Category:
Women

Means of protection for feminine wear

Thanks to Natalie Teeple's invention, women riding public transportation in the 1910s had the means to give a sharply pointed response if "mashers" pressed up against them.

It is well known that rude and flirtatious youths and men, "mashers," frequently avail themselves of the crowded condition of cars and other means of transportation to annoy and insult ladies next whom they may happen to be seated by pressing a knee or thigh against the adjacent knee or thigh of their feminine neighbor, who, as often happens is too timid or modest to create a disturbance by calling attention to the fact.

It is the object of my invention to guard against undue familiarity of the character designated by the provision of means whereby the offender is automatically warned, punished, and deterred from persistent offense; and to this end my invention consists primarily of an elastic resilient spring arranged in conjunction with a spur or prick and adapted to be attached to an under-skirt in such manner that when subjected to extraneous pressure the sharp point will protrude;

Compare this with the "defense shoes" of the 1950s.


Posted By: Alex - Sun Feb 26, 2023 - Comments (1)
Category: Patents, 1910s, Women

Live Alone And Like It

I posted two days ago about the 1937 book How To Live Without A Woman, which celebrated the bachelor lifestyle. But what about women who wanted to live without a man... or even without another woman? Marjorie Hillis's Live Alone And Like It (1936) was the book for them.

Based on the review below, it seems that while Hillis offered some good advice for women living alone, she was less persuasive about them liking it:

One gets the impression that the author, Marjorie Hillis, has herself lived in solitary state for quite a spell, doesn't think much of it, but has made the best of it.

You can read the book for free at archive.org.



Indianapolis Star - Oct 4, 1936

Posted By: Alex - Thu Feb 02, 2023 - Comments (4)
Category: Books, 1930s, Women

How to live without a woman

Alexander Wright's 1937 book, How To Live Without A Woman, was a celebration of bachelorhood. But it seems that Wright's strategy for life without a woman was to get his female friends to feel sorry for him and do his housework for him.

A woman friend will help you dispose of your useless accumulations. "They have not the slightest regard for the accumulations of others," Author Wright warns.

Mr Wright maintains with a little judicious flattery any woman will help solve a bachelor's housekeeping problems.

Doesn't really seem like he was living without a woman if he was still getting women to do all his work. And you have to wonder how long he managed to keep any female friends before they figured out what was going on.



Pittsburgh Press - Sep 18, 1938

Posted By: Alex - Tue Jan 31, 2023 - Comments (2)
Category: Gender, Men, Women, Books, 1930s

The Better Sex

Surely this could be rebooted for 2023 in our absolutely carefree and non-contentious cultural atmosphere.

The Wikipedia page.

Posted By: Paul - Tue Jan 03, 2023 - Comments (0)
Category: Games, Rivalries, Feuds and Grudges, Television, Men, Women

Follies of the Madmen #551

Posted By: Paul - Thu Dec 29, 2022 - Comments (4)
Category: Business, Advertising, Robots, Women, Twentieth Century

Betty Furness for Westinghouse



The weirdest thing about this commercial is the incredibly tiny waist of almost 40-year-old Betty Furness. I can't take my eyes off it.

NOTE: the first video runs slow, at least for me. Best to let it download entirely before hitting play.



Posted By: Paul - Sun Nov 06, 2022 - Comments (5)
Category: Body, Domestic, Television, Advertising, 1950s, Women, Natural Wonders

Girl Gang Dodge Ads

This campaign was kinda genius, because they never explained what brought these three or four or five or six "wild & crazy" women together. Were they a troupe of actresses? Bank robbers? Insane asylum escapees? Rogue fashion models? You could stare at the ads all day in wonderment.









Posted By: Paul - Wed Sep 14, 2022 - Comments (3)
Category: Unsolved Mysteries, Advertising, Women, Cars

Follies of the Madmen #541

Posted By: Paul - Tue Sep 06, 2022 - Comments (1)
Category: Advertising, Women, Weapons, Motorcycles

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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.

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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.

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