Perfection Is Not Timeless

Miss Elsie Scheel was proclaimed the perfect female specimen in a 1912 New York Times piece. At 5'7" and 171 pounds, how far from ideal would she be proclaimed to be today? Perhaps some of the hysterics over the 'obesity epidemic' are a matter of perspective and cultural norms. On the other hand, she was a blue eyed blonde, so that preference holds.

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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 - Sun Dec 30, 2012
Category: Obesity

Comments

Yes I am aware that there is an obesity problem, but, the solution does not involve proclaiming anyone who is 20 pounds over what is proclaimed to be their normal BMI as morbidly obese. Hystarical tactics do not play well and tend to make most people less rather than more concerned about any given problem.

Posted by Patty in Ohio, USA on 12/30/12 at 01:04 PM

This "perfect specimen" was selected from 400 college girls! In 1912 most of America was rural, so, where was their representation?

Posted by Expat47 in Athens, Greece on 12/30/12 at 01:06 PM

Yes, I like big buts and I cannot lie.

Posted by ICannotLie on 12/30/12 at 02:35 PM

Farm girls would have been bigger most likely. More muscular too.

Posted by Patty in Ohio, USA on 12/30/12 at 02:56 PM

What a sensible assessment: she radiated health. Why obsess about other things?

Me, I'm just going to wait until my profile comes back into vogue (out of shape).

Posted by Harvey on 12/30/12 at 03:29 PM

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