Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues
Miss Bomarc Interceptor Missile
The missile is the supersonic Bomarc anti-aircraft missile developed by Boeing and the University of Michigan Aeronautical Research Center. The woman is 18-year-old Fran Frost. The year was 1958.
Fran Frost went on to be Miss Utah State Fair, Miss Dairy Queen, and Miss World Contact Lens, but then retired from modeling.
Read her full story at Conelrad Adjacent.
Posted By: Alex - Sat Jun 10, 2017 -
Comments (3)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, 1950s, Weapons
Mystery Illustration 47
All of these women either won or competed for the same Beauty Queen title. What was that title?
The answer is here.
And after the jump.
More in extended >>
Posted By: Paul - Mon May 29, 2017 -
Comments (3)
Category: Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Contests, Races and Other Competitions, 1970s
The Dimple Maker
Invented by Mrs. E. Isabella Gilbert in 1936 (although I think similar gadgets had been on the market before). They came with these instructions: "Wear dimplers five minutes at a time, two or three times a day, while dressing, resting, reading or writing. Look into the mirror and laugh. There will be a semblance of a line where you should always place the dimplers until your dimples are made."According to History By Zim: "The American Medical Association argued that the 'Dimple Maker' would not make dimples or even enlarge original dimples. They also stated that prolonged use of the devise may actually cause cancer."
Louisville Courier-Journal - June 19, 1937
Battle Creek Enquirer - June 19, 1937
Detroit Free Press - Aug 9, 1936
Medford Mail Tribune - Nov 22, 1936
Update: I was curious to know when exactly the American Medical Association denounced the Dimple Maker, since the History by Zim blog didn't mention a date. I tracked it down to 1947, when the AMA put together a collection of quack medical products that it displayed on a nationwide tour of museums.
The Philadelphia Inquirer - Jan 11, 1948
Posted By: Alex - Sun Apr 23, 2017 -
Comments (1)
Category: Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Inventions, 1930s
Miss Photoflash
The first foto below is of the 1945 contest. Given that it was the "First Revue" of the sponsoring group, we can tentatively date it as the first such contest.
Original foto here.
The next foto is from 1968, and definitively labels the contest as being in its 24th year. Did it end then, amidst the tumult of the era?
Original foto here.
Here are the 1945 contestants again.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Feb 16, 2017 -
Comments (1)
Category: Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Contests, Races and Other Competitions, Photography and Photographers, Regionalism, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s
Miss Europe
Here is why the European Union is falling apart! They seem to have abandoned the Miss Europe contest in 2006.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Jan 03, 2017 -
Comments (0)
Category: Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Contests, Races and Other Competitions, Europe
Miss Mona Lisa 1958
February 1958: A jury of "celebrated painters" convened for the Mona Lisa Grand Prix awarded the title of "Mona Lisa 1958" to Luce Bona. What made the award slightly unusual is that Bona hadn't been a contestant. The judges just happened to see her as she was walking by outside and decided she was the one. At least, that was the story reported in the press.
Louisville Courier-Journal - Feb 19, 1958
Here's the winner from the previous year, Maria Lea. Apparently the gimmick of this contest was that the winner posed in a picture frame, which made her somehow like the Mona Lisa.
The Lincoln Star - Jan 13, 1957
Later in 1958 a jury of French mystery writers selected Luce Bona as the girl with the "Most Devilish Eyes." I'm assuming she was actually entered into that contest.
I can't find any references to Luce Bona after 1958. Perhaps she gave up modeling, despite such a promising start.
Wilmington News Journal - Apr 12, 1958
Posted By: Alex - Mon Dec 05, 2016 -
Comments (8)
Category: Art, Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, 1950s
The Bathtub by Bob Reisner (1969)
If you couldn't have the real thing, you could always get the model kit.
The kit assembled at this site.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Nov 18, 2016 -
Comments (5)
Category: Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Eccentrics, 1960s, Cars
Stabbed by Beauty
Original ad here.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Oct 06, 2016 -
Comments (7)
Category: Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, 1950s, Weapons
Nation’s Ugliest Students
Holy Microaggressions, Batman! Imagine the stink such a stunt would cause today. Which generation of students seems more resilient, well-adjusted and good-natured to you?
Original article here.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Sep 27, 2016 -
Comments (4)
Category: Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Contests, Races and Other Competitions, 1980s, Universities, Colleges, Private Schools and Academia
Miss Stardust of 1948
A couple of points about this beauty queen.1) Mother was also a beauty queen, "Miss Brooklyn of 1928." Alas, I can find no pix of the elder Bayes.
2) Should a beauty queen who represents the "falsie" industry be considered for her natural endowments, or her falsie-assisted curves?
3) Note the loving care and extra attention that WU brings to all its posts, as we present the previous year's winner below, as a supplement.
Original pic here.
Original article here.
Original ad here.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Sep 01, 2016 -
Comments (3)
Category: Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Body Modifications, Children, Parents, 1920s, 1940s
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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 books such as Elephants on Acid. 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. Chuck Shepherd Chuck is the purveyor of News of the Weird, the syndicated column which for decades has set the gold-standard for reporting on oddities and the bizarre. Our banner was drawn by the legendary underground cartoonist Rick Altergott. Contact Us |
