Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests
Mystery Girl of 1947
Pulp International reveals:The Mystery Writers of America, which was founded in 1945 in New York City and soon expanded to other locations, in its early years used to throw what they called a Clues Party. In November 1947 the party was in Chicago, and the MWA awarded the title of Mystery Girl to the woman who performed best in a scream test—as opposed to screen test. Four contestants—Marybeth Prebis, Betty Rosboro, Bobby Jo Rodgers, and Portia Kubin—let fly with their most bloodcurdling screams, and the winner was Kubin, above.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Sep 23, 2023 -
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Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Literature, Books, 1940s, Screams, Grunts and Other Exclamations
Rare Bird Beauty Contest
Posted By: Paul - Fri Sep 15, 2023 -
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Category: Animals, Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, 1940s
Miss Automated Handling
In 1961, the Norfolk Naval Supply Center introduced a half-million-dollar automated system for material handling in order to expedite "the movement of vast quantities of supplies and stores to shore stations and ships all over the world."As part of the opening ceremonies, Norma Jean Riganto was crowned "Miss Automated Handling."
Virginian-Pilot - Oct 13, 1961
Posted By: Alex - Fri Sep 08, 2023 -
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Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, 1960s
Miss Union Label
I thought this was fitting for Labor Day Weekend!
Posted By: Paul - Sat Sep 02, 2023 -
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Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Tradesmen, Manual Laborers, and Skilled Workers, 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 -
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Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, 1950s
Miss Jitterbug
Posted By: Paul - Fri Aug 25, 2023 -
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Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, 1940s, Dance
Gurning
In September, after a three-year break due to Covid, the World Gurning Championships will once again be held at the Egremont Crab Fair in England. The crab fair dates back to 1267, and the gurning contest may be almost as old.Explanatory text from Yesterday's Country Customs: A History of Traditional English Folklore.
Posted By: Alex - Thu Aug 24, 2023 -
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Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Sports
Miss Juke Box, Revisited
A few months ago, I made a post titled "Miss Juke Box" that involved a song of that name. But now, with more diligent research, I actually find some beauty contest queens under that rubric. Alas, I cannot identify the woman in the first photo.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Aug 15, 2023 -
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Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Music, Technology, Twentieth Century
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 -
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Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, 1950s
Miss Radioactive
In 1955, two women (Jeanne Baird and Sandy Hershey) were separately named "Miss Radioactive." I can't find any evidence of this title being used before or after 1955.They both seem to be displaying the same type of radiation detector — a scintillometer. If, like me, you weren't aware of the difference between a Geiger counter and a scintillometer, you can read about it here.
Los Angeles Evening Citizen News - Feb 14, 1955
Casper Star Tribune - June 24, 1955
Posted By: Alex - Fri Jul 28, 2023 -
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Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Atomic Power and Other Nuclear Matters, 1950s
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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 |