Name: The Institute Edition Malarkey Duster
Brand: The Malarkey Institute
Price: 47.86 AUD
Availability: InStock

THE MALARKEY INSTITUTE

For the Extermination of Malarkey

Why the Institute became involved

The Malarkey Institute did not begin with politics.

Its involvement began with an archival curiosity: material recovered from the papers and collections of Patrick Mulholland, whose early twentieth century expeditions through the Andes left behind a small number of unexplained specimens.

What followed was an investigation into their origin, their unusual biological properties and, eventually, an object whose usefulness proved rather more contemporary than anyone had expected

An Archival Curiosity

Among Mulholland’s papers and specimens was a feather whose significance had apparently been overlooked.

Its provenance was uncertain, its biological characteristics unusual, and its purpose entirely unknown.

That single specimen became the starting point for the Institute’s investigation — one that would eventually connect an obscure archival discovery with a very modern problem.

The Evidence Became Difficult to Ignore

Examination of the recovered specimen revealed biological characteristics that could not be readily explained.

Further testing led to controlled reconstruction and a series of observations suggesting the Institute was no longer dealing with an archival curiosity alone.

The material appeared capable of producing something altogether more tangible — and considerably more useful.

The Institute had found the object. The world, meanwhile, was suggesting other uses for it.

A Contemporary Application Emerged

What began as an Institute reconstruction soon attracted attention for an entirely different reason.

Its colour, form and conspicuous harmlessness made it unusually visible in public settings — easy to recognise, easy to repeat and difficult to ignore.

The Institute had discovered the object. Current events supplied the application.

The object had been identified. Its applications were less obvious.

From Rooster to Duster...

Cock of the yard...

An old farmyard metaphor found a new audience

Glory is transient...
A familiar expression supplied the transformation.
Busted...
The feather duster became the visual punchline.
The Malarkey Duster
And the joke acquired an object.

Other Observed Public Applications

Demonstrations
For moments when being seen matters almost as much as being heard.
Public Meetings
A conspicuously harmless way to register disagreement.
Media Visibility
One may amuse. Hundreds become difficult for a camera to ignore.
Veterans’ Voice
A visible, non-violent way to remain part of the civic conversation.