Kirk Demarais once wrote a book, Life of the Party: A Visual History of the S.S. Adams Company, that is now hard to obtain. But dig if you can because it’s filled with hilarious memories of the mischievous monkey business kids got up to with gags manufactured by the S.S. Adams Company.

While the book is out of print and expensive, this entry by Demarais on his blog gives you a taste of the fun kids used to be able to have in terrifying their elders. http://secretfunspot.blogspot.com/2006/05/mechanical-servant.html