Norma Smallwood's victory in the 1926 Miss America contest was widely credited to her long, straight hair, which was widely admired. So it made news when she decided to get a permanent wave. It also made an unusual photo.
Standing with her, below, was Charles Nessler, inventor of the permanent wave machine. (More info about him here.)
I haven't been able to find any photos showing what she looked like after getting the permanent wave. In fact, in all the later photos her hair still seems very straight. Perhaps she didn't like the result.
I doubt this actually cured anyone, but as the article notes, it was certainly an improvement on the old way of treating mental illness.
None of the experts who have worked out these remarkable experiments in mental hygiene is particularly interested in the mere appearance of his patients. It is worth no money to the State of Illinois or to the County of Essex to make its insane wards look pretty. Were that the only object the beauty parlors would not be there. That they are there, and that other insane hospitals propose to install equivalents, is proof of the fact that the beauty parlor and what it stands for have definite value in aiding the cure of insanity. . .
Rouge, powder, lipsticks, eyebrow pencils and all the other implements of artificial beauty are provided, so that the women can make up to their heart's content, regardless of the somewhat weird results sometimes obtained... It is a part of the system to let the "customer" direct her own beautification as much as is possible.
Gus Comstock of Minnesota set a record back in 1927 by drinking 85 cups of coffee in 7 hours and 15 minutes.
Bridgewater Courier-News - Jan 18, 1927
Others subsequently claimed to have beaten his record. Albert Baker of San Francisco claimed to have drunk 157 cups of coffee in 6 hours 20 minutes. However, Comstock complained that there was nothing official about his challenger's claims. They just said they had beaten his record. And Comstock ended up being the most well-remembered champion coffee drinker. Stumbeano's Coffee Roasters (located in Comstock's home town of Fergus Falls) now sells a "Gus Comstock Blend" of coffee.
I once ate at a restaurant in Medellin, Colombia, which featured a massive tree in the dining area that grew up through the roof. The urge to blend trees with houses is an ancient one.
If you inherited a ton of money at a young age, you too might be confused about how to live. At first, you might radically decide not to accept the fortune. Then, you might decide to use it for charitable purposes. Finally, you might opt to establish a free-love commune.
After his separation from his wife, Garland established two successive agricultural communes, or "colonies of idealists", both named April Farm.[19] The first April Farm, in which Garland lived from January 1922, was at North Carver, Massachusetts.[22] In 1924, Garland moved to a new "April Farm" in Lower Milford Township, Pennsylvania.[19]
Garland scandalized polite society by inviting young women to live with him at these colonies, where he planned to "work out the problems of life".
Naturally, newspapers had a field day with all this.
The NuGrape Twins were a Georgia blues and gospel duo who recorded in the 1920s. Very little is known about them. Were they really twins? No one knows.
What is clear is that they liked NuGrape soda. They only recorded six songs (all for Columbia Records), and two of them were about NuGrape. "I've Got Your Ice-Cold NuGrape" is considered to be their masterpiece. Dylan Kenny, of Yale Daily News, writes, "it’s catchy, it’s weird, it’s an excellent pop song."
Were the NuGrape Twins being paid by NuGrape to sing these songs? Again, no one knows. It seems more likely that they were just big fans of the soda.
I'd never heard of NuGrape soda before, but apparently it's still available. Though it's hard to find outside of the southeast United States.
One of the minor annoyances of going to a theater is having your view blocked if someone in front of you gets up from their seat. Or having to stand from your seat to let someone get by.
Back in 1924, Louis Duprey patented a solution to this problem. He envisioned a theater in which guests would enter through a subchamber, get into their seats, and then be raised upwards by a hydraulic lift, through a trapdoor, into the theater itself. Anyone who wanted to leave early could simply lower themself back down, disturbing no one else.
It's an over-engineered solution to a minor problem, but I would happily pay extra, at least once, to experience a theater like this. Though I'd probably spend the entire time going up and down in my chair.
I have three references to this contest, from 1929, 1963 and 1967. No firm idea of how long it lasted, if it's still going on, or if it was held faithfully every year.
Puccini's opera 'La 66Bohème' was performed as a special performance for the Esperantists. Finally, Miss Maria Wenczel from Hungary was chosen as 'Miss Esperanto 1963'. Diethilde Magori from Germany and Helen Salmos from Sweden took second and third place in this competition. After the end of the congress, the young people drove to Sofija in a special caravan, where they were expected by the 48th Esperanto World Congress.
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.