1950s
Fran the Formfit Gal
The premise of corporate mascot Fran is that she traveled the world, wowing people everywhere with her Formfit underwear.
Photoplay - Oct 1955
Look - Sep 20, 1955
Photoplay - Dec 1955
Coronet - May 1955
Posted By: Alex - Tue Sep 24, 2024 -
Comments (3)
Category: Advertising, Corporate Mascots, Icons and Spokesbeings, Underwear, 1950s
The Devon Octopus Invasion
Summer of 1950: A strange Cold War conspiracy theory circulated among fishermen in Devon. They attributed a large number of octopuses in the coastal waters to the presence of Russian trawlers "fitted with tanks containing octopuses," releasing the creatures near the coast.
Plymouth Western Morning News - Sep 28, 1950
Posted By: Alex - Wed Sep 11, 2024 -
Comments (1)
Category: Fish, Conspiracy Theories and Theorists, 1950s, United Kingdom
The Pig Got Up and Slowly Walked Away
Posted By: Paul - Thu Sep 05, 2024 -
Comments (3)
Category: Anthropomorphism, Music, 1950s, Alcohol
The Outdoors Girl of Canada
The earliest reference I find is the one below, from 1955. The latest is from 1989. A respectable 40-year run. But too few pictures of the winners!
Posted By: Paul - Mon Sep 02, 2024 -
Comments (1)
Category: Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Contests, Races and Other Competitions, Nature, Day Camps, Away Camps, Outdoor Activities and Recreational Retreats, 1950s, 1980s, North America
Miss Calculator of 1952
I've been unable to find out if Ruth Houser ended up winning the title of "Miss Calculator of 1952."Incidentally, the Monroe Calculating Company is still around, and still selling calculators.
Johnson City Press-Chronicle - May 18, 1952
Posted By: Alex - Sun Sep 01, 2024 -
Comments (1)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Technology, Computers, 1950s
Magoo in Hi-Fi
Once you get past the daft spoken word bits with Mr McGoo, this gets excellent, almost avant-garde in places, with incredible work by Dennis Farnon and Marni Nixon. The Very Contrary Mary track is stunning.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Aug 30, 2024 -
Comments (1)
Category: Music, Vinyl Albums and Other Media Recordings, Avant Garde, Cartoons, 1950s
Three Strange Florida Oranges Commercials
Sportswriter is composing his column in locker room, communicates directly with distant housewife.Advertising icon is implicitly happy with having her head sliced open and its juice extracted.
Were Western Union workers really given OJ breaks?
Posted By: Paul - Thu Aug 22, 2024 -
Comments (2)
Category: Anthropomorphism, Advertising, Soda, Pop, Soft Drinks and other Non-Alcoholic Beverages, 1950s, 1960s
Miss Sopot, Communist Poland’s First Beauty Queen
Posted By: Paul - Wed Aug 21, 2024 -
Comments (1)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, 1950s, Europe
Follies of the Madmen #603
Don't bees have intimate relations with (swimsuit women) flowers?
Posted By: Paul - Tue Aug 20, 2024 -
Comments (3)
Category: Fashion, Insects and Spiders, Swimming, Snorkeling, and Diving, Advertising, 1950s
Nylon panties in a bottle
Feb 1956: An unnamed English man found a pair of nylon panties inside a bottle that had washed up on a beach near Bognor Regis. An accompanying note explained that a Finnish sailor had put the panties in the bottle. The man presented the panties to his wife who was reportedly "delighted with them."
The London Sunday People - Feb 26, 1956
Posted By: Alex - Thu Aug 15, 2024 -
Comments (2)
Category: 1950s
| Who We Are |
|---|
| Alex Boese Alex is the creator and curator of the Museum of Hoaxes. He's also the author of various weird, non-fiction, science-themed books such as Elephants on Acid and Psychedelic Apes. Paul Di Filippo Paul has been paid to put weird ideas into fictional form for over thirty years, in his career as a noted science fiction writer. He has recently begun blogging on many curious topics with three fellow writers at The Inferior 4+1. Contact Us |