1960s
Stars ‘n Stripes Girdle
Introduced in 1965 by the Treo Company, and promptly withdrawn from the market on account of complaints by the Daughters of the American Revolution."Patriotism should be encouraged by proper respect to the Stars and Stripes, the symbol of this great country and the many opportunities enjoyed here," Mrs. W. Carl Crittenden, national chairman of the DAR's Flag of the United States of America Committee, wrote.
"I believe that all patriotic citizens will agree with me that it is deplorable to downgrade our flag in this fashion."
Allentown Morning Call - Aug 26, 1965
Hazleton Standard-Speaker - Aug 27, 1965
Posted By: Alex - Fri Jan 19, 2018 -
Comments (4)
Category: Fashion, Patriotism, Flags, 1960s
Fallout Biscuits
Back in 1961, the U.S. Office of Civil Defense came out with 'fallout biscuits.' They were vitaminized crackers. The idea was that people in fallout shelters could live on these for weeks, or even years, if necessary. The biscuits were cheap to make and lasted pretty much forever, so huge quantities were prepared.Fast-forward to the twenty-first century. The various places wheres the biscuits were stored, such as the University of Montana, now faced the problem of how to get rid of the thousands of boxes of these things.
Orlando Sentinel - Jun 2, 1961
Fort Myers News-Press - May 11, 1961
Posted By: Alex - Wed Jan 17, 2018 -
Comments (4)
Category: Food, Atomic Power and Other Nuclear Matters, 1960s
Ronald’s no protester
But I wonder how Ronald ever got targeted by the selective service system if he hadn't registered yet.
Press and Sun Bulletin - Mar 13, 1968
Posted By: Alex - Mon Jan 15, 2018 -
Comments (3)
Category: Military, War, 1960s
Drive-Thru Funeral Home
In 1968, Herschel Thornton of Atlanta, Georgia opened the world's first drive-thru funeral home. He called it a "mortatorium." The press dubbed it the "remains to be seen" funeral home.It featured five windows in which bodies could be viewed from the comfort of one's car. Thornton noted, "Folks will be able just to drive by and view the last remains of their loved ones, and then keep going."
The Thornton Mortuary is still around. Herschel died in 1995, so the mortuary is now run by his son and grandchildren. Their website has a page about the "historic drive-thru viewing window." But based on the Google street view image of the mortuary, it looks like the drive-thru option is no longer available.
image source: professionalcarsociety.org
image source: Thornton mortuary
The Greenville News - Mar 14, 1968
However, other funeral homes eventually followed in the path blazed by Thornton. Quartz magazine reports that Japan debuted its first drive-thru funeral home in 2017. And below is an AP news report about a drive-thru mortuary that opened in Michigan in 2014.
Posted By: Alex - Thu Jan 11, 2018 -
Comments (3)
Category: Death, 1960s, Cars
The Fireballs, COME ON, REACT
"You've got your bag, and I've got mine."
Their Wikipedia page.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Jan 11, 2018 -
Comments (1)
Category: Music, 1960s
An urge to conquer something big
1961: A 14-year-old boy commandeered a Trailways bus and drove it fifteen blocks because he "had an urge to conquer something big" and wanted to drive it "somewhere."Compare this to Bronx bus driver William Cimillo who, in 1947, instead of following his daily route drove the bus to Florida because he was overcome by "that old spring-time urge."
There must be a name for the psychiatric condition of being overcome by a desire to drive a bus to somewhere far away.
Camden Courier-Post - Sep 2, 1961
Posted By: Alex - Sun Jan 07, 2018 -
Comments (2)
Category: 1960s, Bus
Teazy Wiggy
The band.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Dec 31, 2017 -
Comments (0)
Category: Fads, Music, Bohemians, Beatniks, Hippies and Slackers, 1960s, Hair and Hairstyling
World’s Largest Sofa
More on the sponsoring company.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Dec 27, 2017 -
Comments (8)
Category: Excess, Overkill, Hyperbole and Too Much Is Not Enough, Furniture, Interior Decorating, 1960s
Hairnets for hippies
Logically their concerns should have extended to all long-haired drivers, whether hippies or not. But evidently the Automobile Legal Association simply didn't like hippies.
Belvedere Daily Republican - Dec 11, 1968
Posted By: Alex - Sun Dec 24, 2017 -
Comments (4)
Category: Motor Vehicles, Cars, 1960s
1960s Christmas Hairdos
Munich 1964
Detroit Free Press - Dec 7, 1964
Pittsburgh Press - Dec 20, 1966
St. Cloud Times - Dec 12, 1964
Decatur Herald - Dec 24, 1966
Posted By: Alex - Fri Dec 22, 2017 -
Comments (1)
Category: Holidays, 1960s, Hair and Hairstyling
| Who We Are |
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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 |