Prompt Cast
The Dark History and Legal Battle Behind Sea Monkeys
TLDR Sea Monkeys, the popular childhood pets, were created by Harold von Braunhut, who was later revealed to have ties to white supremacist organizations. After his death, a legal battle over the ownership of the Sea Monkeys brand has left his wife broke and living without basic necessities.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
The podcast episode is about sea monkeys and the hosts discuss their childhood memories of reading comic books and the various ads they remember, including sea monkeys.
05:12
Sea monkeys are not actually monkeys, but a hybrid version of brine shrimp created by a man and a micro crustaceans expert.
10:22
Sea monkeys are a type of micro crustaceans called brine shrimp that enter a state of suspended animation and can be brought back to life with a special formula.
15:13
Sea monkeys were successful because kids could order them themselves and show their friends something they purchased, and they were marketed extensively through comic book ads.
20:10
Harold von Braunhut, the inventor of Sea Monkeys, also sold "invisible goldfish" and other inventions like Balderdash and dolls with closing eyes, and even managed performers such as a mentalist and a high dive act.
25:04
Harold von Braunhut, the inventor of Sea Monkeys, was identified as a long-time contributor to white nationalist groups, including the Aryan Nations, and some of the money from the sales of Sea Monkeys went to support these groups.
30:55
The inventor of Sea Monkeys, Harold von Braunhut, was tied to the founder of the Aryan Nation hate group and was known for his involvement in extreme racist and anti-semitic organizations.
36:15
Despite being outed as a Jewish person and having ties to white supremacist organizations, Harold von Braunhut was not kicked out of the Aryan Nation and continued to be involved with their conferences and events.
41:31
Harold von Braunhut died in 2003, but it is unclear how he died.
46:31
Yolanda Signorelli von Braunhut, Harold von Braunhut's wife, is in a legal battle with Big Time Toys over the ownership of the Sea Monkeys brand and is currently broke and living without electricity or running water.
51:55
Big Time Toys has been buying knockoff sea monkeys from China and packaging them with their own branding, resulting in poor quality products that do not hatch, which has led to a legal battle over the ownership of the Sea Monkeys brand.
Categories:
Society & Culture
