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Did You Know: Walt Disney Designed A Gas Mask To Calm Scared Kids In WWII
By Mikelle Leow, 18 Mar 2021
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Did You Know? is a design trivia segment brought to you by DesignTAXI in which we explore some of the most surprising tidbits of well-loved designs or brands.
Image via frankieleon / Flickr (CC BY 2.0)
In the 1940s, adults and children were made to wear protective face masks, but not the sort used today. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor in the December of 1941, people living in the United States scurried to develop emergency gear to stay vigilant against future attacks. Among these solutions was the gas mask—and Disney had its own.
That’s Hardly the Happiest Face on Earth
Image via frankieleon / Flickr (CC BY 2.0)
As reported by the Washington Post, Walt Disney worked with civil defense and chemical warfare officials to design a children’s gas mask in the likeness of Mickey Mouse, complete with round ears, see-through glass eyes, and a snout.
The reason behind them? Disney wanted to comfort children during this frightful time. He thought they could wear them in games and eventually feel less intimidated about donning gas masks.
The respirators might seem ghastly, but given how terrifying Disney World mascots looked back in the day, children wouldn’t have been as put off by this appearance as we’d be now.
About 1,000 of these masks were manufactured with the help of Sun Rubber Products Company.
(Donald) Ducked That One
Disney had plans to release more character designs for the gas masks, but only if the Mickey Mouse version was popular enough.
Thankfully, this would be unnecessary, as the US was never subjected to chemical attacks in World War II. The Mickey respirators were simply kept as mementos in the end.
Some of the masks now reside in the 45th Infantry Museum in Oklahoma; the US Army Chemical Museum in Fort McClellan in Alabama; the Walt Disney Archives in Burbank, California; and the museum at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri.
Mickey’s British Cousin
Image via JakeOwenPowell / Shutterstock.com
Britain had its own version of the Mickey Mouse gas mask, and while it had an identical name, it did not share the same good looks of its American counterpart. The only similarities were its snout and glass eyes.
The red and blue respirator was lightweight and easier to wear, and was designed for children aged 18 months to four years old in an attempt to ease their fears about wearing a mask.
[via Washington Post, BBC, Mental Floss, images via various sources]
Image via frankieleon / Flickr (CC BY 2.0)
In the 1940s, adults and children were made to wear protective face masks, but not the sort used today. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor in the December of 1941, people living in the United States scurried to develop emergency gear to stay vigilant against future attacks. Among these solutions was the gas mask—and Disney had its own.
That’s Hardly the Happiest Face on Earth
Image via frankieleon / Flickr (CC BY 2.0)
As reported by the Washington Post, Walt Disney worked with civil defense and chemical warfare officials to design a children’s gas mask in the likeness of Mickey Mouse, complete with round ears, see-through glass eyes, and a snout.
The reason behind them? Disney wanted to comfort children during this frightful time. He thought they could wear them in games and eventually feel less intimidated about donning gas masks.
The respirators might seem ghastly, but given how terrifying Disney World mascots looked back in the day, children wouldn’t have been as put off by this appearance as we’d be now.
About 1,000 of these masks were manufactured with the help of Sun Rubber Products Company.
(Donald) Ducked That One
Disney had plans to release more character designs for the gas masks, but only if the Mickey Mouse version was popular enough.
Thankfully, this would be unnecessary, as the US was never subjected to chemical attacks in World War II. The Mickey respirators were simply kept as mementos in the end.
Some of the masks now reside in the 45th Infantry Museum in Oklahoma; the US Army Chemical Museum in Fort McClellan in Alabama; the Walt Disney Archives in Burbank, California; and the museum at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri.
Mickey’s British Cousin
Image via JakeOwenPowell / Shutterstock.com
Britain had its own version of the Mickey Mouse gas mask, and while it had an identical name, it did not share the same good looks of its American counterpart. The only similarities were its snout and glass eyes.
The red and blue respirator was lightweight and easier to wear, and was designed for children aged 18 months to four years old in an attempt to ease their fears about wearing a mask.
[via Washington Post, BBC, Mental Floss, images via various sources]
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