Divorcee banned from chess club

1971: 16-year-old Soni Romans was banned from all extracurricular activities at at Channelview High School in Houston. This included school choir, chess club, drama, and the National Honor Society. The reason for the ban was that she had been married and divorced and had a child (which she gave up for adoption). Therefore, the school felt that she shouldn't be allowed to participate in extracurricular activities because, during them, she "might discuss sex with other students."

However, if she had simply had the child without getting married and divorced, the same regulation wouldn't have applied. Unwed mothers were free to participate in the extracurriculars. Romans sued the school and won, so the ban was eventually lifted.

The Cincinnati Enquirer - Nov 14, 1971

The Akron Beacon Journal - Feb 17, 1972

Posted By: Alex - Sun Mar 19, 2017 - Comments (3)
Category: School, Regulations, Divorce, 1970s

Gary Numan Unicef Concert:  1979

This is exactly the kind of performance that evokes for me the tragedy of starving Third World children.

Posted By: Paul - Sun Mar 19, 2017 - Comments (4)
Category: Aliens, Charities and Philanthropy, Eccentrics, Music, 1970s, Cacophony, Dissonance, White Noise and Other Sonic Assaults

Toys R Us Corrected

The logo for Toys R Us typically includes a backwards R. But when a Toys R Us opened in Cerritos, California in 1972, the local city council insisted that the store spell its name with the R the "correct" way around on the front of the building, so that it wouldnt confuse young children who might be struggling to learn the alphabet.

The store had to keep the corrected R until 1981 when the city council finally voted to allow it to switch to the backwards R. Noted a council member: "All the bags, the price tags in the store had the backwards 'R.' It really wasn't accomplishing anything to have it correct on the outside."

Of course, as Steve Harvey noted for the LA Times, if you really want to be grammatically correct, the name should be Toys R We.

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find a single picture of the store with the corrected R.

Los Angeles Times - Mar 3, 1981

The normal logo

The corrected version

Posted By: Alex - Sat Mar 18, 2017 - Comments (3)
Category: Regulations, 1970s

Mr. Zap of the USPS

Full story here.



Original article here.

Posted By: Paul - Mon Mar 13, 2017 - Comments (1)
Category: Stupid Criminals, Corporate Mascots, Icons and Spokesbeings, 1970s, Postal Services

I’m Having Your Baby

"Having your baby is a way of saying I'm thinking of you."

No argument there!

Posted By: Paul - Sun Mar 12, 2017 - Comments (4)
Category: Music, 1970s, Pregnancy

Timothy Leary:  While Birds Sing

Album info and track listing.

Let me know when you bail!

Posted By: Paul - Thu Mar 09, 2017 - Comments (2)
Category: Drugs, Psychedelic, Music, Surrealism, 1960s, 1970s, 1990s

Fred and Barney Meet the Thing

A mashup no one ever asked for.

Posted By: Paul - Tue Mar 07, 2017 - Comments (1)
Category: Ineptness, Crudity, Talentlessness, Kitsch, and Bad Art, Television, Comics, Cartoons, 1970s

Blinky the Friendly Hen

April 27, 1978: Artist Jeffrey Vallance bought a frozen chicken (a Foster Farms fryer) at a supermarket and then buried it at the Los Angeles Pet Cemetery, following a brief memorial service. He also installed a grave marker for the frozen bird, naming it "Blinky the Friendly Hen." He came to think of Blinky's grave as being like the grave of the Unknown Chicken, representing "all the millions of chickens who are slaughtered and sold as food."

According to kcet.org, "Ten years later, he would have the body exhumed so an autopsy could be performed by UCLA's head of pathology. The tenth anniversary exhibit on the life of Blinky, at the Rosamund Felsen Gallery in Los Angeles, featured a 'shroud of Blinky,' and a recreation of the cemetery's viewing room, with a rubber chicken lying in state. Blinky was later reburied at the cemetery."

It seems that there were also an event to mark the 30th anniversary of Blinky's funeral. The 40th anniversary is coming up next year, so perhaps there'll be another event in Blinky's honor.

Vallance also wrote a book commemmorating Blinky.

More info: Black Acrylic blog

Bridgewater Courier-News - Nov 3, 1983

Posted By: Alex - Fri Mar 03, 2017 - Comments (2)
Category: Animals, Art, Death, 1970s

Cycle Logic

Posted By: Paul - Wed Mar 01, 2017 - Comments (5)
Category: Disasters, PSA’s, 1970s, Motorcycles

Mystery Illustration 40

Who was the celebrity groom who wore this amazing outfit to his wedding?

The answer is here.

And after the jump.

More in extended >>

Posted By: Paul - Tue Feb 28, 2017 - Comments (4)
Category: 1970s, Weddings