Talk:Burma-Shave/Archives/2012

Roger Miller and Burma Shave

On his album "The One and Only Roger Miller", the last track on the first side is called "Burma Shave". The reason I mention this is cause there's an asterix to the right of the song title, and the * note mentions "BURMA-SHAVE Reg. U.S. Pat. Off. by Burma-Vita Company, Minneapolis, Minesota, for shaving products.24.68.50.33 (talk) 23:46, 31 October 2008 (UTC)

Photo order

The photos in the examples appear to give the lines of the verse in the wrong order - burma-shave.org gives a more natural sounding order (and makes the question-mark make sense, as well). But looking at the background, it seems like the photo ordering does represent the real order of those signs, so I guess the signs themselves were put up incorrectly by whoever did it. I think we should still show them in correct verse-order, rather than correct sign-order, though - any thoughts? --Maebmij 02:04, 19 July 2006 (UTC)

Brand name

Burma-Shave must be one of the most valuable brand names of the 20th century to have simply disappeared. What happened to it? Bigturtle 00:15, 10 August 2006 (UTC)

I googled for the American Safety Razor Company, and discovered that in 1997 they launched a new line of Burma Shave products (I find conflicting information about when the original Burma Shave product was discontinued). They now use the Burma Shave brand name to market a kit of shaving soap and a brush, which is kinda ironic because the original Burma Shave was one of the first brushless shaving creams. The (very minimal) website for the current product line is here. After looking at that page, I realized that I actually do remember seeing this product on the shelf of a drugstore. --64.165.112.146 02:44, 15 September 2006 (UTC)

Moers

After he collected 900 more jars for the return trip, the company sent him on vacation to the town of Moers (pronounced "Mars") near Duisburg, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

Moers is pronounced more like ['møɐs], not Mars. --Abdull 22:43, 26 January 2007 (UTC)

-Well, we are talking ad campaigns here, based in Middle America. As Burma-Shave couldn't very well send the store owner to the Red Planet itself, Moers was deemed close enough by the store chain's publicity man. Glenn 18:38, 10 September 2007 (UTC)

I can find no references for this event at all... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 163.1.88.126 (talk) 15:42, 28 October 2008 (UTC)

It's discussed in detail in the book, The Verse by the Side of the Road. Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} 16:58, 28 October 2008 (UTC)

Modern ads in the same style

Florida Turnpike

I don't know if this is considered "pop culture" but on the Florida turnpike there are similar style signs advertising both oranges, beaches and careful driving all along the road.

--ShatterdRose 16:53, 5 July 2007 (UTC)

Kansas Turnpike

At least a few years ago, the Kansas Turnpike had signs on bridges promoting K-Tag, their electronic toll collection system. One set read "The gate goes up/Then you'll see/You really are/A VIP/Get K-Tag". I don't know if they are still there, though. I took a very quick look at the KTA/KDOT Web site and couldn't find a cite for it.

Pop Culture

Richard Stallman Why is there a section on Richard Stallman? It seems like such precedent would indicate a need to include the author of every witty couplet on this page.

xkcd recently did a comic http://xkcd.com/491/ referencing burma-shave and comparing their advertising to twitter, since both are limit the length of a message. Is this worthy of addition to the pop culture section?

Does The Producers' "Don't be stupid / Be a smartie / Come and join / The Nazi Party" count as a reference? --70.54.176.51 (talk) 01:41, 6 December 2009 (UTC)

No. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 05:04, 6 December 2009 (UTC)

Was Burma Shave named after Burma?

The country? 68.36.214.143 15:47, 9 October 2007 (UTC)

Yes, it was. Most of its ingredients orginally came from that area of the world. Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} 13:36, 7 July 2008 (UTC)

Bill Bryson

I should think most British people only know of Burma-Shave via the books of Bill Bryson; he's an enthusiast for the rhymes, and mentions them several times in his work, which is immensely popular in the UK. 86.143.48.55 (talk) 20:56, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

References

Responding to King Turtle - sometime soon I will (1) validate the entries that are shown in The Verse by the Side of the Road; (2) put the slashes in the right places; and (3) delete any "fakes" that might have crept in. Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} 13:21, 7 July 2008 (UTC)

It would also be nice that Tom Waits' song be featured in the References section. His song Burma Shave is included on his Used Songs album. Kanoye (talk) 14:22, 26 August 2009 (UTC)

Number of signs

Is it just me, or does anyone else find it curious that the "real" Burma Shave signs are 6 (5 signs (usually breaking up at least one line in the couplet to make it fit 5) plus a 6th for the company's brand), but every incarnation I've seen of the signs outside of the signs themselves (or, more precisely, this article's recreation of the signs since I'm too young to have seen the actual signs and take WP's word that they were 6 per ad) - whether they be the "Use in Popular Culture" citations in MASH or other places, or email forwards that purportedly give the text of old BurmaShave ads, all have 5 lines (4 for the text, keeping the couplet structure, and the 5th for the product name). --192.127.94.7 (talk) 03:17, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

Yes, the 5 + 1 arrangement was kind of weird, but that's the way they did it. Originally it was 4 lines plus a conjunction like "with" or "by using" and then the company name on the sixth one. Then they sort of randomly broke up the 4-line poems across 5 boards. Yep, I always thought that was weird too. And I do remember them from the time. Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} 03:32, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

Great job on the ads, but how does it work?

I saw this article
I thought it knew
How Burma Shave works
But I got no clue
Went to Talk:
ßurma­­♦Şhavę

I thought, 'I can finally learn how it works!' Oh, no I can't.
The Shaving cream article was no help either.

I've seen Old West movies where men were shaved with a straight razor, soap mug, and a face brush, which is also used to stir up a lather in the mug. But I've never seen anyone shave with brushless shaving cream.

Burma-Shave is a "pungent, soapy-smelling concoction" – of what?
How does one use it?
Why doesn't it need a brush?
Why does it make brushes old fashioned?
Does the box have instructions on it?
If so, can they be reproduced in the article?
Milo 10:16, 21 October 2008 (UTC)

Instructions on it? You mean, like pouring water from a boot with the instructions written on the heel? Well, let's see... it came in jars and tubes... what would be your first guess? Let me ask this: Have you ever shaved? If so, how did you apply the shave cream? By squirting it directly on your face? Or did you squirt it on your hand and apply it from hand to face? You do have at least one hand, and one face, right? Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} 11:44, 21 October 2008 (UTC)

For article purposes, undocumented 20th century blade shaving methods aren't obvious to several generations of electric shaver users.

"how did you apply the shave cream"

I don't use shaving cream, but I did briefly try the canned lather soap type. I think there were instructions on the can, and TV commercials also demonstrated its use.

By clicking to the larger picture, the Burma-Shave box says it contains lanolin. So it seems not to be soap, or a bubble lather.

You're implying that even though Burma-Shave isn't a canned lather soap, it is also applied to the face with one's hand. Does that mean the improvement is using a tube or jar to replace a whittling knife, a soap bar, a mug, and a brush?

How does Burma-Shave work? What color is it? Is it oily or greasy, so that it lubricates the blade? Does that give a better shave than water soap lather (at a significantly higher cost)? How does one get oil or grease off one's face afterward? Doesn't oil or grease make acne worse?

"Instructions on it?"

Sure. Men customers in the 1920s knew brush whipped soap lather, which Burma-Shave claimed was old fashioned. Were they suppose to guess at how to use a risky tool in a new way without instructions? Like Bill Cosby said in his "Tiny Little Hairs" comedy routine, "I want a shave, not a self sacrifice!"

Milo 23:10, 21 October 2008 (UTC)

Baseball Bugs, please remember to keep your comments civil and assume the question was asked in good faith. There was no call for your sarcasm; we're writing an encyclopædia here and as Milo points out, there is a gap in the information contained in this article. —Scheinwerfermann (talk) 23:46, 21 October 2008 (UTC)

When a red-link asks what (still) seems like an obvious question, i.e. how to apply a shave cream, I take it to be sarcastic and answer in kind. Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} 02:36, 22 October 2008 (UTC)

Hehe, as an old timer red link I'm concerned about blue link whippersnappers. No offense taken, I see from your user page that you have a good sense of humor.

Thanks for rhetorically answering one of my questions about an antique product that I can't try out for myself. Milo 03:30, 22 October 2008 (UTC)

Are you under the impression that it shaves without requiring a razor? I'm fairly certain that it does. OTher than that, there seems to be little to misinterpret.

• Squirt Cream onto your hand
• Lather it until it's foamy
• Apply to face and scrape off with a razor or sharp edge.

The reason it works better than no shaving cream is because it causes the bristles to stand up, and therefore get cut off much easier. It also serves as a visual reminder of where on your face you haven't already shaved. (Note: this is coming from one who has only used modern shaving cream; I'm making an assumption that early 1900s shaving cream worked similarly.)--Ye Olde Luke (talk) 01:41, 24 October 2008 (UTC)

Prior to brushless shave creams, you had a round bar of shaving soap in the bottom of a shaving mug, add a little water, and use the brush to stir it into a lather, and then use the brush to apply it to your face. Burma-Shave and its modern successors were a time-saver as well as being better products - along with not having to deal with that skanky shaving brush, which was a point made in many of their ads. Think of a modern product such as Edge with lanolin or aloe, and I think you're in the neighborhood. Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} 02:46, 24 October 2008 (UTC)

←Bugs (02:46): "round bar of shaving soap"
That makes sense as an improved method, but it wasn't shown in the Old West movies I vaguely remember. I think I recall a scene in which a man began shaving by holding a rectangular soap bar, and using a small knife to cut soap shavings off of it into the shaving mug, like peeling a potato.
Luke (01:41): "Lather it until it's foamy"
I'm guessing Burma-Shave won't foam by hand manipulation if it's oil based. Corrections cheerfully accepted.
Luke (01:41): "Are you under the impression that it shaves without requiring a razor?"
No, that would be a depilatory cream. Since Burma-Shave called itself a shaving cream, I assumed it was to be used with a razor.
The 1920s were the culmination of the age of gee-whiz inventions – and perhaps the maturation of modern advertising hype. Burma-Shave was, wow, Brushless! I think I had the hyped feeling that it got put on one's face in some way that was higher tech than a brush. Ok, you just put it on with your hand. But, aha, it's faster and easier (and, oh yeah, costs more).
Maybe Brushless! was an ad-contrived way of communicating several advantages too technical to describe on six signs. For example, the advantage of an oily lanolin lubricated shave, which would be chemistry of higher tech even if you do apply it with your hand. Milo 04:59, 24 October 2008 (UTC)

If they didn't have the special bar of shaving soap, or it hadn't been invented yet, obviously they would have had to resort to the soap-shavings trick. The more technical questions about Burma-Shave can probably be had by getting a copy of The Verse by the Side of the Road, which I think is still in print. The signs actually had a lot to say about the product itself, especially in the early years - the price and the presumed advantages of the product were all there. I use Edge and obviously apply it by hand - and your hands wash and dry quickly, while a shaving brush sits there damp and getting yucky. Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} 05:10, 24 October 2008 (UTC)

Woah, I'm Luke 1:41. I feel so Biblical. (Just for the hell of it, I looked up the real Luke 1:41: When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby jumped in her womb. Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit Does this apply to our discussion in any way? Could this be a sign?) --Ye Olde Luke (talk) 05:04, 26 October 2008 (UTC)

The only "signs" would be these six, about children: Past / Schoolhouses / Take it slow / Let the little / Shavers grow / Burma-Shave Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} 05:26, 26 October 2008 (UTC)

A Burma-Shave sign?

Since I contributed to the article covering Genesis 41:43, I did notice that abbreviated similarity to a Biblical verse citation.

There seems to be a subtext of reproduction running through here to include the act of shaving. On the other hand, when Sigmund Freud was supposedly asked about the phallic symbolism of his omnipresent cigar, he is attributed to have said, "Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar."

I think Burma-Shave broadly implied that brushless shaving could improve one's chances of having offspring – assuming one could figure out how to use it. Milo 06:25, 26 October 2008 (UTC)

The theory was that a rough face would turn a woman off. That's a reasonable assumption. Nowadays, apparently there are some who don't know how to shave with anything other than an electric razor. Yet the products out there, like Gillette Foamy, Edge, Barbosol, etc., seem to be plentiful, along with blades by Gillette, Schick, etc. So it seems there are still many men who shave with a blade and with a brushless shave cream - and women also, only not on the face. Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} 12:30, 26 October 2008 (UTC)

Photos of the billboards?

Are there any photos that include multiple billboards? It would really add to the article if readers who are unfamiliar with the billboards could envision what they looked like on the road. Thanks. DavidRF (talk) 20:59, 23 October 2008 (UTC)

Good luck finding any such photos, as it has been like 45 years since they were last used. Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} 21:28, 23 October 2008 (UTC)

A google image search for "burma shave photos" reveals quite a bit. Here's some signs in the factory:[1]. Another factory image is linked on the bottom left of this page: [2] Here's a nice one in the wikimedia commons: [3]. I hope that one is allowed. I verified that its an actual burma shave poem form 1945. If we can't get any free photos, then even a handmade one like the one here [4] would help the reader.DavidRF (talk) 22:24, 23 October 2008 (UTC)

That first image used to be in the article but it disappeared for who knows what reason. The Route 66 one, to my mind, is not representative of the way they were laid out, at least not the way I remember them. The handmade one is wrong, as it only shows 5 signs. They were in groups of 6, not 5. Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} 23:28, 23 October 2008 (UTC)

Burma-Shave signs in Russian River Valley

There are a number of Burma-Shave signs in the Russian River Valley in Sonoma County, California, mostly along River Road. Anyone know anything about these? Are they new? Old? Why are they here? I'll see if I can take a photo or two.

Some are (roughly, IIRC)

To get away / From hairy apes / Women climb / Fire escapes

Pity all / The mighty Caesars / They plucked their whiskers / Out with tweezers

There are also a few road-safety ones, including the one about elbows quoted in the article. Clockwork (talk) 01:08, 13 June 2011 (UTC)