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Why Meerschaum, Missouri???

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haroldt

haroldt

Starting to Get Obsessed
Aug 4, 2013
243
2
Melbourne, Fl
Being a tad analytical, I wondered why the famous US corn cob pipe manufacture named the company Missouri Meerschaum? Now the Missouri part I understand, but since the pipes are made of corn and not clay... why meerschaum. So I wrote the company "demanding" an answer. Here it is (for those lovable analytical folks like me.)
When our founder, Henry Tibbe, started making corn cob pipes, he thought the corn cob pipes smoked as well as the much more expensive Turkish Meerschaum pipes. Those are the ones made of the white clay and ornately carved. They are quite expensive. So Henry called his pipes Missouri Meerschaum as a play on words with Turkish Meerschaum.

 
petes03

petes03

Lifer
Jun 23, 2013
6,212
10,653
The Hills of Tennessee
Yep, that's why. I remember reading that very thing quite some time ago. BTW, meerschaum is more of a stone than a clay. It comes from two places, Turkey and Africa. The African block is generally harder than Turkish block. Although, I don't think African is being mined anymore. And yes, the cobs do share some of the same smoking characteristics of meerschaum, but that's about it.

 
txbeerboy

txbeerboy

Starting to Get Obsessed
Sep 5, 2013
186
0
After they figured out that a corn cob was good for a pipe. :laughat: I guess they also discovered Turkish toilet paper.

 
ejames

ejames

Lifer
Oct 6, 2009
3,916
22
So Henry called his pipes Missouri Meerschaum as a play on words with Turkish Meerschaum.
Click to expand...
Funny,I thought,like they say in the TV commercial--"Everyone knows that".

 
cigrmaster

cigrmaster

Lifer
May 26, 2012
20,249
57,280
66
Sarasota Florida
Thanks for getting the answer to one of the most perplexing issues of our time. I had also always wondered why they were called that, in fact it was keeping me up at nights and was effecting every aspect of my life, I can now sleep peacefully knowing the answer. :crazy: :rofl:

 
mso489

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,459
Being married to a Missouri girl, and having attended university there eons ago, I would only add, naming a corncob pipe

a Missouri Meerschaum is an especially good example of Missouri humor -- dry, droll, ironic, and containing a hard nugget

of truth. In a much less eloquent way, I refer to Iwan Ries Exclusives (house pipes) as Chicago Dunhills, being a Chicago

boy myself. Both the MM cobs, and the Iwan Ries pipes made (I think) mostly by Benton are fine smokers, luxuries above

their price.

 
juddeern

juddeern

Lurker
Nov 28, 2013
22
0
That's a nice little nugget of information! Thank you for posting! I knew "why" but it's nice to hear it from the company adds a different perspective to the meaning. Thank you!

 
sfsteves

sfsteves

Lifer
Aug 3, 2013
1,279
0
SF Bay Area
I think that mso489 hit the nail squarely on the head when he said:
"... naming a corncob pipe a Missouri Meerschaum

is an especially good example of Missouri humor --

dry, droll, ironic, and containing a hard nugget

of truth.
In a much less eloquent way, I refer to Iwan Ries

Exclusives (house pipes) as Chicago Dunhills ...

luxuries above their price."
Click to expand...
There is nothing whatsoever 'less eloquent' about his reference ... it conveys precisely the same message.

 
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