1950s
Head-Ticking Scam
Robert Sanders of Loogootee, Indiana would get a job with a railroad, fake an injury, and then claim that, as a result of the injury, he had developed a ticking noise in his head.Doctors who examined him would confirm that he did, indeed, have a "peculiar ticking" like a "great big alarm clock" coming from inside his head. Sanders would then collect insurance money.
Sanders repeated this scam multiple times, collecting around $28,000 over the course of 12 years, until finally the Union Pacific Railroad charged him with fraud.
He was found guilty and sentenced to Wyoming's state penitentiary.
What I can't figure out is how Sanders managed to produce the ticking noise in his head, because the doctors who examined him seemed to hear something.
Billings Gazette - Feb 12, 1952
Posted By: Alex - Fri Dec 17, 2021 -
Comments (6)
Category: Frauds, Cons and Scams, Noises and Other Public Disturbances of the Peace, 1950s
Captain Santa Claus and His Reindeer Space Patrol
Never heard this one till yesterday.The singer's Wikipedia page.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Dec 17, 2021 -
Comments (2)
Category: Animals, Fads, Spaceflight, Astronautics, and Astronomy, Television, 1950s, Christmas
Miss Heat Pump of 1957
As far as I can tell, Ann Brueggemann was the only young woman ever crowned 'Miss Heat Pump'.I like how her ideas for her costume all look like elegant dresses, whereas I'm sure that the company's idea was to put her in a giant heat pump costume.
Detroit Free Press - Mar 24, 1957
Posted By: Alex - Fri Dec 10, 2021 -
Comments (5)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, 1950s
The Fainting of the Tigerettes
Sep 12, 1952: At the end of the first quarter of a high-school football game in Natchez, Mississippi, the 165 members of the Tigerettes cheerleading squad mistakenly marched onto the field to perform their halftime routine. Made aware of their mistake, the cheerleaders began to faint. All of them. One after another. A witness described them as "dropping out like flies". It remains one of the largest mass-fainting events in history.
Shreveport Journal - Sep 13, 1952
The Tigerettes
Monroe Morning World - Apr 27, 1952
Posted By: Alex - Thu Dec 09, 2021 -
Comments (1)
Category: Crowds, Groups, Mobs and Other Mass Movements, Psychology, 1950s
Uranium Rush Board Game
More pics and info at Board Game Geek.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Dec 07, 2021 -
Comments (3)
Category: Games, Atomic Power and Other Nuclear Matters, 1950s
Good Things in Du Pont Cellophane
Things you can wrap in Du Pont cellophane: fresh fruits, vegetables, babies...Source: Saturday Evening Post, 1955 - via Hagley Digital Archives
Posted By: Alex - Fri Nov 26, 2021 -
Comments (3)
Category: Babies, Advertising, 1950s
The Other JFK
John Francis Kennedy served three terms as Treasurer of Massachusetts, from 1954 to 1960. He was legendary for putting almost no effort (or money) into campaigning. He made no speeches, nor did he advertise. He didn't even have any relevant experience for the job. Before becoming state treasurer he had been a stockroom supervisor at the Gillette Safety Razor Company.By all accounts, the only reason for his political success was the resemblance of his name to John Fitzgerald Kennedy.
John Francis Kennedy probably would have kept running for state treasurer if he could have. But term limits prevented him. He tried running for governor in 1960 (while JFK was campaigning for President), but his winning streak finally ended.
More info: Commonwealth magazine, Our Campaigns
John Francis Kennedy
Miami News - May 22, 1960
Posted By: Alex - Sat Nov 20, 2021 -
Comments (4)
Category: Odd Names, Politics, 1950s
Beatniks Against Polio
What was the secret ingredient that made the rollout of the polio vaccine go so smoothly? Beatniks! If only we had some around today...Article source: Nashville Banner (Nashville, Tennessee) 16 Aug 1956, Thu Page 13
Posted By: Paul - Wed Nov 10, 2021 -
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Category: Medicine, Bohemians, Beatniks, Hippies and Slackers, 1950s
Miss Chicken of Tomorrow
Two "Chicken of Tomorrow" contests were held. The first in 1948, and the second in 1951. Their purpose was to encourage farmers to breed meatier chickens. And they apparently succeeded. Modern Farmer magazine reports that, "Some of the champions of these competitions became the major genetics suppliers of today's poultry."Of course, at the time one couldn't hold such a major competition without simultaneously holding a beauty contest to find a young woman to be its queen. So, Nancy Magee became the first "Chicken of Tomorrow Queen" and Joan Walters was the second. Joan got quite a bit more publicity. She was paraded around the country as "Miss Chicken of Tomorrow."
For more info, check out this old documentary on YouTube about the 1948 contest.
Nancy Magee, the 1948 Chicken of Tomorrow Queen
"Miss Joan Walters of Rogers, Ark., 18-year-old brunette beauty, was crowned Chicken-of-Tomorrow Queen here last Friday night in a ceremony at the University of Arkansas field house."--The Madison County Record - Apr 12, 1951
"Miss Joan Walters of Rogers, Ark., was recently named National Chicken-of-Tomorrow Queen." Image source: Arkansas Land and Life - Spring/Summer 2004
San Bernardino County Sun - Apr 8, 1951
Orlando Evening Star - May 25, 1951
Posted By: Alex - Tue Nov 02, 2021 -
Comments (0)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Farming, 1940s, 1950s
Haruo Shimada, Child Artist
As a young boy of five living in Tokyo, Haruo Shimada was hailed as an artistic prodigy. Articles about him appeared in American papers as well as in Life magazine. It was noted that his preferred subject was 'impressionistic nudes'.
With news stories like this there's usually no follow-up, which I always find frustrating. So you never find out what happened to these people later in life. But that's not the case with Shimada thanks to his personal website on which he tells the story (in English) of his subsequent career.
Shimada explains that he gave up painting while still young, after his instructor, Kenzo Akada, moved to the United States. In college he studied economics, and eventually he became a professor of economics at Keio University and MIT. But late in life, at around the age of 60, he decided to take up painting again and ended up having an exhibition of his work at Chanel's flagship store in the Ginza district of Tokyo.
He's posted a gallery on his site of some of his later works. I don't see any nudes. Instead, his preferred subjects now seem to be landscapes and abstract patterns.
Chicago Tribune - May 14, 1950
Posted By: Alex - Wed Oct 20, 2021 -
Comments (1)
Category: Art, Children, 1950s
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