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Tiki Central / Tiki Travel / Castaway Kirsten Cargo Craft, Cape Horn

Post #364079 by bigbrotiki on Thu, Feb 28, 2008 5:15 PM

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Yes, Kai, ummm...YAVOLL! :) Thank You! -Kai is working on an exhibit of his carvings in the US with Crazy Al, and it will be splendid!

Folks, I cannot hold back any longer on this exciting discovery I made last week. It again touches on Tiki because of its nautical connotations, but also on this particular thread because of:

I also believe this find is in keeping with the Ohana's interest in esoteric vintage objects, which this certainly is! A German professor of Aeronautical Engineering created this pipe- and-the most amazing thing is: They are still making these TODAY, exactly like in the 1940s!

Here is a bit of his history, (my dad says this was most likely a different Kirsten family...but it sounds sooo close!):

It is by no means merely puffery to say that Professor Frederick K. Kirsten was a genuine American original. He first sailed to this country in 1902, as a cabin boy from Hamburg, Germany. After successfully rounding the Horn and eluding the shanghai gangs of the West Coast, he navigated the educational system at the University of Washington to become a Professor of Aeronautical Engineering. Here, his inventive spirit took wing. He created the world-famous Kirsten Wind Tunnel, Air-washing equipment for factories, an air-cooled Utopian Bed, and, most notably, a revolutionary propeller which enables boats to stop and turn on a dime. Today, in the same waters where he jumped ship almost 100 years ago, ocean-going vessels are landed by sturdy tugs driven by Kirsten cycloidal propellers, PILOTED BY EQUALLY STURDY CAPTAINS SMOKING COOL KIRSTEN PIPES.>Step inside our NAUTICAL THEMED store and browse hundreds of items including our signature line of Kirsten pipes, briar pipes from other world renowned craftsmen, humidors, lighters, flasks, fine knives, and many other great gift items.