1950s
Home Radiation Detector
If the crystals are glowing, it's time to get going.
The Opelousas Daily World - Sep 6, 1957
Posted By: Alex - Sun Feb 05, 2017 -
Comments (3)
Category: Atomic Power and Other Nuclear Matters, 1950s
Mink Can Opener
Original ad here.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Jan 27, 2017 -
Comments (6)
Category: Excess, Overkill, Hyperbole and Too Much Is Not Enough, Advertising, 1950s, Alcohol
Follies of the Madmen #302
TV in the teepee. What could be more natural?
Posted By: Paul - Thu Jan 26, 2017 -
Comments (4)
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, Stereotypes and Cliches, Television, 1950s
House Call from Faux Dress Fitter
Despite all the contemporary tales of ingenious upskirt photographers and toilet-cam operators, I don't believe anyone has recently utilized the "free dress comes with home fitting service" routine.
Original article here.
Posted By: Paul - Mon Jan 23, 2017 -
Comments (1)
Category: Annoying Things, Crime, Domestic, Sexuality, 1950s
When Billboards Become Visible
If you're in the billboard business you'd probably want to know exactly when a billboard becomes visible to drivers. So in 1953 research was conducted at the Iowa State College Experiment Station to get an answer to this question. The study involved having subjects watch miniature billboards slowly approach on a conveyor belt.Source: Duke University Libraries - Archives of the Outdoor Advertising Association of America.
The Duke University blog also notes that in 1958 "The OAAA commissioned Jack Prince, a professor of ophthalmology at Ohio State University, to study the visual dynamics of outdoor advertising, resulting in the first legibility studies of ad copy." I'm not sure how these two studies related to each other. They sound suspiciously similar. And the 1958 studies obviously weren't the first given that the pictures below show research labeled as happening in 1953.
Update: The researcher in the photos is probably Dr. A.R. Lauer of Iowa State's Department of Psychology, and he may have been studying the phenomenon of "Highway Hypnosis."
In the early 1950s there was increasing criticism of the proliferation of billboards along the side of roads. People complained that they were ugly and possibly distracted drivers. So the OAAA sponsored Dr. Lauer to research the safety benefits of billboards, and specifically whether billboards distracted drivers.
Lauer came up with the result that the billboards did distract drivers, but that this was a good thing because it saved them from Highway Hypnosis —entering a trance-like state as they stared at endless, monotonous roads.
The OAAA then took out ads in newspapers promoting Lauer's research and the safety benefits of billboards.
The Des Moines Register - Mar 23, 1958
Posted By: Alex - Fri Jan 20, 2017 -
Comments (9)
Category: Advertising, Experiments, 1950s, Billboards
Follies of the Madmen #301
The birth of the selfie generation.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Jan 18, 2017 -
Comments (6)
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, Family, Hobbies and DIY, Movies, 1950s
Hinkle Tablets
In 1915, this nostrum contained a nice little dose of strychnine. One assumes that by the time of the 1956 advert, they had eliminated that ingredient.
Original letter here.
Original ad here (page 13).
Posted By: Paul - Mon Jan 16, 2017 -
Comments (3)
Category: Death, Advertising, Patent Medicines, Nostrums and Snake Oil, 1910s, 1950s
How To Lick Pimples
Source: Santa's Christmas Comics, Dec 1952
via reddit
Posted By: Alex - Tue Jan 10, 2017 -
Comments (2)
Category: Advertising, 1950s, Skin and Skin Conditions
Follies of the Madmen #300
Original ad here.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Jan 10, 2017 -
Comments (2)
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, History, Tobacco and Smoking, 1950s, Men, Women
Irv Pollock, Auto Dealer
According to this verbal portrait of the era,, the Toledo, Ohio, car-dealership scene of the 40s, 50s and 60s was a vibrant, competitive time. Certainly a dealer would want to come up with wild ads to stand out. Irv Pollock must have felt that way anyhow!
Note: you might have to scroll left or right at the links to see the original ad.
Original ad here.
Original ad here.
Original ad here.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Jan 07, 2017 -
Comments (3)
Category: Business, Advertising, Excess, Overkill, Hyperbole and Too Much Is Not Enough, Regionalism, 1940s, 1950s, Cars
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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 |