Follies of the Mad Men #51

[From Life magazine for March 8 1954. Two scans, top and bottom.]

Not even the super-science of Captain Video can make your breath tolerable!

Posted By: Paul - Wed Jan 07, 2009 - Comments (5)
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, Hygiene, Science Fiction, 1950s

Who Fools the Foolkiller?

The creative folks at Marvel Comics pride themselves on the fact that their fictional universe closely mirrors the real one--with the addition of superheroes, natch.

For instance, Spider-Man operates in New York City, not some imaginary "Metropolis."

And when the President of the USA is depicted, it's not Lex Luthor, but the real office-holder of the moment.

But the recent issue number four of the miniseries Foolkiller reveals a startling incongruity between the Marvelverse and ours.

Either that, or scripter Gregg Hurwitz and editor Axel Alonso have never ridden in an actual airplane before.

You see in this page the fat victim of the trained assassin enter a lavatory on a commercial flight. We'll give Hurwitz and Alonso props for mentioning that it's a tight fit. Nonetheless, enormous victim and killer somehow squeeze in together, whereupon the lav suddenly enlarges like a Tardis.

And then the killer drowns his victim in the potty.

Airline toilets simply do not feature basins of standing water. They operate with the push of a button and a sparse rinse of famous blue chemicals.

This killing, then, requires a larger suspension of disbelief than the existence of the entire Avengers, and will surely jolt any half-awake reader completely out of the attempt at realism.

That's just weird.

Posted By: Paul - Fri Jan 02, 2009 - Comments (7)
Category: Hygiene, Stupidity, Comics

Nose Bidets

A "nose bidet" (also known as a neti pot) is a device used for nasal irrigation. I'm not really sure how it works, but I think it involves pouring water into one nostril so that it comes out the other. Wikipedia reports that in some parts of India, this practice is as common as brushing one's teeth.

But even better is the yogic nasal cleansing practice of Sutra Neti:


I already floss my teeth once a day. I don't think I need to floss my nose.

(The picture is from yoga-age.com)

Posted By: Alex - Fri Jan 02, 2009 - Comments (1)
Category: Body, Hygiene

Jesus Freak Documentary

A fascinating time capsule from 1971. Thirty minutes long, but watch at least the first five or so.

Posted By: Paul - Sat Dec 27, 2008 - Comments (1)
Category: Bums, Hobos, Tramps, Beggars, Panhandlers and Other Streetpeople, Drugs, Eccentrics, Family, Children, Parents, Hygiene, Nature, New Age, Pop Culture, Religion, 1970s, Facial Hair, Yesterday’s Tomorrows

Shampoo allows deaf girl to play violin

This video raises two interesting questions:

a) What in the world does it have to do with shampoo?
b) How can a deaf person learn to play a musical instrument?

Some answers to the second question can be found at physorg.com, which notes that deaf people can feel the vibration of sound. Therefore, percussion instruments that make a lot of vibrations are the easiest for them to learn. But what highly accomplished deaf musicians (such as Beethoven and Evelyn Glennie) share is "musical training, perfect pitch and excellent hearing before they suffered its loss."

Posted By: Alex - Sun Dec 21, 2008 - Comments (1)
Category: Hygiene, Music, Video, Advertising

Emergency Porta Potty

When disaster strikes, be prepared:


Or take one to the big game so you never have to miss a minute of play! Available for $37 from officezone.com.

Posted By: Alex - Tue Dec 02, 2008 - Comments (5)
Category: Bathrooms, Hygiene, Excrement

Follies of the Mad Men #37

[From Life magazine for June 9 1952.]

We saw how the advertising industry created the concept of "B.O." for "body odor." Here, less successfully, they tried to triple the problem. Note how coyly the term "other personal odors" is used to refer to farting.

Is there any scientific proof that chlorophyll tablets do anything in the human body?

And don't you just love the look of disgust on that gal's face?

Posted By: Paul - Mon Oct 13, 2008 - Comments (12)
Category: Body, Business, Advertising, Products, Frauds, Cons and Scams, Hygiene, Medicine, Obsessions, 1950s

Joan Avoids A Cold

As the weather becomes colder, let us all pay heed to our health, so that we may all stay well to attend the "Dutch Festival" of our choice.

Posted By: Paul - Mon Oct 06, 2008 - Comments (5)
Category: Domestic, Education, Family, Children, Parents, Hygiene, Body Fluids, Parades and Festivals, Self-help Schemes, 1940s

Color It Clean

So long as we've started a toilet thread, let's all watch "Color It Clean," so that we appreciate the men and women who maintain our public lavatories.



This film reminds me of Barney Gumble's autobiographical entry in the Springfield Film Festival. I could find the clip only in Italian, but that adds a certain frisson to the viewing experience, I think.

Posted By: Paul - Fri Oct 03, 2008 - Comments (3)
Category: Bathrooms, Buildings and Other Structures, Bums, Hobos, Tramps, Beggars, Panhandlers and Other Streetpeople, Hygiene, Body Fluids, Excrement, Inebriation and Intoxicants, Television, Documentaries, 1960s

$500 Toilet Seat

Goodness! I thought $500 toilet seats were only available to the Armed Forces! But you can have one too, if you visit this site.

Posted By: Paul - Fri Oct 03, 2008 - Comments (12)
Category: Business, Products, Hygiene, Body Fluids, Excrement, Inventions, Foreign Customs