Richmond,VA Strange Wars (Jawa Edition) Utinni!

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The Janecek Arms Factory in the now Czech Republic was looking for a new product line to redress the impact of a decline in military orders after World War I. After purchasing the motorcycle division of German manufacturer Wanderer in 1929, the company introduced the JAWA motorcycle at the Prague Motor Show. (The automobile division later became part of Audi) The name comes from the first letters of Janecek and Wanderer. In Czech the name is roughly pronounced "Yava".

Over the 75 years of its existence, the company has manufactured almost 3.5 million motorcycles, many of which have been exported to more than 120 countries throughout the world. And continues to be popular in India and China. The latest model is the JAWA 650 Style. Rumor has it that Lucas saw people racing JAWA motorcycles over sand dunes and the name stuck.

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The Jawas were also the centerpiece in a copyright infringement case. In 1978, small hooded creatures with glowing eyes began accompanying rocker Neil Young on stage during a concert tour and on the cover of the album Rust Never Sleeps. The case was settled out of court.


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Where do you find this stuff?! I knew about the Jawa motorcycles, but didn't think they were connected. It would only make sense that they are connected though.

With each new Strange Wars, it seems that Uncle George took most of his ideas from all over the place. Those companies and film makers could make millions suing him for infringement!

I remember a case where George sued a medical company because the name of their surgery laser device was called a "lightsaber".