1950s
When Billboards Become Visible
If you're in the billboard business you'd probably want to know exactly when a billboard becomes visible to drivers. So in 1953 research was conducted at the Iowa State College Experiment Station to get an answer to this question. The study involved having subjects watch miniature billboards slowly approach on a conveyor belt.Source: Duke University Libraries - Archives of the Outdoor Advertising Association of America.
The Duke University blog also notes that in 1958 "The OAAA commissioned Jack Prince, a professor of ophthalmology at Ohio State University, to study the visual dynamics of outdoor advertising, resulting in the first legibility studies of ad copy." I'm not sure how these two studies related to each other. They sound suspiciously similar. And the 1958 studies obviously weren't the first given that the pictures below show research labeled as happening in 1953.
Update: The researcher in the photos is probably Dr. A.R. Lauer of Iowa State's Department of Psychology, and he may have been studying the phenomenon of "Highway Hypnosis."
In the early 1950s there was increasing criticism of the proliferation of billboards along the side of roads. People complained that they were ugly and possibly distracted drivers. So the OAAA sponsored Dr. Lauer to research the safety benefits of billboards, and specifically whether billboards distracted drivers.
Lauer came up with the result that the billboards did distract drivers, but that this was a good thing because it saved them from Highway Hypnosis —entering a trance-like state as they stared at endless, monotonous roads.
The OAAA then took out ads in newspapers promoting Lauer's research and the safety benefits of billboards.
The Des Moines Register - Mar 23, 1958
Posted By: Alex - Fri Jan 20, 2017 -
Comments (9)
Category: Advertising, Experiments, 1950s, Billboards
Follies of the Madmen #301
The birth of the selfie generation.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Jan 18, 2017 -
Comments (6)
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, Family, Hobbies and DIY, Movies, 1950s
Hinkle Tablets
In 1915, this nostrum contained a nice little dose of strychnine. One assumes that by the time of the 1956 advert, they had eliminated that ingredient.
Original letter here.
Original ad here (page 13).
Posted By: Paul - Mon Jan 16, 2017 -
Comments (3)
Category: Death, Advertising, Patent Medicines, Nostrums and Snake Oil, 1910s, 1950s
How To Lick Pimples
Source: Santa's Christmas Comics, Dec 1952
via reddit
Posted By: Alex - Tue Jan 10, 2017 -
Comments (2)
Category: Advertising, 1950s, Skin and Skin Conditions
Follies of the Madmen #300
Original ad here.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Jan 10, 2017 -
Comments (2)
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, History, Tobacco and Smoking, 1950s, Men, Women
Irv Pollock, Auto Dealer
According to this verbal portrait of the era,, the Toledo, Ohio, car-dealership scene of the 40s, 50s and 60s was a vibrant, competitive time. Certainly a dealer would want to come up with wild ads to stand out. Irv Pollock must have felt that way anyhow!
Note: you might have to scroll left or right at the links to see the original ad.
Original ad here.
Original ad here.
Original ad here.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Jan 07, 2017 -
Comments (3)
Category: Business, Advertising, Excess, Overkill, Hyperbole and Too Much Is Not Enough, Regionalism, 1940s, 1950s, Cars
Cinderella’s Bad Influence
In the 1950s, Dr. John Kershaw, an English medical officer, argued that, "The expectation of meeting a dream lover and automatically living 'happily ever after' keeps children from being taught 'to realize the difficulties and responsibilities of marriage.'"
More recently, Cinderella has been attacked for the "princess culture" that it cultivates. From the Sentinel & Enterprise (3/22/2012):
"Cinderella is remarkably passive throughout the entire movie," Moser said, adding that Prince Charming didn't take much of his life into his own hands either and relied greatly on his father.
Rather than make her own dreams come true, he said, Cinderella waits for others, such as her fairy godmother, to do the work for her, and trusts that things will turn out right.
The message it sends is that it is best to buy into the status quo and that one's dreams can be achieved by following the rules set by previous generations, Moser said.
NY Times critic Peggy Orenstein has even written a bestselling book on this subject, Cinderella Ate My Daughter (2011).
To the best of my knowledge, I've never seen Cinderella. Perhaps I should consider myself lucky for having escaped its poisonous influence.
Chicago Daily Tribune - June 1, 1954
Posted By: Alex - Wed Jan 04, 2017 -
Comments (4)
Category: Movies, Myths and Fairytales, 1950s
Mystery Illustration 36
You guys did pretty good guessing Danny Kaye some time ago. So who is this world-famous comedian?
The answer is here.
And after the jump.
More in extended >>
Posted By: Paul - Wed Jan 04, 2017 -
Comments (2)
Category: 1950s, Comedians
The Tattooed Lady
Not the Groucho song.
Posted By: Paul - Mon Jan 02, 2017 -
Comments (2)
Category: Music, 1950s, Tattoos
Cuckoo Girl
Justin Bieber fangirl phenomenon, 1959 version.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Dec 28, 2016 -
Comments (3)
Category: Bad Habits, Neuroses and Psychoses, Celebrities, Delusions, Fantasies and Other Tricks of the Imagination, Music, Teenagers, 1950s
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| Alex Boese 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. Paul Di Filippo Paul has been paid to put weird ideas into fictional form for over thirty years, in his career as a noted science fiction writer. He has recently begun blogging on many curious topics with three fellow writers at The Inferior 4+1. Contact Us |