Did you know – Weird Fads that swept the world
Posted on 28. Jan, 2010 by admin in Did you Know
The Ask Doctor Spock Fad
Simple sells. In 1946, Spock wrote Baby and Child Care that outlined his revolutionary child-rearing advice. And what was that? Just relax. Americans lapped up the laissez faire methodology and in 10 years, Spock’s book became the second-best selling tome in the United States (after the Bible).
Telephone-Booth Stuffing
In 1959, 25 South African students climbed into a telephone booth announcing they’d set the world record for a non-existent event! Within weeks, college students across England, America, and Canada immediately set to work to outdo the South Africans from using physics to starving themselves. Arguments and accusations of cheating followed but later that year they all seemed to reach a truce when everyone abandoned phone booths in favor of Volkswagens, the latest people-stuffing container of choice!
Conical Bras
Movie producer and ladies man deluxe Howard Hughes touched off a decade-long fashion fad in 1943 when he designed a state-of-the-art cantilevered bra for actress Jane Russell – thus allowing women to stride confidently into the 1950s lifted, separated and pointed toward the future.
Ant Farms
Inspired by the events at an outdoor barbecue, “Uncle Milton” Levine modified a clear plastic tissue box into a prototype for an ant farm. Between 1956 and 1966, he sold almost 12 million of them (ants originally not included), thanks in part to creative product placement. Levine gave away fancy, mahogany ant farms to Dick Clark and other TV personalities who kept the trinkets on their on-screen desks and, thus, in the public eye.
For more weird and wonderful fads go to www.neatorama.com