Crusader for corporal punishment caned

Eric Wildman was a crusader for corporal punishment. He believed strongly that if you spare the rod, you'll spoil the child. He was the president (and perhaps only member?) of the National Society for the Retention of Corporal Punishment in Schools. To support himself, he sold canes and whipping paraphenalia to schools and caning enthusiasts.

In 1948, he was invited to speak at Horsley Hall, a British school for boys. But the talk didn't turn out as he expected. As he was talking, a group of the boys crept up behind him, grabbed him, pinned him down, and then began beating him with his own canes.

Strangely enough, the assault turned out to have been planned by the school's headmaster, who was strongly anti-caning. He had decided to give Wildman a taste of his own medicine. Wildman threatened to sue the school, but never did.

You can read more about Wildman and the Horsley Hall incident at corpun.com, which also has lots of info about the strange history of corporal punishment.

Posted By: Alex - Sun Dec 21, 2014 - Comments (2)
Category: 1940s, Universities, Colleges, Private Schools and Academia, Pain, Self-inflicted and Otherwise

Red Out

The 1948 high school fad of "Red-Out." Certainly one of the stupidest high school fads ever.

What it involved: "Students would kneel, breathe deeply 10 times, close their lips around their thumbs and then blow, without actually exhaling, until they turned red and passed out."

Bonus thrill: students would wake up believing they had been chased by monsters!

Posted By: Alex - Sat Nov 29, 2014 - Comments (6)
Category: Fads, School, 1940s

Drive Me, Daddy

How refreshingly charming to find a young lady who is also a gearhead.

Posted By: Paul - Sat Nov 22, 2014 - Comments (5)
Category: Innuendo, Double Entendres, Symbolism, Nudge-Nudge-Wink-Wink and Subliminal Messages, Music, 1940s, Cars

How To Improve Immigrants’ English

Posted By: Paul - Thu Nov 20, 2014 - Comments (5)
Category: Languages, Foreign Customs, 1940s, Asia, Europe

The Jake Bird Hex

Jake Bird was a truly creepy character — an axe-murderer who may have killed as many as 46 people. But even after he was caught in 1947 and sentenced to death, he's said to have continued killing people by putting the "Jake Bird hex" on them. Six people associated with the trial were said to have succumbed to his hex.

From Wikipedia:

Posted By: Alex - Mon Nov 17, 2014 - Comments (5)
Category: Death, Scary Criminals, 1940s

Olympian Swimmer Ann Curtis Races a Seal

Original article here.

PS: the seal won.

Posted By: Paul - Sat Nov 15, 2014 - Comments (5)
Category: Animals, Contests, Races and Other Competitions, Oceans and Maritime Pursuits, 1940s

Mystery Gadget 24

What's up with this fellow?

The answer is here.

Posted By: Paul - Thu Nov 13, 2014 - Comments (7)
Category: Technology, 1940s

High School Fads of 1947

Just two of the reputed high school crazes of nearly seventy years ago.

Read more here.

Posted By: Paul - Wed Nov 12, 2014 - Comments (6)
Category: Fads, Teenagers, 1940s

The Atomiscope

Did this actually have radium inside it? How many cancers did this cause, carried about in Dennis the Menace's pockets?

Unfortunately, I've lost the source of this ad. Can anyone help?

Posted By: Paul - Wed Nov 05, 2014 - Comments (9)
Category: Death, Toys, Atomic Power and Other Nuclear Matters, 1940s

One of These Things Is Not Like the Others

You recall perhaps the full-size rubber mask of the mystery half-wit? Well, here he is again, as a hand-puppet, inexplicably consorting with legit Disney characters. The manufacturers must have loved that design.

Original ad here.

Posted By: Paul - Tue Oct 28, 2014 - Comments (5)
Category: Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Puppets and Automatons, Advertising, Comics, 1940s