mojo / mojo wire

[Albrecht_Conz]

In this column which I read a while ago (and for some reason or other the page is unavailable right now) there’s a discussion of the term “mojo.” The definition given there fits in well with the term “mojo wire” as used by Hunter S. Thompson etc. (in the late 60s or early 70s), meaning fax machine. HST claims he invented the term (actually he occasionally claims he invented the machine, but nevermind).

So did HST coin the term?

[Albrecht_Conz]

oops - first it froze and then it was double. Could one of the admins please delete the duplicate thread?
Thanks.

[C_K_Dexter_Haven]

Done.

Thanks for posting the link!

[samclem]

Can you cite HST saying that? Any help of his exact phrasing? When?

I found it used in a newpaper headline that had nothing to do with Thompson. It was from 1976. And it was referring to something other than fax machines(standard print jounalism).

[zut]

Here’s a clue, from a 2000 PBS special on the 1972 campaign:

TERENCE SMITH: The food was no better in 1972, but there was a feeling of being off on your own, of being set free. Timothy Crouse traveled that year with gonzo journalist Hunter Thompson for “Rolling Stone” Magazine.

TIMOTHY CROUSE: There weren’t any laptops, you didn’t have a cell phone. There was a machine we had at a Rolling Stone that Hunter Thompson called the “Mojo,” because it wasn’t even called a fax yet.

Granted, that’s someone remembering events of 18 years past, as opposed to a contemporaneous account. Are RS articles from '72 accessible?

[John_W.Kennedy]

I saw my first fax machine in 1961, and it wasn’t new then.

[samclem]

John. In fairness, you weren’t the average American at that point. The average business, or even Rolling Stone, may have just barely acquired a facsimile machine. It wasn’t exactly mainstream.

So, did Hunter Thompson invent the term “fax.” NO.

Did he invent “mojo wire”–probably, unless John takes credit.

One should also be aware that “mojo” in the 1950’s through the 1970’s took on the meaning of drugs, specifically “coke.”

Not that anyone should connect HST with drugs.

[ftg]

First of all, the fax machine dates back quite a few years. Here’s a little timeline. Not everything was invented in the last 20 years folks.

My searches and memories are all “Rolling Stone”/HST related in regards to “Mojo”/“Mojo wire”. One is shown in the movie version of F&LILV. It is mentioned by the editor in “Almost Famous”, etc. I think it was just a “Rolling Stone” related slang term. (It is interesting to note though that “MoJo” is also slang for “Mother Jones” magazine.)

Search down in this for a movie that was looking to get one. Hmmm.

[Achernar]

@ftg

First of all, the fax machine dates back quite a few years. Here’s a little timeline. Not everything was invented in the last 20 years folks.

You know, it’s funny you say that. I tend to think of a fax machine as old technology. It’s right up there with electric typewriters and carbon paper (and now pagers) - not terribly technologically advanced, and only used by offices who have to do things the hard way.

[John_W.Kennedy]

@samclem

John. In fairness, you weren’t the average American at that point.

What’s more “average American” than a boy scout on a field trip?

[samclem]

@John W. Kennedy

What’s more “average American” than a boy scout on a field trip?

Then I would guess that you weren’t visiiting your average “office.” IBM?