Miss Gary Cigaret

In 1944, a newspaper in Gary, Indiana held a beauty contest to select a "Miss Gary Cigaret." The public were encouraged to vote, with each vote costing five cents. All the funds raised would be used to send cigarettes to American soldiers.

Over $15,000 was eventually raised, which was able to buy six million cigarettes (or 300,000 packs).

The contest winner, Irene Kuchta, got to model a bathing suit made of cigarettes.

Vidette-Messenger of Porter County - Sep 22, 1944

Windsor Star - Sep 9, 1944

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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 forty years, in his career as a noted science fiction writer. Contact Us

Posted By: Alex - Fri Apr 05, 2024
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests | Fashion | Smoking and Tobacco | 1940s

Comments

Sounds like cigarettes cost 5 cents a pack. I tried to find the price of cigarettes in 1944 and the closest I got was someone reminiscing that his father sent him to the store in 1940 to buy cigarettes and gave him 7 cents. Presumably 5 cents was what the manufacturer charged in bulk. In any case, it's no wonder so many people smoked. Five cents (or 7 cents) back then would be right around a dollar in today's money. Average price in the US today is $8.

Posted by ges on 04/05/24 at 03:53 PM

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