Exactly What 420 Means And Some Hip Ways To Celebrate.

It's April 20th. Or 4/20/2009. The twentieth day of the fourth month. And to those savvy in cannibas culture, it's commonly referred to as "420"(pronounced four twenty); a slang word whose origin truly comes from my own high school, San Rafael High.

"According to Steven Hager, editor of High Times, the term 420 originated at San Rafael High School, in 1971, among a group of about a dozen pot-smoking wiseacres who called themselves the Waldos. The term 420 was shorthand for the time of day the group would meet, at the campus statue of Louis Pasteur, to smoke pot. " source

above: the Louis Pasteur statue at San Rafael High, birthplace of 420

No, it's not the chemical make up of THC (according to High Times, there are 315 chemical compounds in Marijuana), or the CA penal code section for marijuana use, or the date on which Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison or Jimmi Hendrix died. And although it actually is the date on which Hitler was born, that has nothing to do with the term either.

Don't believe me? See it for yourself here on snopes.

And today's Huffington Post interviewed the original "Waldos".

Okay, now that you know what 420 really means and where it came from, what to do about it? Why not pay homage with some of the beautifully designed apparatuses you see here. I'm not suggesting anyone break the law. Those with legal medical marijuana cards may indulge and those without can use these pipes, hookahs and bongs to smoke legal herbs.

Last year I wrote a post in honor of 420 and shared with you some nicely designed water pipes, hookahs and more. There have since been some additions from these designers and some new ones on the market.

The Carbon Fibre Bong is modern, stylish and streamlined. Fits in perfectly with the Purisme collection!:

Buy it here.

A new model and limited edition design by Meduse Designs:

details:

learn more here.
Or see last year's post with many more meduse designs hookahs here

By now most design blog readers have all seen these stunning hookahs by Airdiem:

But there are recent addition to the stunning Narghile Etian (original in polished chrome and available in a gold finish as shown above) designed by Nedda El-Asmar.

Like the new Narghile Coral design (in gold):

And the Narghile Coral in red:

Also, new options for the Narghile include fur covered tubing and more:

as well as the Narghile White by Tribu Design for Airdiem:

above: Natural Acrylic stone, stainless steel, leather. Dimensions: 15.7'' (40 cm) long, 4.3'' (11 cm) width, 1.9'' (5 cm) high

The Atelier SZ has a plexiglass base, is new as of Spring 2009 and comes in black or red:

above: Altuglas, silvered metal, burner made of hi-tech ceramic. Dimensions: high 21.2'' (54 cm), width 12.6'' (32 cm)

Airdiem - 26 avenue du Château d'Este - 64140 Billère - France Tél. +33 (0)9 51 72 48 52

Roor has long been known for quality (and costly) glass water pipes. They have some rare custom models fit for royalty as well. And yes, the bong Olympic Gold Medalist Swimmer Michael Phelps was caught smoking was a Roor.

The Diamond Accented, Gold Gilded Roor Custom:

From the description on Everyonedoesit.co.uk:
"This very, very special Roor is emblazoned with a genuine diamond-studded, solid gold Roor logo mounted regally on the 7mm thick borosilicate glass beneath a rare Bubbled Tube feature and an Opal Embedded Crown Mouthpiece.

Beneath the logo is a Dichro Embedded Marble, featuring a funky Roor logo within. Either side of the Dichro marble there are two Solid Silver Hemp Leaves, while the ice notches below are heavily gold gilded to match the logo and the bowl, which is also gold gilded. The diffuser logo is uniquely gold coloured as well."
buy it here.

The Roor Silver Ruby Custom:

With solid silver logos with real rubies x2, solid silver hemp leaf, platinum ice notches, roor millefiori bead, a glass section bowl, crown mouthpiece, bistabil joint and complete with matching ash catcher. buy it here.

Republic of Bongland (now seemingly renamed Smoke Hurricane) makes hand blown glass bongs from Germany that consist of beautifully etched and shaped glass water pipes like the following: