SpazzStick
Encyclopedia
SpazzStick claims to be the world's only caffeinated
lip balm
. It was created by Richie Holschen, the only cop in the remote Alaska
n village of Kaktovik
, who needed to protect his lips and remain alert in an area so cold that coffee freezes. When he first started making the product in 2004, he did so out of the police station. By 2006, it was hailed as one of the "Best Business Ideas" by Coolbusinessideas.
In February 2008, on her show, Rachael Ray
reviewed several products that contained caffeine. One of those products was SpazzStick. The show had 3 reviewers and a medical doctor, Doctor Jeanine Downy, as part of a panel reviewing the caffeinated products. Dr Downy observed that caffeine is not effective unless it is ingested or absorbed through thin skin such as the mouth, thus SpazzStick and the toothpaste were the two products she expected would have the best results. The viewer who tested the SpazzStick swore that it provided the expected energy burst and that she would use it every day. Doctor Downy, however, warned that since it didn't come with SPF protection, that care should be taken in using the product. Similarly a review by EnergyDrinkReviews indicated that "The power of the stuff is hard to quantify. I put it on and within a minute or two I definitely got a kick…a very noticeable one too." It is estimated that each application of Spazzstick gives the wearer the equivalent of a sip of coffee.
Part of the marketing strategy for SpazzStick has been the incorporation of humor in its advertising. The official website contains the standard questions, and then a number of non-sequitors or flippant answers. For example, in answering the question about testing on animals, the answer is, No, Spazzstick has never been tested on animals. The only animals in the area are Arctic Fox, Caribou, and Polar Bears. We can't catch the Foxes, and putting lip balm on a Caribou is no picnic, so we don't even try. No one was willing to get close enough to a polar bear to put lip balm on it. The website also boasts that SpazzStick is made "in a beautiful little Eskimo Village called Kaktovik, AK, by the inventor ... and his hordes of worker trolls in a vast underground volcano lair." The trolls, Holschen admits, are his 5 children and that It's not uncommon to get [a tube] with a crooked label put on by a 2-year-old.
Caffeine
Caffeine is a bitter, white crystalline xanthine alkaloid that acts as a stimulant drug. Caffeine is found in varying quantities in the seeds, leaves, and fruit of some plants, where it acts as a natural pesticide that paralyzes and kills certain insects feeding on the plants...
lip balm
Lip balm
Lip balm or lip salve is a wax-like substance applied topically to the lips of the mouth to relieve chapped or dry lips, angular cheilitis, stomatitis, or cold sores. Lip balm often contains beeswax or carnauba wax, camphor, cetyl alcohol, lanolin, paraffin, and petrolatum, among other ingredients...
. It was created by Richie Holschen, the only cop in the remote Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
n village of Kaktovik
Kaktovik, Alaska
Kaktovik is a city in North Slope Borough, Alaska, United States. As of the 2000 census, the population of the city was 293.-Geography:Kaktovik is located at ....
, who needed to protect his lips and remain alert in an area so cold that coffee freezes. When he first started making the product in 2004, he did so out of the police station. By 2006, it was hailed as one of the "Best Business Ideas" by Coolbusinessideas.
In February 2008, on her show, Rachael Ray
Rachael Ray
Rachael Domenica Ray is an American television personality, businesswoman, celebrity chef and author. She hosts the syndicated talk and lifestyle program Rachael Ray and three Food Network series, 30 Minute Meals, Rachael Ray's Tasty Travels and $40 a Day...
reviewed several products that contained caffeine. One of those products was SpazzStick. The show had 3 reviewers and a medical doctor, Doctor Jeanine Downy, as part of a panel reviewing the caffeinated products. Dr Downy observed that caffeine is not effective unless it is ingested or absorbed through thin skin such as the mouth, thus SpazzStick and the toothpaste were the two products she expected would have the best results. The viewer who tested the SpazzStick swore that it provided the expected energy burst and that she would use it every day. Doctor Downy, however, warned that since it didn't come with SPF protection, that care should be taken in using the product. Similarly a review by EnergyDrinkReviews indicated that "The power of the stuff is hard to quantify. I put it on and within a minute or two I definitely got a kick…a very noticeable one too." It is estimated that each application of Spazzstick gives the wearer the equivalent of a sip of coffee.
Part of the marketing strategy for SpazzStick has been the incorporation of humor in its advertising. The official website contains the standard questions, and then a number of non-sequitors or flippant answers. For example, in answering the question about testing on animals, the answer is, No, Spazzstick has never been tested on animals. The only animals in the area are Arctic Fox, Caribou, and Polar Bears. We can't catch the Foxes, and putting lip balm on a Caribou is no picnic, so we don't even try. No one was willing to get close enough to a polar bear to put lip balm on it. The website also boasts that SpazzStick is made "in a beautiful little Eskimo Village called Kaktovik, AK, by the inventor ... and his hordes of worker trolls in a vast underground volcano lair." The trolls, Holschen admits, are his 5 children and that It's not uncommon to get [a tube] with a crooked label put on by a 2-year-old.