Which got me to thinking: what, exactly, has changed in the world in the last half-century? Clearly, we're not being whisked to our plexiglas office towers on those moving sidewalks we were all promised. Nor do we simply strap on our jet packs and zoom over to our 85th storey penthouse apartment overlooking our perpetually pure, environmentally perfect world.
As it turns out, I have one or two artifacts kicking around from five decades ago.
I
just happen to have a copy of Life magazine from the day I was born (click on
the thumbnails for larger images)...
Nope, I don't remember who Pier Angeli is, really. I wonder whatever happened to her?
This
edition of Life mourned the end of the big top circus - the final closing
of an over 100 year tradition in America...
In this, remarkably little has changed at all...
"In
Israel U.N. Secretary General Dag Hammerskjöld, continuing to try to damp down
the threatened Arab-Israeli war, was greeted by the new foreign minister, former
Milwaukee teacher Golda Meyerson. After two days of talks, Hammerskjöld headed
to Jordan and Egypt to hear their side."
Or...how about this...hmm, a little different...
"Plumed
and uniformed King Faisal of Iraq was royally received in London by (left to
right) Queen Elizabeth II, the Queen Mother, and Princess Margaret. Britain did
its best to make Faisal's state visit pleasant: oil-rich Iraq is one of
Britain's last loyal friends in the Middle East."
Back
in America, the
Miss Universe pageant was in full swing: "In Long Beach, Calif. 71
entries lined up for the 'Miss Universe' contest. Judges rated them in 10
categories, including culture and moral reputation. The winner was Carol Morris,
20, an Ottumwa, Iowa minister's daughter (middle row, 10th from left) whose
measurements are 36-25-36." [I didn't make that up, that's the actual
copy on the page]
Cars
were a little bigger back then...
Beer
ads really haven't changed all that much, really...
But
it was a modern age, where Acronized chicken was the newest thing (acronizing is
treating a food product with the antibiotic chlortetracycline, known in later years to cause
skin sun sensitivity in some people...)
But
Mom was the head of the household, seeking out the best instant coffee (Iced
instant coffee? Bleah. We have, at least, improved somewhat in our choice of
caffeinated beverages)...
...and
seeking out the approval of her ever-adoring husband and children. ("So
today, pretty lady, when you're shopping for your man and your brood - get a
load of this happy eating!")
Right-click-save on these thumbnails (.wmv files)
Running times
Newsreel 7:57 - 3.6 Mbytes - There's battle in the Middle East, a Hollywood
movie star gets married, a new U.S. president is (re)-elected, and other
stories. Again...not much changes...
Earth vs. The Flying Saucers 2:13 - 3.89 Mbytes - just a silly movie trailer
from a 1956 film...