(This Footnote to History article was printed on page 1 of the December 8, 1949, publication of the Chico Enterprise-Record, and is reprinted word-for-word below.)

Little Boy Finds Toilet Seat Not Quite His Size

HOLLYWOOD — (AP) — Phillip Burrows, a curious 20-month-old boy, tried a junior toilet seat on for size as a collar and finally had to have help from the fire department to get it off.

Mrs. Robert B. Burrows, the boy’s mother, said she saw Phillip raise the seat to his head and admonished him: “No, don’t . . .” But It was too late. The seat slipped down around his neck. She tried vainly to get it off, even using vaseline.

Doctors and nurses at Hollywood Receiving Hospital also tried, with no luck. The fire department was called and Fireman V. S. Donovan carefully wielded a saw to remove the seat.

“It’s one of those things,” sighed Mrs. Burrows after the ordeal.