1950s
Burlap Interior Design
Much as the enthusiastic Mr. Namkin or the dapper corporate icon Mr. Deburco wished it, burlap was not fated to become the next hot interior design fabric. As we all know, burlap was too closely associated with beatniks to be wholly respectable.
Article source: The Record (Hackensack, New Jersey) 01 Oct 1954, Fri Page 24
Article source: The Monroe News-Star (Monroe, Louisiana) 06 Mar 1962, Tue Page 12
Article source: The Capital Times (Madison, Wisconsin) 30 Jan 1960, Sat Page 6
Posted By: Paul - Fri Apr 08, 2022 -
Comments (2)
Category: Fads, Interior Decorating, Bohemians, Beatniks, Hippies and Slackers, 1950s
Oklahoma U. Engineers’ Queen
Apparently the University of Oklahoma has a long tradition of the Engineering Department electing a queen, and then risking her being kidnapped by the Law School.Read a history of the OU Engineering School here.
I found a pretty recent reference to the continuation of the Queen's election, but not necessarily the kidnapping.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Mar 31, 2022 -
Comments (1)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Regionalism, Rivalries, Feuds and Grudges, 1920s, 1930s, 1950s, Universities, Colleges, Private Schools and Academia, Twenty-first Century
Miss Cloak and Dagger
Aug 1957: Pat Strasser was awarded the title of Miss Cloak and Dagger at the National Counter Intelligence Corps Association's 10th annual convention.Miss Strasser, who is 5 feet 6 inches tall and weighs 118 in a bathing suit, was judged along with nine other finalists by a unique system that considered only one part of her shapely anatomy at a time.
First the 1,000 delegates scored the girls on legs, while the rest of their bodies were hidden. They worked their way up from there and the score cards were fed into the IBM machine.
San Francisco Examiner - Aug 4, 1957
Posted By: Alex - Sun Mar 27, 2022 -
Comments (0)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Spies and Intelligence Services, 1950s
Follies of the Madmen #528
Our shirts will enable you to join the cast of Jackass.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Mar 27, 2022 -
Comments (2)
Category: Fashion, Stupid and/or Dangerous Products, Advertising, 1950s
Ideal Fighter Jet Toy
Posted By: Paul - Sat Mar 26, 2022 -
Comments (2)
Category: Toys, War, Weapons, 1950s
The cat that climbed the Matterhorn
Sep 1950: A group of climbers who made it to the top of the Matterhorn were astonished to find a kitten at the summit. Apparently it had made its way up there without any human assistance, perhaps following some other climbers. The climbers put the kitten in one of their backpacks and carried it back down.While the story seems hard to believe, it's pretty well documented. The website Cervinia Icons has a brief article written in 2016 by one of the climbers, Luigi Orombelli, who found the cat. From his account:
We introduce ourselves, but the conversation is soon interrupted: we hear strange noises. “It must be those guys” says Daniel, indicating the group of climbers playing around the Swiss peak. The calls continue and more start sounding like a mew. But, suddenly, two ears appear: a cat is struggling on a thin ledge just below us, meowing and rushing toward us. The meows and his movements revealed fact that he was cold and hungry.
Climbers at the Matterhorn summit with cat
Coshocton Tribune - Sep 7, 1950
Posted By: Alex - Thu Mar 24, 2022 -
Comments (0)
Category: Cats, 1950s
Miss Beatnik of 1959
Further text at this link.
Posted By: Paul - Mon Mar 14, 2022 -
Comments (3)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Bohemians, Beatniks, Hippies and Slackers, 1950s
The Flea Circus
Posted By: Paul - Sun Mar 13, 2022 -
Comments (0)
Category: Insects and Spiders, 1940s, 1950s, Europe, United Kingdom, Circuses, Carnivals, and Other Traveling Shows
Desert Christ Park
Their homepage.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Mar 09, 2022 -
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Category: Eccentrics, Fairs, Amusement Parks, and Resorts, Religion, 1950s
Existential Tattoos
I think that in the 1950s anything slightly non-conformist was labelled 'existentialist'.
Wichita Eagle - Oct 27, 1952
Anyone with an existential tattoo should make sure to also wear an existentialist hat.
Posted By: Alex - Tue Mar 08, 2022 -
Comments (0)
Category: Fashion, Philosophy, 1950s, Tattoos
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| 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 |