1980s
Rambo Bubble Gum
Raspberry-flavored gum shaped to resemble shrapnel or flak.Went on sale in 1985, as a tie-in with the release of Rambo II.
image source: Candy Wrapper Museum
Wisconsin State Journal - Nov 3, 1985
Posted By: Alex - Wed Apr 11, 2018 -
Comments (2)
Category: War, Candy, 1980s
The Blessing of the Bras
June 1986: "Buddhist priests blessed 200,000 used brassieres yesterday in a temple memorial service for cast-off underwear."
Tampa Tribune - June 8, 1986
Philadelphia Daily News - June 7, 1986
Posted By: Alex - Mon Apr 09, 2018 -
Comments (3)
Category: Religion, Underwear, 1980s
Cognac and yogurt
Not a combination that would have occurred to me. But who knows. Perhaps it was really good.
Apparently this product was, like Touch of Yogurt Shampoo, an attempt to cash in on the yogurt craze that was sweeping America at the time.
The Santa Clarita Signal - Aug 24, 1983
Posted By: Alex - Fri Apr 06, 2018 -
Comments (5)
Category: Inebriation and Intoxicants, 1980s
Avoid Saying Hello
Wall Street Journal - Apr 25, 1983
Posted By: Alex - Thu Apr 05, 2018 -
Comments (3)
Category: Business, Telephones, 1980s
The Non-Smokers Inn
Lyndon Sanders opened the Non-Smokers Inn in 1981 in Dallas. At the time, it was the first exclusively non-smoking hotel in America. Actually it may have been the first to offer any rooms exclusively for non-smokers, period. I'm not sure. But as it turned out, he anticipated the non-smoking trend too well. From cnn.com:
It wasn't that the world had turned its back on his idea -- it was that the world had embraced it too thoroughly. Major hotels had started putting in nonsmoking floors, and advertising the fact; people who didn't smoke suddenly had no trouble finding a clean, fresh-smelling room. The Non-Smokers Inn, struggling for business, had to become something else and let smokers in, because the nonsmokers no longer had to look so hard for what they desired.
Posted By: Alex - Fri Mar 30, 2018 -
Comments (0)
Category: Hotels, Smoking and Tobacco, 1980s
Messies Anonymous
This seems to be the current home page.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Mar 24, 2018 -
Comments (1)
Category: Addictions, Domestic, Eccentrics, 1980s
Follies of the Madmen #352
Put the noisy little brats in the unsafe cargo area, why not?
Source of ad.
Posted By: Paul - Mon Feb 19, 2018 -
Comments (12)
Category: Business, Advertising, Family, Children, Parents, 1980s, Cars
Follies of the Madmen #351
Uncertain what "umph" actually tastes like.
Source of ad.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Feb 16, 2018 -
Comments (3)
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, Tobacco and Smoking, 1980s
The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang
The Fonz and friends do time-travel.The Wikipedia page.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Feb 13, 2018 -
Comments (2)
Category: Anthropomorphism, Ineptness, Crudity, Talentlessness, Kitsch, and Bad Art, Television, Science Fiction, Time-travel, Cartoons, 1980s
SWEAT-T
In 1980, Danya Padilla of Montclair, New Jersey came out with the "SWEAT-T." It was a grey t-shirt with artificial sweat marks under the arms and down the front and back, designed for people who hated exercise but wanted to look like jocks anyway.I haven't been able to find any pictures of an actual SWEAT-T, but the picture below is what I imagine it must have looked like.
Shrewsbury Sunday Register - July 6, 1980
Posted By: Alex - Mon Feb 12, 2018 -
Comments (3)
Category: Fashion, 1980s
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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 |