Page "Skunk Works" Paragraph 39

The term " Skunk Works " came from Al Capp's satirical, hillbilly comic strip Li ’ l Abner, which was immensely popular in the 1940s and ' 50s.

The “ Skonk Works " was a dilapidated factory located on the remote outskirts of Dogpatch, in the backwoods of Kentucky.

According to the strip, scores of locals were done in yearly by the toxic fumes of the concentrated " skonk oil ", which was brewed and barreled daily by " Big Barnsmell " ( known as the lonely " inside man " at the Skonk Works ), by grinding dead skunks and worn shoes into a smoldering still, for some mysterious, never specified purpose.