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Crisco and Kosher Kitchen Culture
Vintage advertisement Crisco 1915 Once upon a time to a transfixed nation, trans fats were not the troublesome substance we now view them as but were the very symbol of scientific progress. If the FDA...
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The Frigid Woman in the Cold War
American husbands were getting the frigid-aire from their spouses. According to experts the mid-century American woman was as frosty and frigid as the polar vortex. The cold war was a chilly time to be...
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Sex and the Happy Homemaker
Vintage Photo from Simmons Mattress Ad 1951 The Frigid Woman in the Cold War PtII When it came to sex, just how happy was the proverbial happy homemaker? Not so much. An epidemic was ravishing cold war...
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A Post-War Primer on Mother Nature
(L) Vintage illustration Little Golden Book “We Help Daddy” 1962 illustration by Eloise Wilkin (R) Vintage ad for Pesticides for garden pests Birds and the Bees First day of spring conjures up a...
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Ageing Shocker
In a gesture of maturity- though with about as much enthusiasm as swallowing a bitter pill- I finally came to grips this recent birthday with being referred to as “middle aged.” So it was a shock to...
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Decorating With DDT
Just as mid-century garden nurseries were busy preparing for spring, filling their shelves with packets of seeds and cans of DDT, so American parents were diligently decorating their baby nurseries...
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Post War Pesticides on Parade
1954 advertisement Breathe Easier Mid Century America was the golden age of pesticides and it was love at first sight. Any thoughts about Earth Day and the environment lay far in the future. Thousands...
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Dubious Diets- The Bread Diet
Dubious diets are as American as…well…. all-you-can-eat apple pie. Relying on fad diets to shed a few pounds has been handed down from gullible generation to gullible generation willing to swallow...
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A Girl and Her Girdle Pt II
“The Story Begins in the Middle” Vintage 1955 ad Warner’s I figured out very early on that every female had a figure flaw. But luckily when it came to figure problems a slew of manufacturers had it all...
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Better Vision For Better Living
How Long Since You Had Your Eyes Examined? Vintage Ad 1940 Soft-Lite Lenses How much is your world of vision worth to you? Vision, clear, sharp, sure …no aching, straining eyes sapping your energy,...
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Kitchen Garden All Year Round
Thanks to war-time research and American know how, growing up in suburban mid-century America I would be the happy recipient of a veritable bushel basket of sun-kissed, vitamin rich fruits and...
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Celebrating Sunglasses
Cool Shades Break out your Wayfarers…today is National Sunglasses Day! Accustomed to sporting cool shades I have of late been seen skulking about in those oversize, black, wraparound sunglasses so very...
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Happy July Fourth
1938 Vintage ad Chesterfield Cigarettes Have a Smokin’ Independence Day!
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Better Vision For Better Living Pt II
Better Vision for Better Living- Celebrating 125 years of Research Vintage ad American Optical Company 1958 The eyes have it- “Better Vision for Better Living” seems to be my mantra for this summer....
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Back to School Shoes
Back to School. Vintage ad Sears Back to School Clothes 1957 It was the day before Labor Day 1957 and the countdown had begun for the end of summer and the new school term. From Long Island to Little...
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A Paralyzing Fear
If you are to believe the news media and some Republican’s Ebola is coming for us all and the government is hiding the truth about the deadly disease Social media and television news are promoting...
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Panic Gone Viral
Scarier by far than any Grimm’s Brothers fairy tale, or even an episode of the Twilight Zone, were the stories my grandmother would tell about the time a virulent polio epidemic swept through NYC in...
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Panic and Prejudice Go Viral Pt III
Americans are suffering from a serious panic attack, as panic itself has gone viral. Ebola hysteria is spreading faster than the virus itself, creating a climate of fear mongering, misinformation and...
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Ebola Panic and Bowling
More Doctors and more bowlers smoke Camels. Vintage 1948 ad Camels Cigarettes featuring Ned Day Bowling Champion. Can you get Ebola from a bowling ball? The question seems to be popping up all over...
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Wholesome Candy-Treat or Trick?
For some parents the scariest part of Halloween is the prospect of all the candy their children will consume once they’ve brought home their haul. Chill. It may be hard to swallow but once upon a time...
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