Censorship, Bluenoses, Taboos, Prohibitions and Other Cultural No-No’s
The Hays Code
We've all heard of the infamous Hays Code,which governed for decades what could and could not be shown in a Hollywood film. But have you ever had a chance to actually read its 24 pages? Well, you do now!Text here.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Oct 08, 2024 -
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Category: Censorship, Bluenoses, Taboos, Prohibitions and Other Cultural No-No’s, Movies, Twentieth Century
The Strange (spurious) Will of Francesca Nortyuege
In various books of odd facts one can find, briefly related, the story of the strange last will of Francesca Nortyuege. The story goes that when Nortyuege, a famous reformer from Dieze, died in 1903 she left her fortune to her niece on the condition that the family goldfish always be kept dressed in tights.I pasted an illustrated version of the story below, from Mindblowers (1982) by Chet Stover. But it also appears in Karl Shaw's Oddballs and Eccentrics (2004), as well as in many newspaper columns.
Los Angeles Times - July 13, 1954
I suspected the story wasn't true, but it took me a while to locate its source — due to the many variant spellings of Nortyuege (Nortuega, Nortyuega, etc.). Finally I tracked it down to R.L. Ripley's 1929 Believe It Or Not!. I'm confident it's not true because there's absolutely no mention of Francesca Nortyuege in any source before Ripley's 1929 book came out.
Robert L. Ripley, Believe it or Not!
I've posted my thoughts about Ripley before — that I think he invented many of his stories. See, for example, the post "Clothes for Snowmen" about Madame de la Bresse who was said to have died in 1876, instructing in her will that all her money be used for buying clothes for snowmen. Another Ripley invention, and one that is quite similar to the tale of Francesca Nortyuege. Ripley was evidently amused by the idea of people imposing puritanical demands on their heirs.
Perhaps the most widespread invention from Ripley's 1929 book is the story of Lady Gough's book of etiquette.
This story has been repeated all over the place (google it and see), and again it's an anecdote about an overly prudish character. But as the Faktoider blog notes, Lady Gough never wrote a book on etiquette. Nor did she even exist.
Posted By: Alex - Fri Aug 23, 2024 -
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Category: Censorship, Bluenoses, Taboos, Prohibitions and Other Cultural No-No’s, Inheritance and Wills
A vulgar tip to save gas
In 1974, the UK's South East Gas Board (SEGAS) solicited gas-saving tips from the public. It awarded prizes of £10 to those who offered the best tips and published their tips in a full-page ad.Conservative politician John Stokes subsequently denounced the ad as "deplorably vulgar and in the worst possible taste."
Can you figure out why? The answer is in extended.
More in extended >>
Posted By: Alex - Wed Jul 17, 2024 -
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Category: Censorship, Bluenoses, Taboos, Prohibitions and Other Cultural No-No’s, Public Utilities, Advertising, 1970s
Marty Snyder, the blind movie censor
Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart famously said, when asked to define pornography, "I know it when I see it."Marty Snyder couldn't see it, but he figured he would know it anyway, especially if the person sitting next to him filled him in on what he was missing.
Snyder ended up serving on the Clarkstown censorship panel for less than a year because he died of a stroke in 1974.
South Mississippi Sun - Oct 25, 1973
Posted By: Alex - Fri Aug 25, 2023 -
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Category: Censorship, Bluenoses, Taboos, Prohibitions and Other Cultural No-No’s, 1970s, Eyes and Vision
Immorality of artificial legs
Mrs. J.D. Grudger is the perfect name for a bluenose.
Wichita Daily Times - Dec 9, 1928
Posted By: Alex - Mon Jun 26, 2023 -
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Category: Censorship, Bluenoses, Taboos, Prohibitions and Other Cultural No-No’s, 1920s
Nudists eject clothed parson
Dr. Braxton B. Sawyer was an anti-nudist activist. In August 1954 he attempt to gain entry into the American Sunshine Bathing Association Convention in order to film the people inside and thereby expose "the national threat of nudism." Guards at the door told him he was welcome in but only if he followed the rules that applied to everyone — that he first remove all his clothes. He refused and was eventually forcibly ejected.
San Francisco Examiner - Aug 6, 1954
In addition to crusading against nudism, Sawyer was also well known as a dog breeder and American Kennel Club judge. His article, The Value of the Brood Bitch, is available online.
Posted By: Alex - Thu Feb 23, 2023 -
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Category: Censorship, Bluenoses, Taboos, Prohibitions and Other Cultural No-No’s, 1950s
Whore to Score
How times have changed. Now, "whore" is practically G-rated.The album cut below retains "whore."
Source.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Nov 15, 2022 -
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Category: Censorship, Bluenoses, Taboos, Prohibitions and Other Cultural No-No’s, Music, 1970s, Swears
Mother Goose Controversy
1937: I don't know how Khrushchev would have felt about the Mother Goose mural painted on a wall at the Glenn Dale Sanatorium outside Washington D.C., but health officer Dr. George Rhuland felt it was "grotesque" and ordered it painted over. I think he was eventually overruled.I'm not sure what he found objectionable about it. Perhaps he didn't like the modernist style.
Meanwhile, the Glenn Dale Sanatorium has since become an abandoned relic, which remains standing, rather than being torn down, because of the asbestos remediation costs.
North Adams Transcript - Nov 19, 1937
Posted By: Alex - Thu May 12, 2022 -
Comments (1)
Category: Art, Censorship, Bluenoses, Taboos, Prohibitions and Other Cultural No-No’s, 1930s
Hidden images in comic books
In Seduction of the Innocent, published in 1954, Fredric Wertham accused comic books of corrupting youth. One of the specific ways they did this, he alleged, was by concealing images of naked women in seemingly inoffensive panels. He helpfully reproduced one of these hidden images in his book.The image in question originally appeared in Jungle Comics #98, Feb 1948.
via Legends & Rumors
Posted By: Alex - Mon Apr 25, 2022 -
Comments (4)
Category: Censorship, Bluenoses, Taboos, Prohibitions and Other Cultural No-No’s, Comics
Jazz Emotions
The Rock Island Argus - Feb 8, 1926
Posted By: Alex - Sun Apr 24, 2022 -
Comments (2)
Category: Babies, Censorship, Bluenoses, Taboos, Prohibitions and Other Cultural No-No’s, Music, 1920s
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