Category:
1920s

Kleenex - the cold cream remover

Kleenex tissues were introduced in the 1920s, but at first it didn't occur to the Kleenex marketing team that the product could be used for nose blowing. Instead, they marketed Kleenex as a cold cream remover.

More from wikipedia:

In the 1920s, the product was modified into the menstrual pad Kotex. A further modification of the original crepe paper made it thinner and softer, and the resultant 1924 product was called "Kleenex" and marketed as a cold cream remover...

A few years after the introduction of Kleenex, the Cellucotton's head researcher tried to persuade the head of advertising to try to market the tissue for colds and hay fever. The administrator declined the idea but then committed a small amount of ad space to mention of using Kleenex tissue as a handkerchief. By the 1930s, Kleenex was being marketed with the slogan "Don't Carry a Cold in Your Pocket" and its use as a disposable handkerchief replacement became predominant.

Chicago Tribune - Nov 10, 1924

Posted By: Alex - Thu Aug 08, 2024 - Comments (0)
Category: Business, Advertising, 1920s

Swallowed giraffe liver parasite

1928: Emmett Price of the US Bureau of Animal Husbandry swallowed the larvae of an unknown parasite he found in the liver of a dead giraffe. His boss explained that it was considered tradition within the parasitology section of the Bureau to self-experiment in this way.

Buffalo News - July 11, 1928



Indianapolis Star - July 2, 1928

Posted By: Alex - Tue Jul 23, 2024 - Comments (2)
Category: Science, Experiments, 1920s

Arizona Fumigation

Back in the day you had to be fumigated before they'd let you into Arizona.

They've still got agricultural checkpoints on the border, but I've only ever been waved through.

Miami News - May 2, 1924



Thanks to Don Griffith!

Posted By: Alex - Thu May 09, 2024 - Comments (1)
Category: Government, Officials, Farming, 1920s, Arizona

Mystery Gadget 110

What is the purpose of this machine?
The answer is here.

Or after the jump.



More in extended >>

Posted By: Paul - Wed May 01, 2024 - Comments (1)
Category: Technology, 1920s

The Straw Hat Riots of 1922

Allow me to quote at length from Wikipedia. But visit that page for even more details.

The Straw Hat Riot of 1922 was a riot that occurred in New York City at the end of summer as a result of unwritten rules in men's fashions at the time, and a tradition of taunting people who had failed to stop wearing straw hats after autumn began. Originating as a series of minor riots, it spread due to men wearing straw hats past the unofficial date that was deemed socially acceptable, September 15. It lasted eight days, leading to many arrests and some injuries.... By the early 20th century, straw boaters were considered acceptable day attire in North American cities at the height of summer even for businessmen, but there was an unwritten rule that one was not supposed to wear a straw hat past September 15 (which was known as "Felt Hat Day").[1] This date was arbitrary; earlier it had been September 1, but it eventually shifted to mid-month. It was socially acceptable for stockbrokers to destroy each other's hats, due to the fact that they were “companions”,[2] but it was not acceptable for total strangers. If any man was seen wearing a straw hat, he was, at minimum, subjecting himself to ridicule, and it was a tradition for youths to knock straw hats off wearers' heads and stomp on them.[3] This tradition became well established, and newspapers of the day would often warn people of the impending approach of the fifteenth, when men would have to switch to felt or silk hats.[4] Hat bashing was only socially acceptable after September 15, but there were multiple occasions leading up to this date where the police had to intervene and stop teenagers.[2] The riot itself began on September 13, 1922, two days before the supposed unspoken date, when a group of youths decided to get an early jump on the tradition.



Posted By: Paul - Tue Apr 02, 2024 - Comments (3)
Category: Customs, Riots, Protests and Civil Disobedience, Headgear, 1920s, Pranks

Dance of the Simpleton

Since the silent dance video has no soundtrack, but is ostensibly meant to be accompanied by a Chopin Waltz, I suggest playing "The Minute Waltz" simultaneously! If you click the dance video, then the music video, they sync up nicely, just like THE DARK SIDE OF THE RAINBOW.



Posted By: Paul - Thu Mar 28, 2024 - Comments (0)
Category: Eccentrics, Spastic, Uncontrolled, Awkward and Herky-Jerky Movements, 1920s, Dance

Anne Carroll Moore and her Doll Nicholas

The famous children's librarian Anne Carroll Moore was wont to tote around a doll named Nicholas and make people interact with it.



She eventually wrote a whole book (300+ pages) about Nicholas: Nicholas: A Manhattan Christmas Story.

You can read the book here.

I have tried in vain to find a real photo of Nicholas. However, here is his depiction from the book.



Posted By: Paul - Tue Mar 05, 2024 - Comments (0)
Category: Books, Libraries, 1920s, Dolls and Stuffed Animals, Mental Health and Insanity

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