Voting Station

Milton Levine

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Entrepreneur

The Resume

    (November 3, 1913-January 16, 2011)
    Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
    Owned Uncle Milton Industries
    Marketed educational and scientific toys
    Biggest success was Uncle Milton's Ant Farms with over 20 million sold

Why he might be annoying:

    He claimed his inspiration was a parade of ants at a Fourth of July picnic (1956).
    Then again, maybe his real inspiration was Frank Austin, who 25 years earlier had sold an ant farm that was remarkably similar, even down to the fake farm scene on top of the sand.
    He said he adopted the Uncle Milton name for the business because he was sick of 'If you're in the ant business, where's the uncle?' jokes.
    An attempt to market an 'executive' ant farm with a mahogany frame in place of the traditional green plastic flopped.
    He trademarked 'ant farm,' so when Scott Adams used the phrase in a 'Dilbert' strip, the cartoonist got a threatening letter from Uncle Milton's attorneys.

Why he might not be annoying:

    In the Army during World War II, he led a platoon that built bridges in France and Germany.
    He was married to Mauricette, a Frenchwoman he met at a WWII USO show in Normandy, for 65 years until his death.
    Ant farm fans included Sally Field and Henny Youngman.
    According to toy historian Tim Walsh, the ant farm became a classic toy because it 'stoked the curiosity' of budding scientists.
    He affirmed that ant farms are educational: 'They've taught me how to make a damn good living.'

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 4 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 5 Votes: 40.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 7 Votes: 71.43% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 5 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 5 Votes: 40.0% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 9 Votes: 44.44% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 4 Votes: 25.00% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 17 Votes: 52.94% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 110 Votes: 50.91% Annoying