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Telephone management skills, 1957 edition: Stephen Potter
From the wonderful blog "Vintage Scans," a page from Lifemanship lesson from Stephen Potter, 1957 (11th impression). Potter was a British writer known for dry, mocking, self-help books, and the TV and...
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The revenge of the lawn
This is the house at Terror Street and Agony Way. From the outside, it looks innocuous enough, a stucco-clad box in the Spanish Colonial Revival style ubiquitous in ‘20s L.A. Don’t be fooled: it was...
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The IBM 1620, an affordable “scientific computer” from 1959.
The IBM 1620 was released by IBM on October 21, 1959, touted as an inexpensive "scientific computer." (more…)
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Watch: DeSotos in space!
A fantastic TV commercial for DeSoto automobiles from 1957. (via Weird Universe)
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In 1958 Egyptian audience laughs over proposal for women to wear head scarfs
https://youtu.be/TX4RK8bj2W0 In 1958 Gamal Abdel Nasser, the second president of Egypt, gave a speech in which he mocked the Muslim Brotherhood for proposing that women be required to cover their heads...
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How to win the Soap Box Derby - a high schooler's essay from 1957
My late father-in-law, Joe, was born and raised in Los Angeles, growing up during the heyday of hot rod culture. When I knew him he drove Corvettes and Camaros. In high school, Joe and his brother...
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Fun book about toys of the '50s, '60s and '70s
There are lots of books about baby boomer toys, but this fun collection is presented from the viewpoint of the kids who played with the toys and includes lots of personal memories and photographs....
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The origin story of Vampira
Our friends at Feral House books gave us this excerpt from Sandra Niemi's excellent new biography, Glamour Ghoul—The Passions and Pain of the Real Vampira, Maila Nurmi. Vampira is an icon of horror,...
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Watch: 32 opening themes from forgotten 1950s TV shows
I'm surprised I've never heard of these old TV shows. It's like they came from an alternate universe. Norby? In any case, the animation, lettering, and music is nice. [via r/ObscureMedia]
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This 1952 Mr. Potato Head spot was the first TV commercial targeted at kids
u/Keltik says: "[In 1952] Mr. Potato Head became the first toy advertised on TV and the first ad campaign to be aimed directly at children — previously toy ads were always aimed at parents. It...
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This clown sure likes Sugar Rice Krinkles in this 1956 TV spot
This friendly clown is thrilled to be eating a bowl of Sugar Rice Krinkles in this 1956 commercial. The video begins when Krinkles the clown pops his head out of a miniature house with a rooster on...
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Watch down-on-his-luck cowboy star Hoot Gibson in a 1954 infomercial for...
"Find out what chinchillas can mean to your future security." That's the message for viewers who tuned into The Hoot Gibson Show in 1954. Hoot Gibson was born in Tekamah, Nebraska in 1892. When he was...
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This 1950s Sugar Crisp Cereal commercial sparks joy
This adorable 1950s commercial for Sugar Crisp Cereal surpasses the cuteness levels of any commercial on television today. It features three adorable bears who sing about the joys of sugar crisp...
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"So Long at the Fair" is an eerie 1950 mystery movie you can watch for free
Newly uploaded to The Internet Archive: So Long at the Fair (1950). From Wikipedia: The 1889 Paris Exposition serves as the backdrop for this eerie mystery, in which English tourist Vicky (Jean...
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"Return to Life: An Experiment in Artificial Respiration" is a bizarre...
In 1959 researchers at Australia's Royal Prince Alfred Hospital injected a volunteer with curare, the same stuff that indigenous peoples in Central and South America put on blowgun darts to paralyze...
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Here's what to do on a date
Would Kay enjoy a bike trip? Or a weenie roast? Or taffy pull? I just hope Eddie Haskell doesn't show up and try to move in on Kay.
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This is the original Slinky TV commercial. Accept no substitutes
According to the internet, this is the original slinky commercial. My favorite thing to do with my precompressed helical spring toy as a kid was to make it "walk" down the stairs, by bending it over...
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"Leave phony overcoat button at scene"— Read this 1950s burglar's notebook of...
Preliminary Criminal Investigations (2010) by Dennis Potter and Kevin B. Kinnee has a notebook of advice that 37-year-old Iowa burglar Michael Sutton either wrote for himself or for budding burglars....
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These odd NSA motivational posters from the 1960s look like props from The...
Here's a link to a PDF of declassified NSA posters obtained via a FOIA. The posters, which range from the 1950s to the 1970s, combine threats delivered in a tone of forced cheerfulness and a design...
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North Americans feared and misunderstood pizza in the 1950s
On his delightful Mastodon account about curiosities in old newspapers, Paul Fairie shared four clippings about a puzzling new Italian food called "pizza." Thirdly. we had eaten too well of pizza, a...
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