The 1965 sitcom My Mother the Car ran for a single season on NBC. Its oddball premise involved "a man whose deceased mother is reincarnated as an antique car, and she communicates with him through the car radio."
Wikipedia notes, "Critics and adult viewers generally disliked the show, often savagely. In 2002, TV Guide proclaimed it to be the second-worst of all time, behind The Jerry Springer Show."
Released in 1961 by Audio-Dynamics Corp. of Portland, Oregon. It promised better bowling through self-hypnosis. Although for right-handers only.
CAUTION: This recording is for right handed bowlers only. It is unique in its field, and should not be played until you have read the instructions carefully on the reverse side of the jacket.
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Listen to the record in solitude or free from distraction.
2. Listen to the record while in a relaxed, comfortable position.
3. This recording has been specifically designed to adapt to the schedule of the busy executive or career woman. Side No. 1 may be listened to at any time on any conventional 33-1/3 R.P.M. phonograph. Side No. 2 has been developed to be used on any 33-1/3 R.P.M. automatic player, and when used with a clock radio or timer, will accommodate those who do not have time for daytime listening. Listen for one hour at bedtime. Make certain your record player is set to repeat.
There was a companion album, "7 Days to Better Golf," which also specified that it was for right-handers only. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find any clips from it online.
A psychological conditioning program guaranteed to improve your game through the application of auto-conditioning techniques in the areas of : Relaxation, Confidence, Concentration, Coordination.
At the end of each year, South Carolina would reward "kickbacks" of surplus state funds to the counties. In honor of this annual event, in 1962 and '63 the Columbia, SC Chamber of Commerce decided to hold a "Miss Kickback" beauty contest.
The winner for 1962 was Jayne Arnold, and in 1963 Ann Warr was awarded the title.
President Lyndon Johnson met with Pope Paul VI on Dec 23, 1967. The two spoke for over an hour and then exchanged gifts. The Pope gave Johnson a sixteenth-century painting of the Nativity. Johnson, in return, gave the Pope a small bust of himself, Lyndon Johnson.
Pope Paul VI admiring the LBJ bust he just received
It struck people at the time (and ever since) as odd for Johnson to give a bust of himself as a gift to the Pope. But, in fact, the Pope wasn't the only recipient of this bust. It was Johnson's go-to gift for just about everyone: world leaders, congressmen, white house aides, etc. He traveled with a box of them, so he would always have one at hand.
The fad of piano smashing reportedly began in 1963 at a technical school in Derby, England, but it quickly spread to American campuses via Caltech, where a "Piano Reduction Study Group" was formed.
The goal of piano smashing was "to reduce the piano, in the shortest possible time, to such a state that it may be passed through an aperture of 20 cm. in diameter." This was to be done by a maximum of six people using tools no heavier than 15.4 pounds each.
A record-setting time was achieved by students at Wayne State University who smashed a piano and passed it through a hole in 4 min 51 sec.
I wonder if this college fad was the inspiration for the Destructivist Art Movement, which emerged three years later, and also involved smashing pianos.
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.