U.S. Bongs Patent, History & Stories

United States Patent #3,881,499 was applied for on Sept. 11, 1973 and granted on May 6, 1975 to Michael Duncan McFadden of Potomac, MD and Peter Robin Barnhard, of Bethesda, MD, presumably the founders of the company. This patent granted them protections on plastic bongs. They also had a line of glass bongs called U.S. Glass.

Progressive Plastics Inc. d/b/a U.S. Bongs was a Maryland corporation based in Montgomery County, MD from the mid-1970's through the mid-1990's. They were known for their advertisements in High Times magazine. U.S. Bongs were available in head shops throughout the USA. Their building, sporting a big red "U.S. BONGS" sign, was visible from the highway until marijuana paraphernalia was outlawed in Maryland a few years later. I believe this background picture is that building, the second building they occupied, after outgrowing their initial location. Stories exist about how the U.S. Federal Government did not appreciate the use of Uncle Sam in their advertising and went out of their way to put them out of business That, and the whole 'bong manufacturing' thing. Shipping across state lines also caused legal problems for the company. They came back as U.S. Waterpipes (Tobacco Use Only, there was a time you couldn't say the word "bong" in a head shop) and for a while were operating out of a post office box in Olney, a small residential community also located in Montgomery County. They still had legal issues and eventually shut down for good. Their last known address was in Northern Virginia. There is very little information about the company. My research continues. Updates: Someone tried to revive the U.S. Bongs name in 2014. There was a Facebook announcement that they were going to be at HempFest 2014, complete with photos of new replica U.S. Bongs, but it must have gone badly for them because there wasn't ever another post about it. There's also someone that was selling replica U.S. Bongs and posters on Weebly.com. Caution, though, I found that their link to USBongs.com (which doesn't exist) is malicious. Don't click on it.

If you have information, stories, or pictures of U.S. Bongs, please let me know!

About Me

My name is Ron and I grew up in Kensington, Maryland, just outside the D.C. Beltway, in the 1970's. I remember seeing the red U.S. Bongs sign lit up beside the highway. A few years ago it occurred to me to look up U.S. Bongs and when a Google search provided no information whatsoever about U.S. Bongs, not even a mention on Wikipedia, it really bothered me. I started collecting U.S. Bongs on eBay, where, sadly, only about one pops up per year. Few other bidders seemed interested and I picked up most of them with my opening bid. Nobody seemed to care. I was afraid U.S. Bongs would fade away into the pre-Internet haze of nothingness. Eventually, my collection grew, and I decided to create this museum. For the sake of historical irony, I did it on the day cannabis was legalized for adult use in Maryland. I hope the founders of U.S. Bongs would appreciate that. Thank you for your visit!