Spud gun

A spud gun is a small toy gun used to fire a fragment of potato. To operate, one punctures the surface of a potato with the gun's hollow tip and pries out a small pellet which fits in the muzzle. Squeezing the grip causes a small build-up of air pressure inside the toy which propels the projectile. The devices are usually short-range and low-powered.

For the larger gun which fires whole potatoes, see Potato cannon.
A typical factory-made toy die-cast spud gun. The cap attached to the muzzle converts it into a water pistol.

Early history

The first spud gun was invented during the Great Depression. The original inventor sold his patent to E. Joseph Cossman for US$600[1] after World War II. Cossman, the brother-in-law of "Uncle" Milton Levine, sold two million spud guns in six months as a result of an advertising campaign.[2]

In Mexico City a company named WELCO created a similar model of a spud gun with a metallic appearance. Tomas Welch, a Mexican Jewish chemical engineer, developed a spud gun named "TIRA PAPAS" (Spanish for "potato shooter").

Notes
  1. p. 108 Cohen, William A. PhD Building a Mail Order Business: A Complete Manual for Success John Wiley & Sons, 01/02/1996
  2. E. Joseph Cossman obituary Los Angeles Times December 19, 2002


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