Klondike Big Inch Land Promotion facts for kids
The Klondike Big Inch Land promotion was a fun marketing idea from the Quaker Oats Company in 1955. It was created by Bruce Baker, an advertising expert from Chicago. This promotion gave away tiny pieces of land in Canada's Yukon Territory!
How the Promotion Started
Quaker Oats bought a piece of land in the Yukon region of Canada. It was about 19 acres, and they paid US$1000 for it. Then, they printed 21 million special papers, called deeds. Each deed said you owned one square inch of this land!
To manage everything, Quaker Oats set up a company called the Great Klondike Big Inch Land Company. This company became the official owner of the land and handled all the deeds.
In January 1955, ads appeared in 93 newspapers across the United States. These ads invited people to "Get a real deed to one square inch of land in the Yukon gold rush country!" The promotion was linked to a TV show called Sergeant Preston of the Yukon, which Quaker Oats sponsored.
A Comic Book Adventure
In 1956, the famous Uncle Scrooge McDuck comic books even had a story inspired by this promotion! In the comic, Scrooge visits his own tiny square inch of land in Texas. A prairie dog with oily feet makes him think there's oil underground. Donald Duck and his nephews then buy cereal boxes from all over to get the neighboring square inches. They hope Scrooge can drill for the oil, but it turns out there wasn't any!
Getting Your Own Deed
To get a deed, people had to mail in a form and a box top from Quaker Puffed Wheat, Quaker Puffed Rice, or Muffets Shredded Wheat cereal. In return, they received a 5 by 8-inch deed for one square inch of Klondike land.
However, in February 1955, the state of Ohio stopped Quaker Oats. Ohio said the company needed a special license to "sell" foreign land. To solve this problem, Quaker Oats changed the rules. Instead of trading a box top for a deed, they simply put one deed inside every box of cereal!
It's important to know that these deeds were never officially registered. This meant they weren't legally binding documents. So, people who got these deeds never truly owned any land. Also, the deeds did not include the rights to any minerals found on the property.
What Happened Later
Years later, in 1965, the Canadian government took back the land. This happened because of $37.20 in unpaid taxes. The Great Klondike Big Inch Land Company was officially closed in 1966. Today, that land is part of the Dawson City Golf Course.
Even now, officials in the Yukon still receive letters and phone calls about these old deeds! The Yukon land office has a very thick file, about 18 inches thick, filled with messages about this promotion.
