Desperate Dan many contexts. A limited selection is mentioned here. Desperate Dan Desperate Dan is a wild west character in the British comic magazine "The Dandy" and has become their mascot. He made his appearance in the first issue which was dated 4 December 1937. He is apparently the world's strongest man, able to lift a cow with one hand. The pillow of his (reinforced) bed is filled with building rubble and his beard is so tough he shaves with a blowtorch. The character was created by Dudley D. Watkins, originally as an outlaw or ‘desperado’ (hence his name), but evolved into
Grand Rapids Hotel manager Glenn Goodart. The Grand Rapids Hotel burned to the ground on July 24, 1929, due to a suspicious blowtorch incident involving Glenn Goodart. According to newspaper articles, Goodart was alone and accidentally burned the hotel by dropping a blowtorch. At the time, there were suspicions whether the fire was intentional, but Goodart was never prosecuted for arson. Goodart had only one leg due to a train accident. Shortly after the hotel burned down, the Wall Street Crash of 1929 occurred and the hotel was never rebuilt due to a lack of money caused by the Great Depression. Goodart became