American Airlines Wine Club

Fans of mile-high drinking can now get a taste of the same experience at home thanks to the new American Airlines Wine Club. For $99 a month, members get three bottles of some of the wines served inflight shipped to them each month.

I'm sure it's good wine. For $33 a bottle, it better be. But it seems to me like a weird extension of the American Airlines' brand. Although as an economy flyer I associate air travel with misery and discomfort. Perhaps if I flew first-class I'd feel differently.



via Retail Therapy

Posted By: Alex - Thu Jan 28, 2021 - Comments (5)
Category: Clubs, Fraternities and Other Self-selecting Organizations, Inebriation and Intoxicants, Air Travel and Airlines, Alcohol

PPPPPPPPPP

Rumors of the existence of an organization with these initials have been circulating for decades. It's said to stand for the Pan-American Protective Program for the Prevention of People Putting Parsley on Potatoes in Public Places.

Variations on the name do exist, such as the Society for the Prevention of People Putting Parsley on People’s Plates in Prominent Public Places.

Oakland Tribune - Sep 9, 1941

Pittsburgh Post Gazette - Mar 18, 1939

Posted By: Alex - Thu Feb 27, 2020 - Comments (3)
Category: Clubs, Fraternities and Other Self-selecting Organizations

Some Ceremonial Garments of the Odd Fellows

Posted By: Paul - Sun Aug 11, 2019 - Comments (3)
Category: Ceremonies, Clubs, Fraternities and Other Self-selecting Organizations, Fashion, Twentieth Century

Invention Merit Badge

The Invention Merit Badge has the distinction of being the least-earned boy scout merit badge ever. Only 10 people ever earned it. The primary reason for this being that it required a scout to "invent and patent some useful article," which was a pretty high bar to set. After only three years the scout organization decided it was too much of a challenge and discontinued the badge. So it was only offered from 1911 to 1914. It was eventually replaced in 2010 by an Inventing badge which didn't have the patent requirement.

Enthusiasts of scout history have tried to figure out who the 10 winners of the badge were and what they invented, but so far it seems that only one of the patents has been identified. It was a "uniform coat with a removable false sleeve on which Scouts could sew merit badges and rank badges," patented by Graeme Thomas Smallwood of Washington, D.C.

More info: Scouting Magazine, "History of the Invention Merit Badge" [pdf]

Graeme Smallwood

Posted By: Alex - Fri Oct 05, 2018 - Comments (0)
Category: Clubs, Fraternities and Other Self-selecting Organizations, Inventions, 1910s

Flying Funeral Directors

Founded in 1960, and apparently still going strong. Membership is limited to licensed funeral directors who are also pilots (licensed or student).

It was initially called the Flying Funeral Directors of America, but now they call it the Flying Funeral Directors Association. So they must have opened it up to international members.

Their website: flyingfuneraldirector.org

Coshocton Tribune - Oct 16, 1960

Cincinnati Enquirer - Nov 2, 1975

Posted By: Alex - Thu Sep 13, 2018 - Comments (1)
Category: Clubs, Fraternities and Other Self-selecting Organizations, Death, Air Travel and Airlines

British Bunnies

Serving drinks and the bill with your back to the customer is a weird thing, even if it is for sexy reasons.

Posted By: Paul - Wed Apr 04, 2018 - Comments (5)
Category: Clubs, Fraternities and Other Self-selecting Organizations, Sex Symbols, 1960s

Animal of the Month Club

Creative Playthings, Inc. of Princeton, New Jersey launched its "Animal of the Month Club" in 1968. For $19.95, subscribers received small animals in the mail— not actually every month as the name of the club implied, but every few months. The animals included Argentine toads, a "mystery snail," newts, musk turtles, African underwater frogs, and Siamese fish.

The club reflected Creative Playthings philosophy of "helping children to learn while they play." There was, unfortunately, one big problem with the execution of the concept. The animals kept dying in the mail. So, by 1970, the club was no more.

Tyrone Daily Herald - Apr 1, 1969

Akron Beacon Journal - Apr 20, 1969

Posted By: Alex - Tue Mar 06, 2018 - Comments (4)
Category: Animals, Clubs, Fraternities and Other Self-selecting Organizations, 1960s, Postal Services

Extra Milers

The Extra Miler Club is a group of people whose goal is to visit every county (and equivalent jurisdiction) in every state of the United States. That's 3,143 counties. Indian reservations don't count, although some visit them anyway. Parishes do count, as do independent cities.

If you finish the goal, you're called a "county completer." Only 51 people have joined this elite group, and they're all listed here.

More info: boston.com

Posted By: Alex - Sun Jul 09, 2017 - Comments (1)
Category: Clubs, Fraternities and Other Self-selecting Organizations, Hobbies and DIY, Travel, Collectors

Wild Ones on Wheels

Wild Ones On Wheels (1962) - Feature (Crime... by filmgorillas

Posted By: Paul - Sun Apr 23, 2017 - Comments (1)
Category: Clubs, Fraternities and Other Self-selecting Organizations, Motor Vehicles, Movies, Juvenile Delinquency, Bohemians, Beatniks, Hippies and Slackers, 1960s

Jim Smith Society

Jim Smith of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania founded the Jim Smith Society in 1969. There's only one rule for membership. Your name has to be Jim Smith, or some close variation of it. For instance, Jamie Smith counts, which means there's a few female members.

Smith said that he started the society as a way to show pride in having the second-most common name in the United States. The first-most common name is apparently John Smith.

I don't know if the original Jim Smith is still around. He'd be around 95 years old if he is. But the society is still going strong with over 2000 members. Its Facebook page is pretty active. Though its website hasn't been updated in over a year.

I wonder how many other names have their own society? I'd definitely join an Alex Boese Society if there was one. I know there are a few other people with my name out there, such as here, here, here, and here.

More info: NY Times (July 22, 1979)

Fort Myers News-Press - Oct 5, 1980

Posted By: Alex - Mon Jan 23, 2017 - Comments (3)
Category: Clubs, Fraternities and Other Self-selecting Organizations