Box lifting sculpture from 1963

On eBay - this cute wooden model from 1963 that shows you how to lift things without hurting your back. Current high bid is $83. I wish the seller had a video of Oscar in action.

His name is Oscar, and his raison d’etre is to show you how to lift a heavy box without becoming the Brokeback Workman. He’s articulated, signed, dated and dirty as an outhouse rat, but he’ll clean right up with just a gentle soap and water bath.

And you know what else? He was made for P.M.A. Casualty Insurance Company of Pittsburgh. It says so right on the top of the base . . . under Oscar’s fanny.

(P.M.A. = “Pennsylvania Manufacturers' Association,” in case you were curious.)

Old INDUSTRIAL FOLK ART Articulated WORKER MODEL Pittsburgh INSURANCE Lifts Box (Via Anonymous Works)

Mark Frauenfelder is the founder of Boing Boing and the editor-in-chief of MAKE and Cool Tools. Twitter: @frauenfelder. Come and hear Mark speak at the ALA conference in Chicago on July 1.

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http://www.minecraftwiki.net/wiki/Enderman

Edit: Now with linkie goodness!
http://twitter.com/samwagstaff Sam Wagstaff

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rjr

Gorgeous. Inspiring. Enough said.
Palomino

Public service announcements when I was growing up, “Bend at the knees with ease”.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Mortimer-Frogwalker/1431220596 Mortimer Frogwalker

If your knees bent like that, you would not worry if lifting that box might injure your back.
jimboh

At times like these, I like to remind people that the British and Australian use of the word “fanny” is quite different to that of the US .