Weird Universe Blog — June 14, 2018
Hat Guard
Back in the day when the theft of hats from hatracks was an ongoing problem, Frank P. Snow of Los Angeles patented this invention designed to inflict pain on any would-be hat thieves.A thief could take the hat, but if he tried to put it on, a "guarding prong" would jab into his skull. The prong locked in place and could only be moved if you knew the code to the combination lock.
Official Gazette of the United States Patent Office - June 2, 1914
Posted By: Alex - Thu Jun 14, 2018 -
Comments (2)
Category: Inventions | Headgear | 1910s
World Trade Week Queen
...World Trade Week, which begins May 18 and winds up on Harbor Day, following Sunday. Princess Los Angeles will be Miss World Trade Week, the queen. Other girls her honor court. Chosen by Junior Chamber of Commerce of various cities. Left to right: Eloise Koch, World Trade Week Queen, of Los Angeles; Princes Bianca Detert, standing, San Pedro; Jane Stevenson, Princess Wilmington, and Joyce Niederberger, Princess Long Beach.
"The Princess of Los Angeles" or "The Princess of Long Beach" would make great movie titles.
Original photo here.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Jun 14, 2018 -
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Category: Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues | Business | Contests, Races and Other Competitions | Regionalism | 1950s
June 13, 2018
Impact Therapy
Shamokin News Dispatch - Aug 31, 1968
Posted By: Alex - Wed Jun 13, 2018 -
Comments (4)
Category: Health | Medicine | 1960s
Santa Esmeralda, “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood”
How can you resist the thickly accented singer when he bites his lower lip?
Their Wikipedia page.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Jun 13, 2018 -
Comments (5)
Category: Ineptness, Crudity, Talentlessness, Kitsch, and Bad Art | Music | Homages, Pastiches, Tributes and Borrowings | Sex Symbols | Foreign Customs | 1970s
June 12, 2018
A long, awkward silence
With the Trump-Kim summit all over the news, this 1969 N.Korea/U.S. meeting seems timely:Back then, an American and North Korean general sat across a table from each other for 11 hours and 35 minutes. For the entire time, no one took a bathroom break or ate, and during the final 4½ hours, no one even spoke. They just stared at each other in silence.
Palladium-Item - Apr 11, 1969
Posted By: Alex - Tue Jun 12, 2018 -
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Category: Politics | 1960s
Anna Halprin
"Since the late 1930s Anna Halprin has been creating revolutionary directions for dance..." The actual "dance" starts at 1:11.
Perhaps, after viewing that, you would like to watch a feature-length documentary on Halprin. It'll cost you $3.99 however, although the trailer is free.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Jun 12, 2018 -
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Category: Avant Garde | Dance | Twentieth Century
June 11, 2018
Boned Rolled Pig
WUvie Phideaux sent along another fake vintage ad created by Cris Shapan, who's the reigning master of the genre of fake vintage ads. (About a year ago, a number of us had fun puzzling over another one of Shapan's faux ads. You can check out more of his stuff on his Facebook page.)Arnold Zwicky, on his blog, has analyzed this particular ad in close detail and points out some interesting details, such as that the image of "boned, rolled pig" is actually adapted from an image of rolled, pink fiberglass insulation.
fiberglass insulation
Posted By: Alex - Mon Jun 11, 2018 -
Comments (5)
Category: Advertising
Mystery Gadget 61
What's it do?
The answer is here.
Or after the jump.
More in extended >>
Posted By: Paul - Mon Jun 11, 2018 -
Comments (2)
Category: Technology | 1950s
June 10, 2018
Presto Wine
It was powdered wine. You just added some water and sugar, let it sit for a month, and you had wine. For dirt cheap. The stuff was briefly available in the mid-1980s, but then it seems to have fallen afoul of lawmakers who were worried about kids being able to buy this stuff in stores (where it was sold as a food product, no age requirement for purchase).
Wilmington Morning News - May 24, 1984
Wilmington News Journal - Apr 21, 1984
Posted By: Alex - Sun Jun 10, 2018 -
Comments (4)
Category: 1980s | Alcohol
Top Ten Teen Idols of 1967
I would have liked to see the sample cohort of teens that voted in this poll.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Jun 10, 2018 -
Comments (4)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests | Celebrities | Music | Politics | Teenagers | 1960s
