Sunbathing Bubble

This looks like it would roast you to a nice golden brown.



Source: Newsweek - Sep 16, 1963.

Posted By: Alex - Fri Aug 28, 2015 - Comments (7)
Category: Products, 1960s

Brains and Bust Size — one medical opinion

Back in 1964, Dr. Erwin O. Strassmann of Houston kicked up a controversy by suggesting there was a correlation in women between bust size and I.Q. And he managed to get his opinion published in a peer-reviewed journal.

Kingsport Times-News - Aug 30, 1964

Curious to see exactly what he said, I tracked down his article. Turns out he was an enthusiastic follower of the now-discredited theory of "constitutional psychology." This was an effort to establish a link between body type and personality traits. Critics have dismissed it as an extended exercise in dressing up cultural stereotypes (such as, if you're overweight, you're lazy) in scientific language. For devotees of weird science, the entire field is a goldmine of strangeness.

Here's the relevant section of Strassmann's 1964 article:




Strassmann, E.O. (1964). "Physique, Temperament, and Intelligence in Infertile Women." International Journal of Fertility. 9:297-314.

Posted By: Alex - Thu Aug 27, 2015 - Comments (12)
Category: Body, Brain, Science, Psychology, 1960s

The Animation of Joop Geesink

We marvel at films like Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer, or Wallace and Gromit, in which, during a given scene, one or two puppets might be in motion. I can't fathom the amount of work that Joop Geesink went through to create his films.

Posted By: Paul - Thu Aug 27, 2015 - Comments (2)
Category: Stop-motion Animation, 1950s, 1960s, Europe

Mr. Machine

Posted By: Paul - Sun Aug 23, 2015 - Comments (5)
Category: Robots, Toys, 1960s

Giant Hand From Sky Terrifies Motorists

Another entry in our occasional series of ads featuring giant people.


source: Newsweek - Aug 26, 1963

Posted By: Alex - Thu Aug 20, 2015 - Comments (5)
Category: Giant People in Ads, 1960s

Humane Bullfighting

A member of Club Taurino practicing humane bullfighting without bulls in a park near Woldingham, Surrey. 1963. One member played the bull while the others improved their cape work.

Image source: Newsweek - Sep 2, 1963

Posted By: Alex - Mon Aug 17, 2015 - Comments (5)
Category: Sports, 1960s

Cheerios Kid and Cheerios Sue

From the days when a commercial could hold an entire narrative arc in thirty or sixty seconds. Apparently the Kid and Sue were thrill-seekers who could not resist dangerous environments.

Posted By: Paul - Fri Aug 14, 2015 - Comments (2)
Category: Anthropomorphism, Daredevils, Stuntpeople and Thrillseekers, Food, Advertising, 1960s

Follies of the Madmen #256

What a simpler world...

Posted By: Paul - Sat Aug 01, 2015 - Comments (5)
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, Disguises, Impersonations, Mimics and Forgeries, Food, 1960s, Australia

Fertilized roses with his own blood

Ralph Farrar suffered from hemochromatosis, which meant that his blood accumulated too much iron. The treatment was to have a pint of blood taken from him every week. This blood couldn't be used for other patients. So Farrar used it on his roses as an "iron-rich fertilizer instead of the commercial rose food containing dried animal blood."

After eight years of weekly blood-drainings his condition began to improve, so much so that he only had to have blood taken once every two months. No word on what happened to his roses as a result.

Info source: Newsweek - Sep 2, 1963

Ralph Farrar pouring blood on his roses

The Tuscaloosa News - Jun 29, 1963

Update: Curious about how long Mr. Farrar could have lived with hemochromatosis, I did a google search and found what I'm pretty sure is his grave. He died at the age of 76 in 1989.

Posted By: Alex - Sun Jul 26, 2015 - Comments (5)
Category: 1960s

Bohemian Dancers

Posted By: Paul - Sun Jul 26, 2015 - Comments (3)
Category: Avant Garde, Bohemians, Beatniks, Hippies and Slackers, 1960s, Dance, Europe