Follies of the Madmen #526

Are these supposed to be 18-year-old coeds at university? If so, why do they look 45?

From the SATURDAY EVENING POST for 1/14/1961.

Posted By: Paul - Thu Feb 17, 2022 - Comments (8)
Category: Business, Advertising, Stereotypes and Cliches, Soda, Pop, Soft Drinks and other Non-Alcoholic Beverages, 1960s, Women

Ann Frickman, Sharpshooter

During World War II, one of the best rifle shots in the United States was a housewife — Ann Frickman. Remarkably, she hadn't grown up shooting rifles. She first picked up a rifle in her late twenties, and eighteen months later she was beating the Army's top sharpshooters.

San Francisco Examiner - Dec 20, 1942

Pasadena Star News - Feb 24, 1942

Posted By: Alex - Tue Feb 15, 2022 - Comments (0)
Category: 1940s, Women, Weapons

The Mentality of the Criminal Woman

Read it here.



The majority of the book consists of dry statistical tables and charts of the tests given to the subjects.



But in the latter third of the study, conclusions begin to be drawn.

Posted By: Paul - Thu Jan 13, 2022 - Comments (1)
Category: Science, Studies, Reports, White Papers, Investigations, 1910s, Women

What Demoralized the Barber Shop

Trollops disconcert some gentlemen. It's amazing the customer in the chair did not have his throat cut.

Posted By: Paul - Tue Dec 28, 2021 - Comments (0)
Category: Public Indecency, Women, Nineteenth Century, Hair and Hairstyling

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