1930s
Follies of the Madmen #537
Police brutality!
Source.
Posted By: Paul - Mon Jul 11, 2022 -
Comments (2)
Category: Hygiene, Police and Other Law Enforcement, Advertising, 1930s
Rebla, the Comedy Juggler
A small encyclopedia entry on the man.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Jul 05, 2022 -
Comments (0)
Category: Human Marvels, Theater and Stage, Vaudeville, 1930s
Word-Counter for Typewriters
Any user today of word-processing software knows instantly how many words a document contains. Could similar information be obtained for a typewritten document? Certainly!The US Patent Office features several documents for similar devices, but I'm not sure they were ever produced. They had the theoretical advantage of also being hooked to various punctuation keys, so that when you hit such a key, the counter would also recognize the end of a word, as well as with the space bar.
Source.
Posted By: Paul - Mon Jul 04, 2022 -
Comments (0)
Category: Inventions, Offices, Business Supplies, Institutional Regulations, 1930s
Bernard Bernard’s Height Increaser For Short People
"The patient lifted himself by the chin which was cradled in a sling attached to ropes looped to an overhead beam."In 1937, the American Medical Association warned the public that this device, despite being widely advertised, didn't actually work.
The Muncie Star Press - Apr 9, 1937
Update: The inventor of this device was a man named Bernard Bernard who was, himself, only 5 feet 1 inch tall. Details from Hygeia (May 1936):
LA Times - July 31, 1932
LA Times - May 1, 1930
Posted By: Alex - Sat Jul 02, 2022 -
Comments (8)
Category: Inventions, Patent Medicines, Nostrums and Snake Oil, 1930s
Love lost due to “middle-age” skin
What foolishness to grow older!
1938 - NY Times. Via Duke University
Posted By: Alex - Wed Jun 29, 2022 -
Comments (1)
Category: Advertising, 1930s, Skin and Skin Conditions
Payment in Clams
When the nation's banks closed during the Depression, Leiter's Pharmacy in Pismo Beach, California, issued this clamshell as change.
The 1929 stock market crash triggered banking panics, as people rushed to withdraw their savings before they were lost. In March 1933, President Roosevelt ordered a four-day bank holiday to prevent further withdrawals. To compensate for the currency shortage, communities created emergency money, or scrip. This clamshell was signed as it changed hands and redeemed when cash became available again.
Source.
Posted By: Paul - Mon May 16, 2022 -
Comments (2)
Category: Money, Nature, 1930s
Metallic Swim Suit
Apr 1938: Ruth Williamson demonstrated that "nothing short of a saw or file" would damage the metallic bathing suit she was modeling.Because withstanding saw and file is an important quality for a bathing suit.
Pittsburgh Press - Apr 17, 1938
NY Daily News - Mar 27, 1938
Posted By: Alex - Fri May 13, 2022 -
Comments (5)
Category: Fashion, 1930s
Mother Goose Controversy
1937: I don't know how Khrushchev would have felt about the Mother Goose mural painted on a wall at the Glenn Dale Sanatorium outside Washington D.C., but health officer Dr. George Rhuland felt it was "grotesque" and ordered it painted over. I think he was eventually overruled.I'm not sure what he found objectionable about it. Perhaps he didn't like the modernist style.
Meanwhile, the Glenn Dale Sanatorium has since become an abandoned relic, which remains standing, rather than being torn down, because of the asbestos remediation costs.
North Adams Transcript - Nov 19, 1937
Posted By: Alex - Thu May 12, 2022 -
Comments (1)
Category: Art, Censorship, Bluenoses, Taboos, Prohibitions and Other Cultural No-No’s, 1930s
World’s Most Beautiful Blonde
The photo that comes second here represents several of the contestants in this French competition. Not sure if our winner, Helen, is among them.
Posted By: Paul - Thu May 12, 2022 -
Comments (0)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, 1930s, Europe
Unlikely Reasons for Murder No. 9
These two were "lucky" enough to be immortalized by Weegee.Article source: The Grand Island Daily Independent (Grand Island, Nebraska) 03 Aug 1936,
Mon Page 1
Posted By: Paul - Tue May 10, 2022 -
Comments (2)
Category: Crime, Scary Criminals, Stupid Criminals, Family, Photography and Photographers, 1930s
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