Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests
Legs of Tomorrow
In 1939, ice skater Erna Anderson was declared to have the "Legs of Tomorrow" on the theory that "the woman of tomorrow will be more athletic."Arguably this prediction came true. At least, it's common now for women to go to gyms, whereas it wasn't in the 1930s.
Minneapolis Star - June 2, 1939
Erna Anderson. Source: New York Public Library
Posted By: Alex - Mon May 09, 2022 -
Comments (7)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Exercise and Fitness, 1930s, Legs, Yesterday’s Tomorrows
Lamp Shade Queen
Pittsburgh Press - Apr 2, 1939
Posted By: Alex - Fri May 06, 2022 -
Comments (0)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Fashion, Furniture, 1930s
Fur Queens of the Manitoba Trappers Festival
A while back, we had a look at Manitoba's Trout Festival "Mermaid Queens."Now we have their regal compatriots, the Fur Queens.
Posted By: Paul - Mon Apr 25, 2022 -
Comments (2)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Hunting, Trapping and Other Wilderness Activities, 1960s, North America
Miss Sauerkraut of 1947
Being named Miss Sauerkraut of 1947 seems to have been a high point of Alice Niesen's modeling career.
Ithaca Journal - Aug 1, 1947
The only other example of her work that I could find was a 1948 piece in which she modeled the "sock pocket".
The Frederick Leader - Jan 19, 1948
Posted By: Alex - Tue Apr 12, 2022 -
Comments (1)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Food, 1940s
The Grape Day Queen of Escondido
The official page.Grape Day started in 1908 as a way to celebrate Escondido's grape harvest and promote the city. It flourished until 1950 and was revived by the Escondido History Center in 1996. Each year in October*, our community comes together to celebrate Grape Day.
An article from 2006.
The 1949 candidates, courtesy of the Weekly Times-Advocate (Escondido, California)19 Aug 1949, Fri Page 6
The 1913 winner.
Source: Times-Advocate (Escondido, California)18 Feb 1973, Sun Page 8
Posted By: Paul - Sat Apr 09, 2022 -
Comments (1)
Category: Agriculture, Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Regionalism, Twentieth Century, Twenty-first Century
Senior Center King and Queen
A rather more-famous photo to join our legion of "Strange Beauty Queens."
Diane Arbus The King and Queen of a Senior Citizens Dance, N.Y.C., 1970
Posted By: Paul - Wed Apr 06, 2022 -
Comments (3)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Elderly and Seniors, 1970s
Oklahoma U. Engineers’ Queen
Apparently the University of Oklahoma has a long tradition of the Engineering Department electing a queen, and then risking her being kidnapped by the Law School.Read a history of the OU Engineering School here.
I found a pretty recent reference to the continuation of the Queen's election, but not necessarily the kidnapping.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Mar 31, 2022 -
Comments (1)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Regionalism, Rivalries, Feuds and Grudges, 1920s, 1930s, 1950s, Universities, Colleges, Private Schools and Academia, Twenty-first Century
Miss Cloak and Dagger
Aug 1957: Pat Strasser was awarded the title of Miss Cloak and Dagger at the National Counter Intelligence Corps Association's 10th annual convention.Miss Strasser, who is 5 feet 6 inches tall and weighs 118 in a bathing suit, was judged along with nine other finalists by a unique system that considered only one part of her shapely anatomy at a time.
First the 1,000 delegates scored the girls on legs, while the rest of their bodies were hidden. They worked their way up from there and the score cards were fed into the IBM machine.
San Francisco Examiner - Aug 4, 1957
Posted By: Alex - Sun Mar 27, 2022 -
Comments (0)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Spies and Intelligence Services, 1950s
Miss Beatnik of 1959
Further text at this link.
Posted By: Paul - Mon Mar 14, 2022 -
Comments (3)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Bohemians, Beatniks, Hippies and Slackers, 1950s
Miss Magic Marker 1954
Posted By: Paul - Thu Mar 03, 2022 -
Comments (6)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Offices, Business Supplies, Institutional Regulations, 1950s
| Who We Are |
|---|
| 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 |