Category:
1970s

Official fog watchers

I don't know why, but this seems like a very British type of job.

The High Point Enterprise - Feb 6, 1974



image source: onthewight.com

Posted By: Alex - Wed Dec 06, 2017 - Comments (2)
Category: Jobs and Occupations, 1970s

Where’s Huddles?



Sure, why not transplant THE FLINTSTONES into a contemporary NFL setting? That'll be a hit, for sure!

Wikipedia page.

Posted By: Paul - Mon Dec 04, 2017 - Comments (3)
Category: Ineptness, Crudity, Talentlessness, Kitsch, and Bad Art, Sports, Television, Cartoons, 1970s

Ferrous Faucets

Back in 1977, a small-time huckster named Eric Herrmann bought a bunch of old, porcelain Hot and Cold faucet handles and got the idea of selling them as necklaces.

On the theory that nothing sells like scandal, he called them "Ferrous Faucets," and then asked Farrah Fawcett to endorse them. In response, her lawyers threatened to sue him for capitalizing on their client's name, which apparently was exactly the response he wanted. The controversy was deemed newsworthy, and newspapers throughout the nation ran the photo he supplied them of a model wearing his Ferrous Faucets, thereby boosting his sales.

Shenandoah Evening Herald - July 15, 1977



St. Louis Post-Dispatch - May 25, 1980



image source: worthpoint.com



Tampa Bay Times - Nov 24, 1977

Posted By: Alex - Wed Nov 22, 2017 - Comments (2)
Category: Jewelry, Publicity Stunts, 1970s

Skiing Mt. Everest

May 6, 1970: Japanese extreme skier Yuichiro Miura became the first person to ski on Mt. Everest. And amazingly, he didn't die. The stunt was filmed and was the subject of a 1975 documentary, The Man Who Skied Down Everest. Check out the clip below.

Miura later became the oldest person to reach the summit of Everest, climbing it at the age of 70 and again when he was 80.



Burlington Free Press - May 12, 1970

Posted By: Alex - Tue Nov 21, 2017 - Comments (3)
Category: Sports, 1970s

Phone Number Sweater

Give every weird pervert in the world your phone number. What could possibly go wrong with that plan?

Carlisle Evening Sentinel - Sep 30, 1971


Melanie Myers, a Los Angeles secretary, wears the latest fad — a made-to-order sweater with her telephone number knitted on the front — as three girl watchers take note.

Posted By: Alex - Mon Nov 20, 2017 - Comments (6)
Category: Fashion, Telephones, 1970s

Follies of the Madmen #335



Of course! Playing Monopoly drunk! It's the only way!

Original ad here.

Posted By: Paul - Mon Nov 20, 2017 - Comments (2)
Category: Business, Advertising, Games, 1970s, Alcohol

B. T. Express



Disco, plus train whistles and train sound effects made by mouth: great sounds that go great together?


Wikipedia page on the band.

Posted By: Paul - Sun Nov 19, 2017 - Comments (0)
Category: Music, Trains and Other Vehicles on Rails, 1970s

Coed Prisons

I hadn't realized that federal and state governments had, for a while, experimented with coed prisons. From Prison Journal, 59(1), Spring/Summer 1979:

Since 1971, over 20 coed state and federal facilities have been established, although over half have since reverted back to one-sex institutions out of conceptual failure and dilemmas of operation, implementation, and evaluation. Currently (1979), 10 adult coed prisons exist in the united states. Ethnographic research into coed prisons includes seven studies since 1973 focusing on sex roles and the overall prison environment. Two of the studies reveal a lack of predatory homosexuality in coed prisons, while other studies find sexual discrimination in such institutions. Overall, the ethnographic literature yields few findings which support the effectiveness of coed prisons. Recidivism research, another type of cocorrections research, has been utilized in a number of studies to indicate a reduction of criminal activity. One study suggests that females may not profit as much as males from the correctional environment. Other vague and unsophisticated recidivism studies show success for releasees from coed prison. Although the available recidivism data on cocorrections suggest that incarceration in a coed institution has the potential of reducing adjustment problems on release, data do not convincingly demonstrate the effect of the coed experience on postrelease behavior or an overall reduction in the crime rate.


I'm having difficulty finding out if there still are any coed prisons in the US. I'm guessing there aren't.

Hattiesburg American - Aug 27, 1974

Posted By: Alex - Sat Nov 18, 2017 - Comments (2)
Category: Prisons, 1970s

Bikini Experiment

So why was Simone Harris standing on a Sydney street in a bikini? Was this a publicity stunt? Was she a psychologist conducting research? A performance artist being weird? I haven't been able to find answers anywhere.

Racine Journal Times - June 17, 1970

Posted By: Alex - Wed Nov 15, 2017 - Comments (2)
Category: Experiments, Psychology, 1970s

Miss Vacant Lot of the World

The Miss Vacant Lot of the World contest was started in 1972. It was part of the Annual Armadillo Exposition and Confab held in Victoria, Texas. The contest rules were as follows:

The contest will be open to women between the ages of 18 and 65. Mandatory requirements of the contest will be certified proof of one of the following happening to the contestant while a child: broken arm or leg, dog bite, one or more of the various childhood diseases, such as measles, chickenpox, mumps, etc. If medical evidence cannot be provided, a note from the mother will be accepted. Contestants will have three minutes in the final judging to exhibit their talents, which can be anything. Judging will be on the basis of dress and talent. Beauty will not be a factor.

Valley Morning Star - May 26, 1975



Here's what I was able to find out about the first six winners of the Miss Vacant Lot title:

1972: Cindy Hudler won for her "dance of the Dasypodidae" which involved waltzing around a vacant lot in an armadillo suit.
1973: Modine Gunch won for standing on her head while spinning a hula-hoop on one leg.
1974: Algeria Sadberry won for playing a song through her nose.
1975: Elvira Rose Hunt (aka Karen Janecka) won for stuffing 264 pennies in her mouth.
1976: Linda Strelczyk won by stuffing 200 poptop tabs into her size 36EEE bikini bra while singing a song titled "Keep Your Finger Out Of It; It Don't Belong To You."
1977: A 200-pound woman (unnamed) won for dressing like an armadillo and singing an armadillo song.



Some of the prizes that the winners received included a trophy, a $25 check, a gift certificate, a bouquet of weeds, and a picture of Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. They also got to wear the Armadillo Crown.

The contest was discontinued in 1979. The organizers noted, "you can only tell the same joke so many times." However, it seems that it was revived at various times, such as in the late 1980s and again in 2011.

Posted By: Alex - Mon Nov 13, 2017 - Comments (4)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, 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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