Voting Station

Edward Craven Walker

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Inventor

The Resume

    (July 4, 1918-August 15, 2000)
    Born in Singapore
    Invented the Astro Lamp (1963)
    Marketed in the US by Hy Spector and Adolph Wertheimer as the Lava Lamp

Why he might be annoying:

    He was a nudist who divorced his first wife over her lack of enthusiasm for the practice.
    He tried to ban 'fat fogies' from the nudist club he ran.
    The lava lamp was not an original invention, but an adaptation of a device used as an egg timer.
    Harrods refused to carry the lava lamp after a buyer called it 'disgusting.'
    Sales plummeted in Britain in the late 70s when the BBC ran a report claiming the wax in the lava lamp contained toxic chemicals.
    Sales dropped in the rest of the world when people noticed it was no longer the 60s.

Why he might not be annoying:

    He flew reconnaissance missions for the RAF in World War II.
    He said, 'If you buy my lamp, you won't need drugs.'
    The lava lamp had a resurgence in popularity, with more lamps sold in the 1990s than the 60s, 70s and 80s combined.
    He said, 'I think it will always be popular. It is like the cycle of life. It grows, breaks up, falls down and then starts all over again.'

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 11 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 118 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 10 Votes: 40.0% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 5 Votes: 40.0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 9 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 7 Votes: 57.14% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 374 Votes: 61.23% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 404 Votes: 61.14% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 11 Votes: 63.64% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 16 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 20 Votes: 30.0% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 13 Votes: 46.15% Annoying
    In 2010, Out of 25 Votes: 44.00% Annoying
    In 2009, Out of 22 Votes: 54.55% Annoying
    In 2008, Out of 33 Votes: 54.55% Annoying