Say the words “Pop Goes The Forth” to any 90+ year old man and he will likely give you a wry smile and start a long and grueling story that starts inevitably with the magical words….. When I was a boy….

Pop Goes The Forth was a popular pre first world war game that basically involved young boys torturing each other. A gang of youths would pick a poor victim and wrestle him to the ground and proceed to chant “Pop, Pop, Pop, Pop” until they heated up into a frenzy. Then the leader of the pack would proceed to pull each limb of the pinned boy in an attempt to pop the joints. This would carry on until the fourth joint was cracked at which point the gang would shout in unison….

POP GOES THE FOURTH!

Then everyone would scatter in different directions leaving the victim to gather his stuff and get over the torture.

The game became so popular that In 1902  the committee for Salem Schools and Recreation in Massachusetts, USA petitioned for the game to be put into the physical education curriculum in New England schools. Believed by many adults to be a great way to toughen up a nancy boy, 38 other states followed the move and it was part of the curriculum of many years to come.

The game was banned finally in June 1913. A 9 year old victim named John Orvis Pastel had come home from his Wisconsin school with a broken neck, after a gang of youths had attempted a fith pop on his head. The schools principle had accused him of overreacting and he had to hold his head straight for the entire day. That evening Mrs Pastel marched 45 mothers to the town hall and sparked a media frenzy causing thousands of worried mothers to take their aprons and rolling pins to the streets. The ban on the game nationwide was placed within days.

Poo Off was a popular 1920s bathroom cleaning product. Those who were young at the time will remember the happy-go-lucky Poo Off radio adverts, comprising the lyrics:

Poo Off, off poo, cleans the poo, so you dont have to!

For much of the 1920s, it seemed that life was made for the board of Poo Off. The product was a best seller in 34 countries around the world, the company was rated top ten on the World Exchange and housewives were regularly shown on the evening news, travelling in their drones to get their hands on a bottle.

The dream ended all a bit suddenly on August 1st 1928 as Dr. Morgan Riley revealed some disturbing test results on the products. He discovered Poo Off to contain Arsenic (92%), Cadmium (5%) and water (2%). He read it on the label.

The remaining 1% was later exposed to be the gap of air found between the top of the fluid and the cap.

It was all over for Poo Off and the empire came crumbling down overnight, with several immediate lawsuits crippling the company, resulting in a bankruptcy that is still being paid for by today’s public.