Hitler teapot
The Hitler teapot (also called the Hitler tea kettle; officially the Michael Graves Design Bells and Whistles Stainless Steel Tea Kettle)[1] was a stainless-steel kettle sold in 2013 by the American retailer and department store chain JCPenney.[2][3] It attracted attention on social media due to its perceived resemblance to the Nazi German dictator Adolf Hitler.[4][5]
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Background
The kettle was part of a collection of products designed by the American architect and designer Michael Graves for JCPenney.[1] It first attracted attention in May 2013 when a photograph of a billboard advertising the product on Interstate 405 in Culver City, California, was posted online, and Internet users, especially of the social news aggregator Reddit, noted the kettle's perceived resemblance to Adolf Hitler, the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. The kettle's design incorporated a black handle and lid top that many users interpreted to look like Hitler's parted hairstyle and toothbrush moustache, as well as a spout that was thought to resemble a right arm raised in a Nazi salute.[6][7] In a poll of KPCC listeners, roughly 31 percent thought it resembled the dictator, while roughly 25 percent thought it did not.[6]
Response
Due to the media attention, JCPenney removed the billboard that sparked the initial heightened interest in the product,[6][7][8] and said that any resemblance of the kettle to Hitler was unintentional, stating in a tweet: "If we'd designed the kettle to look like something, we would've gone [with a] snowman".[9] The Hitler teapot has been cited as an example of pareidolia, a phenomenon in which individuals perceive meaningful images or patterns in otherwise random formations.[5][8] Writing in Haaretz, Gavriel Rosenfeld characterised the popularity of the Hitler teapot as being part of a wider phenomenon of "Hitlerization" and Hitler memes.[10]
Due to its notoriety, the kettle sold out at JCPenney's stores, with some later reappearing on eBay, priced as high as $199, much higher than the original retail price of $40.[4]
References
- "Michael Graves Design Bells and Whistles Stainless Steel Tea Kettle". JCPenney. Archived from the original on June 7, 2013. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
- Sanburn, Josh (May 29, 2013). "JCPenney's 'Hitler' Teakettle Sells Out Online". Time. ISSN 0040-781X. Archived from the original on December 12, 2021. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
- Kumar, Sashi (January 21, 2014). "Tea-selling Narendra Modi". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on March 29, 2022. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
- Rogers, Katie (May 29, 2013). "JC Penney's 'Hitler' tea kettle sells out but finds a new home on eBay". The Guardian. Archived from the original on March 24, 2022. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
- Kluger, Jeffrey (August 3, 2015). "Why Your Brain Thinks This Picture Shows a Giant, Martian Crab Monster". Time. Archived from the original on March 29, 2022. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
- Chappell, Bill (May 29, 2013). "Tempest Over A Teapot: JC Penney Removes 'Hitler' Billboard". NPR. Archived from the original on March 24, 2022. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
- Williams, Rob (May 31, 2013). "Kettle that looks like Adolf Hitler selling for up to $199 on eBay". The Independent. Archived from the original on March 24, 2022. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
- Osterholm, Jay (June 6, 2013). "J.C. Penney Hitler Scandal to Abercrombie & Fitch's Fat Feud: How Viral Content & Social Sharing Don't Do a Company Good" (PDF). ODM Group. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 24, 2022. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
- JCPenney [@jcpenney] (May 28, 2013). "@mashable Totally unintentional. If we'd designed the kettle to look like something, we would've gone w/a snowman :)" (Tweet). Retrieved April 28, 2022 – via Twitter.
- Rosenfeld, Gavriel (June 28, 2013). "How We Got Hitler-ized: What the Ubiquity of the Fuhrer Says About Our Culture". Haaretz. Retrieved April 30, 2022.