ORIGINS OF COWABUNGA 1960

The term COWABUNGA was first said in 1953 by Chief Thunderthud on the Howdy Doody show. Spelled Kowabonga or Cowabonga by the show.

Here is a skit with Chief Thunderthud using the term on the last Howdy Doody show to air in 1960. Now i wait for comments about hiding bananas and such.

Surfers of the '60's having grown up with Howdy Doody as little kids started saying the word and spelled it Cowabunga by changing the O to a U probably because that's just how it sounded to them and they never saw the word in print, US Soldiers Fighting in Vietnam used the word i've been told, In 1965 Snoopy would think it while skateboarding or surfing, Rick Griffin drew Murphy Saying it while toting his surfboard around. In the 1970's Cookie Monster on Sesame Street would yell it out sometimes before eating something, though the one time he spelled it for the letter "K". K is for Kowabunga. Many people think Bart Simpson said it all the time but he didn't, What he usually said was Ay Caramba or Eat my Shorts or Don't have a Cow, Man, Most times you saw Bart on T-shirts or stickers saying "Cowabunga" while surfing. The Teen Age Mutant Ninja Turtles had Michelangelo saying Cowabunga. And sometimes Merv Griffin would say Cowabunga during his tv commercials promoting his tv show in the '70's.

Rumor was that Cowabonga was a secret curse word, The show claims it never was and it wasn't in the very beginning of the use of it on the show but watching this clip, you could easily use it to replace a swear word, "Oh no no no COWABONGA no that clown looks sillyer on television than in person"