| Catalog date |
02/14/2009 |
| Collection |
Caving Equipment |
| Collector |
Craig Hindman |
| Artist |
Mike Artz |
| Date |
1995 |
| Description |
Blue Coveralls
Shazam Suit, made by Mike Artz. The original run of these suits was black with a lightning bolt. The second run, this one is from 1995, was blue. These suits were designed for the difficult caves in Burnsville Cove, Bath County, Virginia, but were also used in many particularly horrible cave passages elsewhere. This particular Shazam Suit saw much use in Virginia, but most of its time underground was in the cold, wet, tight caves in Pennsylvannia during survey/ push trips as well as many bat counts.
The name Shazam suit comes from the suit's similarity to the superhero Captain Marvel in the tv show Shazam! although the suit on the show was red. The true meaning of the word is more complex and not all that relevant (Shazan is a wizard, and Shazam itself is an acronym for "Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Acheles, and Mercury." Anyways, when Billy says the magical word Shazam! he becomes Captain Marvel by being hit by a lightning bolt. Thus the lightning bolt on the front of all true Shazam Suits. |
| Found |
Unknown |
| Category |
3: Personal Artifacts |
| Made |
United States |
| Material |
Rubber |
| Object ID |
2008.0163.002 |
| Object Name |
Coveralls |
| Other Name |
Shazam Suit |
| Owned |
Unknown |
| Sub-category |
Clothing -- Outerwear |
| People |
Keith Christenson
Mike Artz |
| Recfrom |
Keith Christenson |
| Subjects |
caving equipment
Shazam Suit
lightning bolt
1995
Bath County
Virginia
VA
Burnsville Cove
Pennsylvannia
PA
Captain Marvel |
| Title |
Shazam Suit |
| Used |
Unknown |
|
