Women
The Blonde Brigade
Apr 1938: Actress Jean Colwell came up with a sure-fire way to end all wars. Her idea was that if a group of beautiful, blonde women stood in between the two opposing armies, in the "no man's land," then the soldiers on each side would refuse to attack because "No soldier will shoot at a good-looking blonde." Peace would be achieved!To make her vision a reality, Colwell placed an ad in a New York newspaper:
The response was enthusiastic, and within a month she had enough volunteers to form a "blonde brigade," all wiling to risk their lives for peace.
Wisconsin State Journal - Mar 29, 1938
Los Angeles Times - Apr 27, 1938
Owensboro Messenger - Apr 2, 1938
Women of other hair colors didn't want to be left out. So there was soon also a "red-headed regiment" and a "brunette battalion."
San Bernardino County Sun - Apr 30, 1938
Of course, none of these women were ever shipped to the front line to serve as a human shield. Colwell herself spent the war in Forth Worth, Texas performing in plays. After the war she moved to Japan as a civil service worker. When she died in 1986, she was back in Fort Worth. I haven't found any info on what she did between 1946 and 1986.
Posted By: Alex - Sun Nov 14, 2021 -
Comments (4)
Category: War, 1930s, Women, Hair and Hairstyling
Follies of the Madmen #517
Posted By: Paul - Tue Oct 12, 2021 -
Comments (0)
Category: Business, Advertising, Tobacco and Smoking, Women
Artificial Girls of 1940
Posted By: Paul - Sat Aug 28, 2021 -
Comments (2)
Category: Fairs, Amusement Parks, and Resorts, Puppets and Automatons, 1940s, Women
“in the Gay Nightlife of Rome, Trouser Parties Are Setting the Pace”
Posted By: Paul - Fri Aug 06, 2021 -
Comments (1)
Category: Fashion, 1960s, Women, United Kingdom
Follies of the Madmen #512
We all know of course that "BO" was a frequently used advertising term for body odor. But I never saw another ad that tried to push "BO-BO" as an insult.
Ad source.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Jul 25, 2021 -
Comments (1)
Category: Hygiene, Advertising, Women
Battle of the Amazons
Maybe the popularity of the WONDER WOMAN films will cause this gem to be reissued.The IMDB page.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Jun 26, 2021 -
Comments (1)
Category: History, Ineptness, Crudity, Talentlessness, Kitsch, and Bad Art, Movies, 1970s, Women
Fire-Breathing Woman
In April 1940, Linda Lancaster Dodge Stratton was granted a patent for the "cigar or cigarette lighter" shown below. Its novel feature was that it was shaped like a fire-breathing woman. Or, as Stratton put it, "in the shape of a human figure artistically posed with the igniting means located in the mouth and ignited and extinguished by the movement of the head to open and close the mouth thereof through the manual movement of the arms toward and from the mouth."It kinda looks like a fire-breathing Barbie. Though it predates Barbie by almost 20 years.
The patent said this woman was to be "constructed in a pocket or a table size." It would definitely be a conversation piece to have a table-size version of her in your home.
Posted By: Alex - Sun Apr 04, 2021 -
Comments (4)
Category: Inventions, Patents, Smoking and Tobacco, 1940s, Women
Dodge La Femme
1955: Chrysler introduced the Dodge La Femme, a two-door, pink-and-white sedan "for the discriminating modern woman".
source: DodgeLaFemme.com
In an attempt to make the car irresistible to women, Dodge also threw in a pink leather handbag that contained "cigarette lighter and case, compact, lipstick and other feminine items covered in matching pink leather." Plus, "a vinyl raincoat and stylish sou'wester hat, printed in the same pink shade and pattern as the Jacquard upholstery." And a matching pink umbrella!
But even with all this, the car failed to appeal to consumers. However, because fewer than 2500 of them were ever made, the car is now sought after by collectors.
More info: wikipedia
St. Louis Post-Dispatch - Apr 10, 1955
Posted By: Alex - Sat Apr 03, 2021 -
Comments (3)
Category: Gender, Women, 1950s, Cars
Feminine Hygiene Ads 70s, 80s, 90s
Maybe nearly 500 of these ads is a little excessive for one playlist? See what you think! Here's the first, below, and the rest are here.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Feb 21, 2021 -
Comments (0)
Category: Business, Advertising, Hygiene, Women, Twentieth Century
How to Succeed With Brunettes
Posted By: Paul - Sun Jan 31, 2021 -
Comments (0)
Category: Annoying Things, Antisocial Activities, Customs, Emotions, Etiquette and Formal Behavior, PSA’s, 1960s, Men, Women
| Who We Are |
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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 |