Harold von Braunhut, the inventor of Sea Monkeys, made thousands of dollars selling “Invisible Goldfish,” creatures that didn’t exist.
The creator of Sea Monkeys, Harold von Braunhut, became famous for selling small aquatic creatures marketed as fun and easy-to-care-for pets.
However, another one of his creations, the “Invisible Goldfish,” was even more peculiar.
This product was essentially a joke, as the fish never actually existed.
It was sold as a goldfish that could not be seen, playing on the buyer’s imagination.
Despite its absurdity, this invention earned von Braunhut thousands of dollars.
Inventor Harold von Braunhut’s Sea Monkeys has a dark history
Harold von Braunhut, known for creating “Sea Monkeys,” also made a fortune selling unusual products.
One of these was a fake pet called the “Invisible Goldfish.”
His success with these unconventional inventions was largely due to his exceptional marketing skills.
This proves that even a terrible product can thrive with the appropriate advertising.
The “Invisible Goldfish” was actually a scam for years
The “Invisible Goldfish” was exactly what it sounded like, a fish that didn’t exist.
The product was advertised as a pet that you could watch grow, but the truth was that there was nothing to see.
Customers who bought the product received an empty tank, believing it contained a fish they could never see.
This bizarre concept, however, resonated with consumers at the time.
Despite the absurdity, people actually purchased it.
This product, alongside the more well-known “Sea Monkeys,” showcases Braunhut’s ability to market even the most questionable ideas.
The creation of “Sea Monkeys” and “X-Ray Specs”
“Sea Monkeys” are a species of brine shrimp that Braunhut figured out how to cultivate in a tank easily.
He then marketed these tiny creatures as a fun, “instant pet” for children, selling them through comic book ads.
Another of his inventions was the “X-Ray Specs,” which claimed to allow the wearer to see through objects but only slightly distorted the view.
Sea Monkey inventor Harold von Braunhut has a darker side
Beyond his quirky inventions, Braunhut had a deeply troubling side.
Born to a Jewish family, he added “von” to his name in the 1950s to distance himself from his heritage.
Shockingly, Braunhut was involved with extremist groups, including supplying weapons to the Ku Klux Klan and attending Aryan Nations conferences.
The Aryan Nations, a neo-Nazi hate group, was labeled a terrorist threat by the FBI in 2001.
In a 1988 Washington Post article titled “Contrasts of a Private Persona,” people described his study as containing unsettling memorabilia.
This included a German war poster autographed by Hermann Goering and an inscribed photograph of Benito Mussolini.
Social media reactions
On social media, many online users shared their thoughts about the popular childhood toys, Sea Monkeys and Invisible Goldfish.
Some people remembered how much fun it was to see the tiny creatures grow.
Others found it funny that they had spent money on what was basically just brine shrimp.
A few users even expressed surprise upon learning that the inventor had also sold a fake pet called the “Invisible Goldfish.”
I had these too, they were great and grew quite big until cat decided to go fishing, also had tripps too they were even better and didn’t need magnifying glass to see, one user recalled.
Here’s an amazing fact. Brine shrimp are not fish. He was a genius though, the second user commented.
I bought my son these 7 years ago and they are still going, had 1 left in the tank, and all of a sudden there were hundreds again, another said.
The number of people commenting about his sea monkeys and how they’ve had some and not invisible goldfish is insane, someone wrote.