Last Sunday, on an obscure roadway in Australia, the former psychedelic entrepreneur named Augustus Owsley Stanley III, took his final "trip". For those who in the 1960's availed themselves of his "Owsley Purple", a heartfelt tip of the hat is offered at his passing. By mass-manufacturing a hallucinogen that the authorities hadn’t gotten around to criminalizing, Owsley was able to singlehandedly create a market where none had existed, and with it a large part of what would become the “counterculture.” I must admit that I was one of his loyal customers ... back then when it was legal.
The only one we know who was as much a perfectionist in his product design and quality as Augustus Owsley is Steve Jobs, the equally brilliant co-founder of Apple. It is rumored that Jobs was also an afficianado of Mr. Stanley's "Purple Pill", a color that Apple has used only once. Steve Jobs is often credited for creating a “reality distortion field” around his products.
Augustus Owsley Stanley III knew a thing or two about that.
Rest In Peace.
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