Much of what we define today as "weird" looks to be weird simply because the context that surrounded its creation is no longer in place. As famously said, "The past is another country," and we all know that stuff that happens in other countries is quite often weird.
Once upon a time--in 1961--the staged documentary featured here seemed like the most sober-sided, commonsense bit of educational material. But now--
Collecting weird books is one of my hobbies. And I'm not alone, as you can see from this site.
Surely the novel depicted here, which I purchased a month ago at an SF convention, is museum-worthy. Amazingly in this day and age, I can't find any info about it or its author online. Thankfully, the previous owner xeroxed a page about the author and left it inside the book for me to reproduce here.
[From The Saturday Evening Post for January 29, 1966.]
Of course, the very first thing you'll load aboard your interstellar ship is a new Frigidaire. What's that you say? These women are not astronauts, but rather futuristic housewives, and the Fridge remains earthbound? Then why are they wearing those bubble helmets? Future pollution? But what about the helmet that features a cutout? And the slit glasses? If only the geniuses who created this ad were still around, we could ask them to explain....
Category: Futurism, Parades and Festivals, 1960's, Yesterday's Tomorrows