Sometimes things just keep getting better. I opened one of my vintage cookbooks this morning and guess what I found folded up neatly inside? A section of a newspaper from May 12, 1941, almost 60 years ago to the day!
So let’s take a look at some of the ads to see if we can discover what was on the minds of the average 1941 citizen:
Here’s an ad that will ruin your appetite:
Apparently back in 1941, people had a lot of excessive ugly hair which was not to be confused with plain ol’ ordinary ugly hair. Because in 1941, everybody’s hair was ugly, that goes without saying. But apparently, it was only the excess ugly hair that they were worried about.
And apparently if you wanted this excessive ugliness eradicated, you had to go to a Gypsy Fortune-Teller/Seance-Conducting Madame where you could get your offending follicles removed scientifically using multiple needle electrolysis on your superfluous (and uncalled for!) hair.
And speaking of ugly hair, here’s an ad for making it look even worse:
Ah! Back in 1941, nothing gave hair that natural healthy glow like Bay Rum, Barbo Compound, and half a pint of water.
The ad says to try the recipe today and see how much younger you will look — assuming you fore go applying it to your hair and just chug it!
And then there’s the enigma of Wartime Trousers:
Heh? This one is a little tricky to figure out. Let’s see . . . there’s a war going on . . . so therefore men’s vests don’t match their pants anymore . . .. so they have to send their vests to the Pants Matching Co. . . so they can make a vest to match their pants which are now called “Wartime Trousers”.
And even though the gentleman in the ad has an abnormally large head, he apparently doesn’t have an abnormally large brain — because if he did, why has he taken off his “War Trousers” when he’s suppose to be sending The Pants Matching Co. his vest?
Well anyway, we are going to have to chalk it all up to “Wartime Trouser Secrets of World War II and move on to:
You People Who Are Sick
Well thank goodness there was at least one Dr. Shane D.C. practicing medicine without a license back in 1941! And not only did this guy somehow get a hold of an X-ray machine, he’s going to diagnose you without asking you a single question! Talk about saving time!
Of course it’s going to cost you one, hard-earned dollar, so you might not want to do it. But wait . . . .what if he throws in a Oscillotonometer heart examination and what if he capitalized HEART EXAMINATION in the newspaper ad? Would it be worth your hard-earned dollar then?
Still no? But what if you suffered from something on the list of symptoms like Deafness or Lumbago or, heaven forbid, Piles? What then?
You mean to say you would have actually walked around town in 1941 wearing an ill-matching Wartime Trouser/vest combination with your ugly excessive, hair sticking out everywhere –drunk as a skunk from ingesting the Barbo hair dye recipe — with extra rum?
OK fine go ahead . . .but I’m telling Madame Stiver on you, so watch out!
Until next time . . . I love you
Linda Vernon Humor 
“YOU PEOPLE” who are going grey need to match your wartime trousers and get rid of your superfluous hair ASAP!
Enclose this ad for an intersting brochure…..
I Love the vintage ads Linda…Joy
Hi Joy! Thanks for coming by! These vintage ads have been waiting years to appear on somebody’ blog. I’m glad I could finally gratify them! They practically write themselves. And that brochure! I may send away for it yet!
Absolutely hilarious! HAHA.. I’m always amazed at how you draw such witty connections to such bizarro things. 😀
Pink.
Oh I’m so glad you liked it Pink! They are bizarro! Which may be why they are so easy to poke fun at! HA! 😀
Hi,
Truly hilarious and amazing, the good old ad spin hasn’t changed much in all these years. 😆
No it certainly hasn’t. The product names have gotten more sophisticated but otherwise it’s the same old song and dance!
I wish I had a pair of wartime trousers. I’d mix and match them with my Peace time cardigan and Cuba Missle Crisis undies.
I think you’re Cuban Missle Crisis underies might be unwearable! (You’d know what I meant if you lived through that horrible time in our history, Ok, I don’t remember much about it . . . but still . . . ) Anyway your outfit would look swell!
I couldn’t get the first one out of my mind…ugly excess hair…ugh…nothing like being blunt was there? …Diane
They really were, weren’t they? I think people might not have been as well-groomed back then as they are now!
I’m thinking those who spent their dollar got an x-ray without the lead vest, so probably they got a whole lot more for for their money, namely, a variety of cancers! Haha! Wait, why am I laughing? : /
Hey, you don’t suppose the big headed gentleman had one too many x-rays, do you?
My mind is in overdrive thinking about the “many thousands” of wartime pants patterns available. Wow! Who knew there were so many pant varieties? Haha!
LOL LISA! Almost as many varieties of cancer as varieties of patterns from which to choose. OMG! Can you imagine? People’s arms and legs (and heads) probably fell off later that day after visiting the good dr.
Haha I’m so glad this newspaper landed in your hands! I don’t think anyone else could have analyzed it as well as you! The woman in the ad for the “Home Tint for Gray Hair” is clearly wasted from drinking all that rum. Look at her face. Look at her hair! If that’s what rum does to your hair…then yikes.
Haha! Lily you’re right! She’s wasted alright! Probably from the rum or possibly from the ether on that oven mitt she’s sniffing! LOL! Good eye Lily!
You know I actually need a Pants Matching Company. And come to think of it, a Socks Matching Company too.
Haha! Rob! Come to think of it so does 37! Maybe I should think of starting up a Pants Matching Company. There seems to be a huge demand for it! 🙂
This one is really interesting as well as bit weird to read!An article about a newspaper,who is 71 years old???? 😀 😛
OMG!Nice work Mrs.Vernon.
Congrats. 🙂 🙂
Well thank you so much. iamrahulashok, so glad you enjoyed it:D and so glad you came by:D. Thank you for taking the time to comment too! 😀 Yes things were really different back then weren’t they? HA!
Haha!Well.You can call me as Rahul Mrs.Vernon. 😀
Yup,exactly they were….Our current days over this mere world are extremely unique when comparing with 71 years back. 😛
What a change it is??
As a teenager,it was a new experience for me to read such an article.
Thanks. 🙂
But the “matchy matchy” look is so 50s. We need a Pants UNmatching Company for the 21st century. Checks matched with stripes in all the colors we are once taught that clashed with each other.
Oh I know, Ronnie! But everything has to clash in just the right way so there could be potential for a Unmatching company. I wonder where you’d go to school to train for something like that? HA!
I wouldn’t be too hard on the big-headed guy. I often take off my trousers and hold them out in front of me when I go to the thrift shop– helps remind me what I’m there to shop for. The tricky part is getting to the thrift store without being arrested… : P
Hey, I liked how you were able to include the word “enigma” in this post, too… : )
Some people tie a string around their finger to remember things, but I’ve never heard of someone taking off their pants to remember something, but you know what I bet it would work like a charm.
PS if you do ever get arrested at the Thrift store I’ll be happy to give you a character reference. Trouble is it will probably make things worse! 😀