A Brief History of Westernized Snake Dances

Choose your favorite.













I believe that "Janik and Amaut" are really Harold and Lola Leibman, as seen in the final clip. More about their eccentric careers here.

Posted By: Paul - Tue May 30, 2017 - Comments (2)
Category: Animals, Sex Symbols, Dance

Pack It Right

This Department of the Army video continually uses a woman in a well-stuffed bikini to illustrate how to "pack it right."

Posted By: Paul - Tue Mar 28, 2017 - Comments (1)
Category: Government, PSA's, Sex Symbols, 1970s

Why Can’t My Teacher Look Like Mr. Novak?

I like the bits of "Monster Mash" stuff that are gratuitously inserted.

Of course, students lusting after teachers is now the stuff of prison sentences.

Understand the central reference here.

Posted By: Paul - Wed Nov 30, 2016 - Comments (2)
Category: Education, Music, Television, Sex Symbols, Teenagers, 1960s

Things Named After Mae West

Mae West in "She Done Him Wrong" (1933)

Actress and sex symbol Mae West cast a large shadow over popular culture, as can be seen by the number of things named after her.

1. Life Preservers

The inflatable life preservers used in WWII were often referred to as "Mae Wests" because they gave their wearers the appearance of having a large chest (wikipedia).

2. Parachute Malfunction

A "blown periphery" parachute malfunction causes the canopy to contort into the shape of a giant brassiere, and so is referred to as the "Mae West" malfunction (wikipedia).

3. Newfoundland Islands

The Isaacs islands in Newfoundland were named "Mae West" by American sailors stationed at nearby Argentia Naval Base, and the name seems to have stuck. The caption for the above image (found in "US Navy PBY Catalina Units of the Atlantic War") reads, "Groundcrewmen load water-filled practice bombs onto a PBY-5A from VP-6(CG) at Argentia in 1944. The twin mounds in the background were called 'Mae West' after the sex goddess, who incidentally had her roots in Newfoundland."

4. Gas Generator

Chemists nicknamed the Kipp Gas Generator the "Mae West" (Life magazine).

5. Coca-Cola Bottle

After the Coca Cola Company introduced the "contour" bottle in 1915, it quickly became known as the "Mae West bottle" (Story of the Coca-Cola bottle).

In 1937, the couturier Elsa Schiaparelli launched her "Shocking" perfume, in a bottle whose shape was directly inspired by Mae West (FIDM Museum). So this doesn't count as something named after her, but is still something in her image.

Finally, I've even found a reference to a "Mae West Theory of Islamic Terrorism" — the theory being that sexual frustration is the root cause of much Islamic terrorism.

Posted By: Alex - Mon Aug 22, 2016 - Comments (8)
Category: Sex Symbols

Mystery Illustration 27

Which regional magazine of the fifty states decided this would be a good way to illustrate the pleasures of summer?

The answer is here.

Posted By: Paul - Thu Aug 11, 2016 - Comments (7)
Category: Art, Magazines, Regionalism, Sex Symbols, Junk Food, 1970s

“Sex” by Shirley Bassey

Posted By: Paul - Sun Jul 10, 2016 - Comments (2)
Category: Music, Sexuality, Sex Symbols, 1950s

Bummer

"Flower children are just for plucking!"

Bare female chestal portions in film.

Posted By: Paul - Thu Mar 31, 2016 - Comments (6)
Category: Movies, Music, Pop Art, Sex Symbols, Bohemians, Beatniks, Hippies and Slackers, 1970s

Jerry Lewis & Miss Cartilage

Posted By: Paul - Mon Nov 16, 2015 - Comments (2)
Category: Humor, Surrealism, Sex Symbols, 1960s, Dance

Amusements of Our Forefathers

Both ads here.

Posted By: Paul - Sat Oct 24, 2015 - Comments (1)
Category: Humor, Tobacco and Smoking, Sex Symbols, 1950s

Rosita Royce:  Dance of the Doves

The YouTube host of this video complains that Rosita does not use doves in her dance, but other birds, thus misrepresenting herself. But as we can see from this article, that is a mere technicality, since Rosita was quite intimate with doves also.

Posted By: Paul - Tue Sep 29, 2015 - Comments (4)
Category: Animals, Public Indecency, Sex Symbols, 1930s, Dance