Our Own Oddities is an illustrated panel that ran in the Sunday comics section of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch from September 1, 1940 to February 24, 1991.[1] The feature displayed curiosities submitted by local readers and is often remembered for its drawings of freakish produce, such as a potato that resembled Richard Nixon. The style of the panel was very similar to Ripley's Believe it or Not!.
| Our Own Oddities | |
|---|---|
 Ralph Graczak's Our Own Oddities (January 25, 1953) | |
| Author(s) | Ralph Graczak |
| Current status/schedule | Concluded weekly strip |
| Launch date | September 1, 1940 |
| End date | February 24, 1991; 50 years |
| Alternate name(s) | St. Louis Oddities |
| Publisher(s) | St. Louis Post-Dispatch |
| Genre(s) | Bizarre facts |
Publication history
editWhen it began September 1, 1940, it was titled St. Louis Oddities. The title changed in the late 1940s.[1]
The panel was produced by Post-Dispatch illustrator Ralph Graczak (pronounced Gray-zak). He retired from the newspaper in 1980, but he continued to produce Our Own Oddities until it ended, in addition to doing a talk show on St. Louis's KMOX radio.[2] He died of a heart attack on August 3, 1997.[3]
Content
editThe curiosities, including actual fruits and vegetables, were submitted to Graczak, who each week selected several items and produced a color illustration to be printed in the Sunday paper.
In addition to bizarre produce, Our Own Oddities featured other peculiar local trivia, such as a local woman who lived at 1919 Montgomery Street and was born at nine o'clock on August 19, 1919.[2] Clever church signs and tombstone epitaphs were popular features.
Anniversary special
editIn September 2003, the Post-Dispatch accepted submissions for a 63rd anniversary special of Our Own Oddities.[4] The best submissions, including a duck-shaped cucumber and a woman born on December 7, 1941, with the initials W.A.R., were illustrated by Post-Dispatch artist Dan Martin and featured in the October 6, 2003, edition.[5]
Controversy
editDespite its quaint illustrated style and typically benign subjects, the feature was the cause of controversy when on May 24, 1988, it included a sign on a truck-repair shop that read "These premises protected by a pit bull with AIDS."[6] The newspaper printed several angry letters. Graczak and the newspaper's features editor expressed regret.[6]
References
edit- ^ a b Holtz, Allan (2012). American Newspaper Comics: An Encyclopedic Reference Guide. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press. p. 300. ISBN 9780472117567.
- ^ a b John M. McGuire, "Still Odd after All These Years," St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 27, 1990.
- ^ Victor Volland, "Ralph Graczak; Longtime Artist at Post Drew Our Own Oddities," St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 4, 1997.
- ^ "Are We as Odd as We Used to Be?" St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 3, 2003.
- ^ Jeff Daniel, "It's Odd That You Should Mention It," St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 6, 2003.
- ^ a b Sue Ann Wood, "Stab at Humor Is Not Funny," St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 29, 1988.