1950s
Dirt Danger Days
Posted By: Paul - Mon Sep 18, 2023 -
Comments (0)
Category: Death, Hygiene, Advertising, Children, 1950s
Hoover Dam music soothes mentally ill
I've visited the Hoover Dam a number of times but had never heard about its unusual acoustic properties that produce "a soothing effect on violently ill mental patients when they listen to musical recordings made at the dam site."I searched in vain for copies of these Hoover Dam sound recordings.
Los Angeles Times - Sep 22, 1955
Posted By: Alex - Mon Sep 11, 2023 -
Comments (3)
Category: Music, Psychology, 1950s
Miss Union Label
I thought this was fitting for Labor Day Weekend!
Posted By: Paul - Sat Sep 02, 2023 -
Comments (0)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Tradesmen, Manual Laborers, and Skilled Workers, 1950s
Linemen training
I assume bucket lifts have now made pole climbing a thing-of-the-past for linemen.
Popular Science - Feb 1951
Posted By: Alex - Wed Aug 30, 2023 -
Comments (4)
Category: Jobs and Occupations, 1950s
Miss Garbage Disposal
Miami News - June 5, 1951
I couldn't find a picture of Mary Gleason as Miss Garbage Disposal, but below is a picture of her from the same month that she gained the title. It looks like the photo was taken at the theater where she was performing.
Binghamton Press and Sun-Bulletin - June 10, 1951
I also found reports stating that in 1946 Shirley Halloran was named "Miss Automatic Garbage Disposal," but I couldn't find any pictures of her.
Posted By: Alex - Mon Aug 28, 2023 -
Comments (0)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, 1950s
UK TV Ads of the 50s and 60s
Some rarer items for your weirdness appraisal. I like the one with Tarzan. The one for Fish Fingers unintentionally resembles a Monty Python skit.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Aug 24, 2023 -
Comments (2)
Category: Television, Advertising, 1950s, 1960s, United Kingdom
Atomic Mittens
"Here is your complete shield against the dangers of atomic attack."
Super Science Stories - Aug 1951
Posted By: Alex - Sun Aug 20, 2023 -
Comments (1)
Category: Fashion, Atomic Power and Other Nuclear Matters, 1950s
Warming Pills
Glycine is readily available as a supplement. I hadn't heard about its supposed warming properties.
Scranton Times-Tribune - July 25, 1957
I searched for the research that inspired the newspaper report above and found a 1956 study, conducted at the Arctic Aeromedical Laboratory, that involved immersing dogs in freezing water. The researchers measured how long it took for the rectal temperature of the dogs to lower to 26°C. Dogs that had been given glycine took longer to chill (and warmed up more rapidly) than the control group:
The intravenous administration of a 5% glycine solution caused a significant increase of 34.6 minutes in the time required to lower the rectal temperature of dogs from 38°C to 26°C. Total rewarming time was decreased by 34.3 minutes in the glycine treated group. The differences in cooling and rewarming rates between the treated and non-treated animals was due to the increased heat production observed in the dogs receiving glycine. The possible applicability of thermogenic agents in accidental hypothermia is discussed.
However, I then found a 1961 study, also from the Arctic Aeromedical Laboratory (but this time conducted on humans) that seemed to cast doubt on the warming properties of glycine:
I think I'll stick with whiskey for warmth.
Posted By: Alex - Tue Aug 15, 2023 -
Comments (3)
Category: Experiments, 1950s
Copacabana Chorus Introduces Alcoa Alumalure
Posted By: Alex - Sun Aug 13, 2023 -
Comments (1)
Category: Architecture, Advertising, 1950s
Miss Automatic Gas Range
You can find Irmgard Dawson's IMDB page here.You can also find some biographical info about her in the text of a 1965 court case, Levitt v. Levitt, in which her former husband, Gene Levitt, was suing to lower his alimony payments to her. The document says that in the late 1950s Dawson had moved back to Germany where her sole source of income was the alimony. Nevertheless, the court agreed to lower the payments to a "token amount."
Gene Levitt was a TV writer best known for creating the Fantasy Island series.
Highland Park News-Herald - Apr 24, 1953
Los Angeles Southwest Wave - May 10, 1953
In 1944, Dawson had also won the title of "Watermelon-Eating Queen of Florida" at a contest in Miami Beach. Note that her crown was carved from a watermelon.
Posted By: Alex - Thu Aug 10, 2023 -
Comments (0)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, 1950s
| Who We Are |
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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 |