as Mike Wallace, Christopher Guest and Billy Crystal as the Minkmen brothers in the family business, and Martin Short as Nathan Thurm, an attorney for a mysterious Hong Kong client. Until NBC gets its own version online, you’ll have to watch it low-fi. Roll the clip!

Sean L. McCarthy

Editor and publisher since 2007, when he was named New York's Funniest Reporter. Former newspaper reporter at the New York Daily News, Boston Herald and smaller dailies and community papers across America. Loves comedy so much he founded this site.

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One thought on “The real story behind fake vomit, & the best SNL sketch about gag gifts

  1. ‘The Minkman’s’ was a truly inspired sketch featuring four brilliant comics. What the hell has happened to Saturday Night Live in recent years? I realize the difficulty – or rather impossibility – of getting a cast like Billy Crystal, Christopher Guest, Harry Shearer and Martin Short together again on SNL – but even so, the show has worn thin after 87 years on the air. Maybe NBC should replace it with reruns of Steve Allen’s original Tonight Show? Or Jack Paar’s good years. I’d even settle for Geraldo Rivera at this point.
    By the way, whatever happened to those 4 guys in the ‘Minkman’ sketch?

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