Paperbacks from Hell

For Halloween or Xmas, what could be a better gift? A brilliant art and history book about the crazy-ass horror novel covers of yore?

Read a review here.

Posted By: Paul - Tue Oct 24, 2017 - Comments (1)
Category: Horror, Ineptness, Crudity, Talentlessness, Kitsch, and Bad Art, Books, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s

Misunderstood Probability

I'm guessing the 50/50 chance didn't go in his favor.

Marion Star - Dec 28, 1995

Posted By: Alex - Fri Sep 01, 2017 - Comments (7)
Category: Surgery, 1990s

Reg on Smoking

In the early 1990s, Regal cigarettes in the UK launched an advertising campaign that featured an everyman named Reg who offered his dad-humor insights on various subjects.

The first ad read, "Reg on Smoking: I smoke 'em because my name's on 'em." As he held his fingers over the 'al' in Regal.


Other insights followed.

Reg on train-spotting: "There's one."

Reg on party politics: "If you drop ash on the carpet you won't get invited again."

But the campaign was eventually banned because medical researchers discovered that the stupid humor of the ads appealed mostly to young adolescents, whereas adults 33-55 years old, who were supposedly the target group for the campaign, didn't identify much with Reg.

Below are all the other examples of Reg ads that I could find online.

Reg on the Stock Exchange: I'd never swap my cubes for gravy granules

Reg on Race Relations: My Uncle Nobby used to own a bookies

More info: JimHagart.com, "Cigarette advertising and children's smoking: why Reg was withdrawn".

Update: A few more insights from Reg.

Reg on taxes: "Too many cabs drive too fast."

Reg on the Exchange Rate Mechanism: "Erm."

Reg on television: "No, I'm not. I'm on a poster."

Reg on the greenhouse effect: "My tomatoes seem to grow better under glass."

Reg on the meaning of life: "Depends if you get time off for good behaviour."

Posted By: Alex - Wed Aug 30, 2017 - Comments (1)
Category: Advertising, Smoking and Tobacco, 1990s

Pelvic Muscle Videogame Controller

I see no reason why this device should be limited to a clinical setting. It should sell very well to extreme gamers who want an additional controller to supplement their two hands.




Source.




Source.

Posted By: Paul - Mon Aug 28, 2017 - Comments (1)
Category: Body, 1990s, Videogames and Gamers

Wizard Amendment

March 1995: During the discussion of a bill in the New Mexico state senate, Sen. Duncan Scott (R) proposed the following amendment:


It passed in the Senate, but didn't make it through the House.

The Marion Star - Dec 28, 1995

Posted By: Alex - Sun Aug 27, 2017 - Comments (4)
Category: Law, Politics, 1990s

Romanian Jail Craze

No matter how bad you think things might be, at least you're not in a Romanian jail pounding rusty nails into your head.

For a related post, from way back in 2012, check out The Method of the Nail.

The Guardian - Aug 6, 1995

Posted By: Alex - Tue Aug 08, 2017 - Comments (3)
Category: Prisons, 1990s

Doesn’t notice plane crash

If a plane crashes in your yard and you didn't heard it, did it make a sound?

Arizona Republic - Apr 24, 1993

Posted By: Alex - Mon Aug 07, 2017 - Comments (1)
Category: Accidents, Air Travel and Airlines, 1990s

The Maid of Cotton Pageant

Continuing our intermittent look at oddball beauty pageants.

The Maid of Cotton pageant began in 1939. The annual pageant was sponsored by the National Cotton Council (NCC), Memphis Cotton Carnival, and the Cotton Exchanges of Memphis, New York, and New Orleans. The pageant was held in Memphis, Tennessee, in conjunction with the Carnival until the 1980s.

In mid-December every year the NCC released a list of contestants. Contestants were required to have been born in one of the cotton-producing states: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, North and South Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas or Virginia. They might have also been born in the cotton-producing counties of Alexander, Jefferson, Massac, Pulaski, Williamson or Madison, Illinois or in Clark or Nye counties of Nevada. There were usually twenty contestants each year.

Contestants were judged on personality, good manners, intelligence, and family background as well as beauty and an ability to model. A Top Ten were chosen and then a Top Five, and finally second and first runners up and a winner. Winners served as goodwill and fashion ambassadors of the cotton industry in a five-month, all-expense tour of American cities. In the mid-1950s the tour expanded globally. In the late 1950s a Little Miss Cotton pageant was begun but lasted only until 1963 before being discontinued. In the mid-1980s Dallas,Texas took over the pageant, in conjunction with the NCC and its overseas division, Cotton Council International. In 1986, to bolster interest and participation, the NCC eliminated the rule requiring contestants to be born in a cotton-producing state. The pageant was discontinued in 1993, one of the reasons being that Cotton Inc. stopped contributing scholarship money as well as waning public interest and changing marketing strategies.

More details here.

And also here.

The 1952 winner.

Posted By: Paul - Fri Jul 21, 2017 - Comments (3)
Category: Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Contests, Races and Other Competitions, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s

Hitler Heater Ad

1999: A Taiwanese company came under fire for its "Hitler Heater Ad." The ad for the German-made heater featured a cartoon image of Hitler standing alongside the heater. A company representative explained, "We decided to use Hitler because as soon as you see him, you think of Germany. It leaves a deep impression."

The German manufacturer insisted it hadn't been told about the ad before it ran. More info: Taipei Times - Nov 23, 1999.

Posted By: Alex - Wed Jul 12, 2017 - Comments (4)
Category: Advertising, 1990s

Edward Seese Memorial Scholarship

When millionaire real estate investor Edward Seese died in March 1995, he left instructions in his will to fund a $4.5 million scholarship at Broward Community College. The recipients of the scholarship, he instructed, were to be high school students who earned a C average. He felt that scholarships typically went to high academic achievers, so the C students had been "left out in the cold."

The scholarship still seems to be available to those who qualify.

Tallahassee Democrat - June 21, 1995

Posted By: Alex - Wed Jun 28, 2017 - Comments (2)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Education, Universities, Colleges, Private Schools and Academia, 1990s