Chiquita Banana Olympics Stickers:  1980

The Brazilian Olympics are in big trouble, as recent news articles tell us. Surely they could use a boost from an athletic banana, like the ad campaign from Chiquita that the 1980 Winter Olympics got. And a tropical fruit is even more synonymous with Brazil than it was with Lake Placid.

Time to bring back Carmen Miranda!

Posted By: Paul - Sun Jul 17, 2016 - Comments (3)
Category: Disasters, Food, Sports, 1980s, North America, South America, Bananas

Death by Dishwasher

This is disturbing, but also definitely weird. Of all the possible ways to off yourself, why choose a dishwasher? Evidently some psychiatric issues were involved.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch - May 18, 1984

Posted By: Alex - Wed Jun 29, 2016 - Comments (6)
Category: Death, Suicide, 1980s

Skinny Suicides Survival Rate

I had this post in the queue before Alex did his story about the woman jumping yesterday. Maybe this is the explanation for her miracle.

Apparently, it's best to put on a few pounds before jumping from a high place, if you are serious about doing yourself in.

Original article here.

Posted By: Paul - Mon Jun 27, 2016 - Comments (4)
Category: Suicide, 1980s, Women

Fetal Soap Addiction

June 1988: Australian researcher Peter Hepper reported in the medical journal The Lancet that fetuses often appeared to learn to recognize the theme tune of their mother's favorite soap opera. As a newborn baby, hearing this tune would then calm them down.

He tested this hypothesis by playing the theme tune of the Australian soap "Neighbours" to a group of newborns whose mothers watched the show. Upon hearing it, he reported, six of the seven babies promptly adopted a "quiet alert state."

The Lancet - June 11, 1988

Des Moines Register - June 29, 1988

Posted By: Alex - Tue Jun 07, 2016 - Comments (4)
Category: Science, Experiments, Television, 1980s

Joel Slater, the Stateless Man

It's pretty common to hear people say that they're so disgusted with American politics that they're going to move to Canada and renounce their U.S. citizenship... especially if candidate X or Y wins the election. But people almost never follow through with this threat/promise.

But Joel Slater did. Back in the Reagan era (1987), he became so angry at U.S. policies that he decided to renounce his American citizenship. The problem was that he did this without first arranging to acquire citizenship in another country. So he made himself stateless.

He was in Australia when he renounced his citizenship, and had assumed he would be able to stay there. But no, Australia promptly deported him to the U.S. Then, as a stateless person, he discovered that he was effectively trapped in the U.S. because he couldn't travel anywhere else without a passport. He managed to make it into Canada and Mexico a few times without a passport, but they both eventually shipped him back to the States. He also couldn't legally work without a social security number. So he became homeless, surviving on "odd jobs and the generosity of strangers."

After much begging and pleading, he was able to regain his U.S. citizenship in 1993.

More info: wikipedia

Slater showing off his "Certificate of Loss of Nationality of the United States"
Source: Arizona Republic - Mar 17, 1991

Indianapolis Star - Nov 27, 1992

Posted By: Alex - Sat Jun 04, 2016 - Comments (7)
Category: Politics, Reformers, Do-gooders, Agitators and SJWs, Riots, Protests and Civil Disobedience, 1980s

Half Fast

Here's one for the Completely Useless Forms of Political Protest file: Mildred Ruth Gordon and her every-other-day fast.

According to wikipedia, "The effort to enforce Selective Service registration law was abandoned in 1986."

I wonder if she kept up her protest that long.

Los Angeles Times - Sep 7, 1982

Posted By: Alex - Sat May 07, 2016 - Comments (2)
Category: Riots, Protests and Civil Disobedience, 1980s

Adopt A Rat

1982: The short-lived Los Angeles "Adopt-a-Rat" program. It lasted about a week. Ended when one of the rats bit a reporter's finger.

(left) Pittsburgh Press - Sep 30, 1982; (right) Paris Texas News - Oct 6, 1982

Posted By: Alex - Tue May 03, 2016 - Comments (6)
Category: Animals, 1980s

STAR WARS Recipes

It never really dawned on me that fans would come up with recipes to accompany these movies, but in retrospect, it only makes sense, and the fad appears to go way back, as seen in this 1983 instance below. Will they issue a new recipe for the newest trailer?




Original article here.

Posted By: Paul - Fri Apr 08, 2016 - Comments (16)
Category: Aliens, Food, Movies, 1980s

Follies of the Madmen #279

[Click to enlarge]

No chipmunks, crickets, rabbits, or fat, slack-jawed, beanie-wearing yokels were actually diced and cooked for these recipes.

Original ad here.

Posted By: Paul - Wed Apr 06, 2016 - Comments (10)
Category: Cannibalism, Food, Cartoons, 1980s

Sisters ate newspaper to survive

February 1980: The Schreiner sisters, Naomi (76) and Ruth (74), were found dead in their Columbus, Ohio home, apparently starved to death. In the house were found "little rolls of newspaper on plates as if the women had been eating them."

Neighbors had sensed something was going wrong with the sisters for a while, and some had offered to help but had been told by the sisters to mind their own business.

The Bryan Times - Feb 13, 1980

Posted By: Alex - Fri Apr 01, 2016 - Comments (11)
Category: Death, 1980s