The Hamburger Rebellion of 1964

College protests during the 1960s weren't all about war and civil rights. In 1964, students at California's Long Beach State started marching in protest after the school cafeteria raised the price of hamburgers five cents. It immediately became known in the press as the "Hamburger Rebellion." The students won a small victory, in that they managed to get the cafeteria to drop a two-cents charge for extra ketchup, but the price hike for the hamburgers remained.

Posted By: Alex - Fri Jan 09, 2015 - Comments (6)
Category: 1960s, Universities, Colleges, Private Schools and Academia

Skippy the Bush Kangaroo

Sample episode of Skippy below.

Posted By: Paul - Fri Jan 09, 2015 - Comments (8)
Category: Animals, Television, Children, 1960s, Australia

Fish Eyes

Veterinary staff at Vancouver Aquarium have provided posthetic eyes for a fish. This was done so other fish would not pick it to death because it did not have eyes. So, it seems that humans are not the only species that picks on those who are different.

Posted By: Alex - Thu Jan 08, 2015 - Comments (8)
Category: Animals, Fish, Eyes and Vision

A Fool and His Money

Oh yeah, that's waaay better than flowers.

Here's a you tube video commercial including price.

Posted By: Alex - Thu Jan 08, 2015 - Comments (7)
Category: Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Products

Boys with beards

According to the New York Business Journal, the Campbell Soup Co. has recently dramatically increased its marketing budget with the launch of a multimedia ad campaign centered around a boy with a long beard ("The Wisest Kid in the Whole World") who advises people to have soup.


First thing I thought was that the kid reminded me of the bearded boy in those ads for the Boy Scouts that ran 3 or 4 years ago. Also, boys with beards look kinda strange.

But evidently the lesson from Madison Ave. is that boys with beards can really sell stuff.

Posted By: Alex - Thu Jan 08, 2015 - Comments (6)
Category: Advertising, Facial Hair

Follies of the Madmen #239

[Click to enlarge]

"Droodles" sounds ugly, like "drool." And these jokes are fit only to entertain an eight-year-old. Excellent campaign to indicate quality of product and sophistication of audience.

Original ad here.

Posted By: Paul - Thu Jan 08, 2015 - Comments (5)
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, Games, Tobacco and Smoking, 1950s

Stop Eating Chocolate

According to some vicious propaganda, being spread by evil scientists, chocolate is no longer a health food and should be avoided, at all cost. (especially if you're a dog)

CBC News

This should be viewed as a wake-up call! Stock-up now!

Posted By: Expat47 - Thu Jan 08, 2015 - Comments (8)
Category: Propaganda, Thought Control and Brainwashing, Eating

Lloyd Canning Update

A week ago I posted about Lloyd Canning, an artist who claimed that he had been abducted by extraterrestrials who were now beaming images into his brain, and that this served as the inspiration for his art. He's now done an about face and says that he was just joking about the whole alien-abduction thing. It was a stunt to get publicity.

I have to hand it to him that he knows how to work the media. First he gets free publicity with a crazy claim. And then he gets a second round of publicity for the hoax reveal. P.T. Barnum would have been proud.

However, since a week ago I described the alien thing as a "schtick" he was using to promote himself, I don't really consider myself fooled by this one. A schtick is exactly what it was. Just a more cynical schtick than I gave him credit for.

But it means that I'll now have to add him to the Museum of Hoaxes.

Posted By: Alex - Wed Jan 07, 2015 - Comments (1)
Category: Art

Moodus Mystery

More history here.

Posted By: Paul - Wed Jan 07, 2015 - Comments (6)
Category: Regionalism, Superstition, Natural Wonders, Fictional Monsters

Malfunction

Posted By: Paul - Tue Jan 06, 2015 - Comments (5)
Category: Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Domestic, Surrealism, Psychedelic, 1950s