The Bear Facts

Anti-communist fable presented as a kid's book.

More pictures and discussion here.

Posted By: Paul - Thu Sep 02, 2021 - Comments (0)
Category: Propaganda, Thought Control and Brainwashing, Children, Books, Fantasy, 1940s, Russia

Artificial Girls of 1940

Posted By: Paul - Sat Aug 28, 2021 - Comments (2)
Category: Fairs, Amusement Parks, and Resorts, Puppets and Automatons, 1940s, Women

Please Kill Me

Unsolved after 20 years, and from what I can see, unsolved to the present day.

Source for first clipping: Joplin Globe (Joplin, Missouri) 11 Nov 1948, Thu Page 4

Source for second clipping: The Emporia Gazette (Emporia, Kansas)17 Aug 1968, Sat Page 11

Posted By: Paul - Wed Aug 25, 2021 - Comments (0)
Category: Death, Unsolved Mysteries, 1940s, North America

Two 1940s Songs About Strippers

Posted By: Paul - Tue Aug 24, 2021 - Comments (1)
Category: Music, Burlesque, Exotic Dancing, Stripping and Other Forms of Staged Nakedness, 1940s

Artwork Khrushchev Probably Would Not Have Liked 36

"Dorothea Tanning and Max Ernst with his sculpture, Capricorn, 1947"

Foto source.

Posted By: Paul - Tue Jul 13, 2021 - Comments (1)
Category: Art, Avant Garde, Surrealism, Statues and Monuments, Husbands, Wives, 1940s

The Glamorous Women of the Spruance Rayon Plant

From DuPont's Better Living magazine (Sep/Oct 1949):


I'm intrigued by their job titles. What in the world is a "slashing creel operator" or a "throwing operator"?

Some info about the Spruance Rayon Plant: Richmond Times-Dispatch

Posted By: Alex - Mon Jul 12, 2021 - Comments (4)
Category: Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Industry, Factories and Manufacturing, 1940s

Miss Continuous Roller Towel

Or, simply, Miss Continuous Towel. I found both forms of the title used.

The title was conferred upon Trudy Germi of Chicago by the linen supply industry in 1949.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch - Dec 25, 1949

I'm always curious what becomes of these people who achieve 15 minutes of fame for weird reasons.

In Germi's case, after performing in a production of South Pacific, she married Lt. Carl Seiberlich in 1952. As far as I can tell, this ended her career as a model/actress.

Her husband eventually became Captain of the USS Hornet, which was the ship assigned to recover the Apollo 11 astronauts from the Pacific. I found a photo on a military website of the two of them together, attending a celebration for the recovery of the astronauts. I assume she's the one wearing sunglasses.

She died in 2018.

Posted By: Alex - Sun Jun 27, 2021 - Comments (4)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, 1940s

The Airphibian

Flying cars just had a recent moment in THE NEW YORK TIMES. But there have been many predecessors.

We are continuing our streak from yesterday's Amphicar: bi-modal transport!



The Wikipedia page.

Posted By: Paul - Mon Jun 14, 2021 - Comments (0)
Category: Inventions, Kludges, Hacks and Duct-tape Repairs, Air Travel and Airlines, 1940s, Cars

Follies of the Madmen #508

Was this really ever a problem?



Source.

Posted By: Paul - Mon Jun 07, 2021 - Comments (1)
Category: Annoying Things, Business, Advertising, Excess, Overkill, Hyperbole and Too Much Is Not Enough, 1940s, Smells and Odors, Moral Panics and Public Hysteria

My Honey Chile

"She's got a wooden leg, all stiff at the knee...just a limb from the old apple tree."

Posted By: Paul - Sun Jun 06, 2021 - Comments (0)
Category: Humor, Music, 1940s, Differently Abled, Handicapped, Challenged, and Otherwise Atypical, Love & Romance