Macaroni woman of the year

Since I posted a few days ago about eggplants that looked like Richard Nixon, I thought it only fitting to also note that his wife, Patricia, had her own food thing going on. In 1970, she was named Macaroni Woman of the Year by the National Macaroni Institute. She also had her portrait painted out of macaroni by the artist Don Wheeler.

Redlands Daily Facts - Oct 1, 1970

Wilkes Barre Times Leader - Apr 14, 1971

Posted By: Alex - Sat Sep 01, 2018 - Comments (4)
Category: Art, Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Food, Politics

Hero Dog of the Year

In 1954, Ken-L Ration Dog Food began awarding a prize to the "Hero Dog of the Year." Sponsorship switched to Kibbles 'n' Bits at some point.

Here is a list of some winners.

The latest year I can find when the award was given was 2004.

The American Humane Society seems to have taken over, or rebooted the award.


In any case, the award gives us a chance here at WU to carry forward one of our earliest missions: proving that cows are the most evil and deadly creature on the planet.







Article behind NYT paywall, alas.

Posted By: Paul - Thu Aug 30, 2018 - Comments (1)
Category: Animals, Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Dogs, 1950s, 1980s

Skipperette of the Fishermen’s Fiesta

The skipperette and her two mates will reign over Los Angeles Harbor fishermens fiesta during Oct. 1 & 2. L.R.: Mate Doris Spanje; Skipperette Amelia Nizetich and mate Deana Trutanich.

Source.

Posted By: Paul - Fri Aug 03, 2018 - Comments (0)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Regionalism, 1950s

The CGI of 1985

1985 Clio Award winning Television commercial done for Canned Foods Information Council by San Francisco ad agency of Ketchum Communications. [This] spot, "Brilliance," won in Computer Animation category and featured a voice-over by motion picture star, Kathleen Turner.

Posted By: Paul - Fri Jul 06, 2018 - Comments (2)
Category: Anthropomorphism, Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Business, Advertising, Food, Robots, Computers, Special Effects, 1980s

Top Ten Teen Idols of 1967

I would have liked to see the sample cohort of teens that voted in this poll.

Posted By: Paul - Sun Jun 10, 2018 - Comments (4)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Celebrities, Music, Politics, Teenagers, 1960s

Afraid she’d look like a horse

At the International Beauty Congress held in Los Angeles in August 1963, when Miss Luxembourg (Catherine Paulus) learned during rehearsals that she was expected to appear in a bathing suit during the contest, she started laughing hysterically and was reported to have said, "I will look like a horse. The people will all laugh at me. And then I will laugh. I can't do it... I can't do it."

The judges had to give her a tranquilizer to calm her down.

Somehow she was nevertheless talked into wearing a bathing suit the next day. And, of course, because of her outburst the picture of her wearing it then ran in papers nationwide.

She received a round of applause during her appearance, but didn't make it through to the finals. However, she was awarded the title of "Miss International Friendship" during the contest.

Detroit Free Press - Aug 16, 1963

image: historicimages.com
clipping: Corsicana Daily Sun - Aug 19, 1963

Posted By: Alex - Thu Feb 08, 2018 - Comments (1)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, 1960s

Miss Plump of Coney Island

The winner of the 1925 Miss Plump of Coney Island contest was Jolly Irene, which was the stage name of sideshow performer Amanda Siebert. According to Marc Hartzman's American Sideshow:


Siebert died in 1940, at the age of 65.

Baltimore Sun - Aug 26, 1925

Central New Jersey Home News - Nov 20, 1925

Louisville Courier-Journal - Dec 1, 1940

Posted By: Alex - Thu Dec 28, 2017 - Comments (3)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Human Marvels, 1920s

Miss Broom Corn

Another entry in our ongoing series of obscure Miss titles.

St. Clair Chronicle - Jan 3, 1952

Posted By: Alex - Sat Dec 16, 2017 - Comments (2)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, 1950s

Miss Fat Girl

Did the rules specify that the fat had to be au naturel?

Des Moines Tribune - Dec 26, 1968

Posted By: Alex - Sun Dec 03, 2017 - Comments (0)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, 1960s

Miss Vacant Lot of the World

The Miss Vacant Lot of the World contest was started in 1972. It was part of the Annual Armadillo Exposition and Confab held in Victoria, Texas. The contest rules were as follows:

Valley Morning Star - May 26, 1975

Here's what I was able to find out about the first six winners of the Miss Vacant Lot title:

1972: Cindy Hudler won for her "dance of the Dasypodidae" which involved waltzing around a vacant lot in an armadillo suit.
1973: Modine Gunch won for standing on her head while spinning a hula-hoop on one leg.
1974: Algeria Sadberry won for playing a song through her nose.
1975: Elvira Rose Hunt (aka Karen Janecka) won for stuffing 264 pennies in her mouth.
1976: Linda Strelczyk won by stuffing 200 poptop tabs into her size 36EEE bikini bra while singing a song titled "Keep Your Finger Out Of It; It Don't Belong To You."
1977: A 200-pound woman (unnamed) won for dressing like an armadillo and singing an armadillo song.



Some of the prizes that the winners received included a trophy, a $25 check, a gift certificate, a bouquet of weeds, and a picture of Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. They also got to wear the Armadillo Crown.

The contest was discontinued in 1979. The organizers noted, "you can only tell the same joke so many times." However, it seems that it was revived at various times, such as in the late 1980s and again in 2011.

Posted By: Alex - Mon Nov 13, 2017 - Comments (4)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, 1970s