Category:
1970s

Bodysuits for men

A fashion fad of the 1970s.



San Bernardino County Sun - Oct 7, 1973



Bridgeport Telegram - Oct 27, 1972

Posted By: Alex - Wed Oct 23, 2019 - Comments (1)
Category: Fashion, 1970s

Yellow Pages Dress

The Yellow Pages? What are those?



Source.

Posted By: Paul - Tue Oct 22, 2019 - Comments (1)
Category: Fashion, Telephones, 1970s

Rent a Conversation

In 1973, entrepreneurs Richard and Christine Braunlich launched a business called Conversation. The idea was that it would allow people to pay to have a conversation with an expert "conversationalist." $5 for the first half-hour, and $3 for each additional half-hour. Some details from the SF Examiner (Feb 11, 1973):

The couple rented space in a commercial building at 445 Colusa Ave. in October, invested their entire savings, and spent hours redecorating and rebuilding the interior...
So far, however, the talkers have been few and far between — only about 40 customers have dropped in since Conversation opened.
About 60 percent of the customers have been women, the Braunliches report, and they talk about subjects ranging from poetry to small family problems.
Sitting in one of 14 tiny booths, customers can talk to one of 20 employees, who are called, appropriately enough, conversationalists.

And more details from the Moline Dispatch (Feb 13, 1973):

The conversationalists, who work part-time, collect half of a client's fee. The other half of the fee goes to the business. One of the first customers was a lonely divorcee new to the area, according to Engel Devendorf, a marketing executive now working at Conversation.
"She left her two kids at a movie and was here when the door opened," he said. "She just wanted to chat with somebody alive, warm and wiggling. Boy, did she want to talk."
Another woman explained that her husband was a nice guy but boring, and she needed to converse with somebody else once in a while...
"Lots of people with problems don't need professional help, but they do need to talk them over," Devendorf said. "They can go to the hairdresser, a bar or a coffee shop, but some are too shy."
At Conversation, persons with serious psychological difficulties are referred to professionals.

Evidently the business didn't succeed.



San Francisco Examiner - Feb 11, 1973

Posted By: Alex - Tue Oct 15, 2019 - Comments (3)
Category: Business, Jobs and Occupations, Psychology, 1970s

Farrah Fawcett Lookalike Contest Winners

In the late 1970s, Farrah Fawcett was, without a doubt, the most famous sex symbol in the world, thanks to her best-selling poster and role on Charlie's Angels. For a while, a Farrah craze swept the nation, inspiring a slew of lookalike contests. Below are some of the winners.

Mary Gallagher
In February 1977, Mary Gallagher beat out 280 other wannabe Farrahs in a nationwide lookalike contest held in Detroit. She subsequently became the best-known Farrah lookalike. People magazine even ran a feature about her.



Gallagher posing in front of the Farrah poster.
Detroit Free Press - Feb 2, 1977



In her day job, Gallagher was a clerk for the UPS, but after winning the contest she signed up with a modeling agency and landed various paid appearances as a Farrah lookalike, such as a gig (below) at Rosella's furniture store in Greenville, Mississippi. (Dobbs was her married name.)

Delta Democrat-Times - Jun 24, 1977



Shari Matichuk

Calgary Herald - Oct 7, 1978






More in extended >>

Posted By: Alex - Mon Oct 14, 2019 - Comments (1)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Celebrities, 1970s

Pig Poop Sniffer

If you think your job sucks, it could always be worse. You could be smelling pig excrement for $1 a day.

Cedar Rapids Gazette - Aug 25, 1978

Posted By: Alex - Sun Oct 13, 2019 - Comments (1)
Category: Animals, Jobs and Occupations, Excrement, 1970s

Underwear on head in restaurant

“How would you like to be eating a hamburger and turn around and see some dude wearing jockey shorts on his head?”

Indianapolis News - May 20, 1977

Posted By: Alex - Sat Oct 12, 2019 - Comments (3)
Category: Eccentrics, Headgear, Underwear, 1970s

Exploding Dog Food

This happened in 1973, but it seems that cans of dog food explode somewhat frequently (see here and here). So perhaps this is a 'no longer weird' phenomenon.

The Lompoc Record - Feb 9, 1973

Posted By: Alex - Sat Oct 05, 2019 - Comments (1)
Category: Explosives, 1970s

The family that threw away $100,000

This had to hurt. As far as I can tell, they never did find the lost money.

I wonder if Doug faced any kind of punishment. Though arguably it's the mother's fault for storing such valuable financial documents in a laundry basket.

NY Daily News - July 3, 1970



Richmond Palladium Item - July 2, 1970

Posted By: Alex - Wed Sep 25, 2019 - Comments (4)
Category: Money, 1970s

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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.

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