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Raquel Not Included
A history of the Concord grape.
A history of the Concorde.
Methodist History: Communion and Welch’s Grape Juice
The approach in the advertising copy is… interesting. “We spent a lot of money on advertising, so give us your money.”
Continue reading“I’d punch the copywriter, but…” [shrugs]
15 Things You Should Know About ‘Venus de Milo’
Were Kellogg’s Corn Flakes Created as an ‘Anti-Masturbatory Morning Meal’?
Continue readingIt’s a pinky tinky!
Pink was a surprise, but then again, maybe not. An eBay/Etsy search shows that this device was available in Sea Mist Green, Amber Gray, Alpine Blue, or Capri Coral (pink to me). Yes, long before the iMac.
Hmm… It looks like division wasn’t quite invented yet. Well, it is an adding machine after all.
For the curious:
Today seems like a good day to read a brief history of the numeric keypad!
Can’t leave out the modern age!
Continue readingAmerica’s Hot New Success Car… There are success cars?
The Torino was an upscale variation of the Ford Fairlane, eventually replacing it. Sorry, Andrew Dice Clay.
The car was named after Turin, the home of a certain shroud.
You might notice some shared DNA with a certain ’73 Ford Falcon used in a dusty Australian movie.
And don’t forget about The Striped Tomato.
Continue readingFor all your fiberglass horses needs.
Just when you thought it couldn’t get any better than gen-u-ine fiberglass horses, it turns out Bob Prewitt of Prewitt Fiberglass Products is also the guy behind all those giant roadside mascots you might know better as Paul Bunyans or Muffler Men scattered across America. Stuckey’s will tell ya more!
These guys are living their best lives.
And of course, Roadside America is a deliciously deep and rich source of Muffler Men maps and mythology as well.
Continue readingThis cover kinda makes me want to become a lepidopterist.
The cover art is by J. C. Leyendecker, just some dude who inspired Norman Rockwell. Rockwell would later be one of the pallbearers at Leyendecker’s funeral.
Do you remember the butterfly life cycle? It’s completely metamorphosis-y.
Where did the word “Easter” come from? Get your etymology on.
Lepidopterist? There’s a society for that.
J. C.’s brother, F. X., created the butterfly lady that was on an old Life magazine cover and later seen on the wall of the “Three’s Company” apartment.
The Bag
Plastic bag up in the tree.
Far beyond the reach of me.
Flapping loudly in the wind.
Ripped and torn without a mend.
Who were you in newer days,
Before your rotting branch malaise?
Maybe Walmart. Maybe Sam’s.
Maybe filled with litter sands.
Were you from a dollar store,
Or were you meant for something more?
Whatever it was you held inside,
Your ending’s most undignified.
“Hurry up and paint the ad! This thing is effin’ heavy!”
The curious type in the Liquid Veneer is neither italic nor oblique. I’m not sure what you’d call it. Bizarro-oblique? Mirroritalic? Hmm.
Liquid Veneer was a product of the Buffalo Specialty Co.
They also made hacksaws and grinders.
I’m guessing it’s a bad idea to use Liquid Veneer for dental veneers.
Continue readingThe technology of yesterday, today.
The Fantastic and Troubled History of the Video Phone
Continue reading