Follies of the Madmen #597

An epic crossover! Rosie (of Bounty fame) meets Mr. Whipple (of Charmin notoriety).

Posted By: Paul - Fri May 31, 2024 - Comments (0)
Category: Domestic, Hygiene, Advertising, Retailing, Wimps, Milquetoasts and Cowards, 1970s

Sweet Cookie Doll

Posted By: Paul - Mon May 27, 2024 - Comments (1)
Category: Toys, Advertising, AI, Robots and Other Automatons, 1970s

Le Microphone Bien Tempéré

Let us know when you tap out.

From the composer's Wikipedia page:

Henry was born in Paris, France,[3] and began experimenting at the age of 15 with sounds produced by various objects. He became fascinated with the integration of noise into music, now called noise music

The rest of the album is here.

Posted By: Paul - Sun May 26, 2024 - Comments (3)
Category: Music, 1970s, Europe, Cacophony, Dissonance, White Noise and Other Sonic Assaults

Follies of the Madmen #596

Posted By: Paul - Tue May 21, 2024 - Comments (0)
Category: Stereotypes and Cliches, Advertising, 1960s, 1970s, Women, Perfume and Cologne and Other Scents

No TV for a year

Back in the early 1970s, a German research group called "The Society for Rational Psychology" challenged 184 people (all regular TV watchers) to go without TV for a year.. with financial incentives to encourage them to stick to the plan.

Briefly all went well, but then things quickly began to go downhill. Frustration grew. The people started to become moody and aggressive. After five months they were all back to watching TV.

The lesson the researchers concluded: "people who watch television regularly are likely to become so addicted they can no longer be happy without it."

What would they conclude about the Internet?

Of course, the study probably needs to be taken with a grain of salt because I can't find any info about this Society for Rational Psychology. Was it some kind of market research group? Nor can I find the write-up from the study itself. Just lots of references to the study in the media.

Buffalo Evening News - May 8, 1972

Posted By: Alex - Fri May 17, 2024 - Comments (3)
Category: Addictions, Television, Psychology, 1970s

Follies of the Madmen #595

This commercial is mundane and unexceptional--barring one thing.

The woman lays her poopy child directly onto one of the Bake Sale tables.

Posted By: Paul - Sun May 12, 2024 - Comments (1)
Category: Food, Hygiene, Advertising, Babies and Toddlers, 1970s

Death by Roses

Aug 1979: Mary A. Koch collapsed and died while at work soon after receiving a bouquet of roses as a wedding anniversary gift from her husband. Medical examiners suspected she had a fatal, allergic reaction to the roses.

Detroit Free Press - Aug 30, 1979

While the death from roses was strange enough, it turns out that her mother had died earlier "under similar circumstances."

Waterville Morning Sentinel - Sep 1, 1979

Posted By: Alex - Sun May 05, 2024 - Comments (1)
Category: Death, 1970s

The Language and Music of the Wolves

Don't play this while your dog is listening!

The first video is Redford's speech; the second is the calls.

Posted By: Paul - Wed Apr 03, 2024 - Comments (1)
Category: Animals, Vinyl Albums and Other Media Recordings, 1970s, Cacophony, Dissonance, White Noise and Other Sonic Assaults

Peanut Butter with No Jelly Candy Bar

Any product endorsed by Vincent Price is aces with me.

Posted By: Paul - Mon Apr 01, 2024 - Comments (1)
Category: Advertising, Candy, 1970s

Working on Sunday

The UK's Shops Act made it illegal to operate a shop on Sunday... unless one was Jewish (since the Jewish observed the sabbath on Saturday). So business owner Mike Robertson figured that to open his stores on Sunday he simply had to make his staff convert to Judaism.

The Shops Act had other oddities. According to the London Telegraph, a shop could stay open if it was "in an officially designated 'holiday resort area'" or if it restricted sales to "certain kinds of perishable goods, like fruit, flowers and vegetables; medical and surgical appliances, newspapers, cigarettes and refreshments."

Bristol Western Daily Press - Mar 8, 1977

Posted By: Alex - Fri Mar 22, 2024 - Comments (2)
Category: Business, Law, Religion, 1970s