These 1970s Onesie Bodysuits Got Men ‘Into Something New’

MEN’S fashion is an endless source of point-and-laugh fun. In this instalment, we hard back to the 1970s, wherein the Onesie For Him was knocking them bandy in the boardroom and bedroom.

Do say: With your Onesie, you look macho and more ready for action than an aroused Playgirl stud. Nice moustache.

Don’t say: Ha-ha. It’s a babygro, you muppet!

Anorak

Posted: 1st, April 2014 | In: Fashion, Flashback | Comments (2)

Spoonfuls of Horror: The Worst Breakfast Cereals Of All Time

THE worst cereal of all time, for me, has always been Grape-Nuts (AKA aquarium gravel). Yet, as I grew older, I actually came to like these granular pellets which look like they belong at the bottom of a fish tank. Tastes evolve.

I say this to underscore the fact that this list is purely subjective. Yet, it’s still fun to poke through the vast arrays of breakfast cereals from years past and single out the worst of the worst. I apologize up front if I am besmirching your cherished childhood favorite, but it simply must be done.   And so here they are – the definitive list of the absolute worst breakfast cereals of all time (in no particular order). Enjoy.

1. Triple Snack (1963)

I’m not sure about the idea of roasted peanuts in cereal. Almonds are fine, but you start tossing roasted peanuts into the mix, and things get weird.

2. Pink Panther Flakes (1973)

The corn flakes were bubblegum colored, which is bad enough, but the cereal became notorious for rapidly losing its color. Almost as soon as the milk hit the flakes, the bubblegum color ran off, leaving behind soggy albino flakes. Your breakfast started so full of promise, with the brilliant pink hue signaling good tidings ahead. Fast forward a few seconds, and you’re eating your soggy albino flakes in quiet disappointment.

3. Donkey Kong (1982)

The taste was not bad; it was the texture that presented problems. Many will recall the “barrels’ scraped the roof of your mouth like a mouthful of broken glass. To be fair, after repeated spoonfuls, your throat and mouth would swell and become inflamed enough to no longer feel the sharp pain. So, enjoying the cereal wasn’t entirely impossible.

4. Punch Crunch

“Little pink rings with a big pink flavor just like fruit punch… a dandy part of a nutritious breakfast.”

At what stage of desperation do you have to be in to attempt a punch flavored cereal? Was Captain Crunch suffering from scurvy when he concocted this vitamin C inspired cereal? It would seem to be the only rational explanation.

5. Sir Grapefellow (1972)

There are just certain flavors that don’t belong in a cold milk cereal. Thus, as much as we may happen to like bacon and pizza, it doesn’t mean they will make for good cereal flavorings. Someone should have told General Mills that grapes fall into that same category.

6. Corn Flakes with Instant Bananas (1964)

This one was discontinued in ’66 due to problems with the preservation and freeze drying of the bananas. Apparently, Kellog’s hadn’t yet perfected the fancy carcinogenic preservatives and dyes we all take for granted today. Upon the addition of milk, the “bananas” turned into shriveled bits of brown before your very eyes. Had the box prepared consumers and perhaps been labeled “Corn Flakes with Shriveled Bits of Brown” instead, things might’ve been different.

7. Smurf Berry Crunch

Aside from the fact that many recall a distinct iodide smell, the primary problem was what happened after it was consumed. Evidently, Smurf Berry Crunch turned your poop a brilliant purple. While that may have been a “plus” to many consumers; for most, violet poop was an unwanted side effect.

8. Norman (1971)

Very little information remains beyond first-hand accounts. Most will tell you that this BUTTER flavored cereal was the most revolting thing they’ve ever eaten. It basically amounted to small crunchy butter flavored balls which in no way went nicely with cold milk. Those unfortunate enough to have experienced this breakfast horror tell the story as one would recount a grisly battle – with hushed somber tones, a vacant stare, and an expression that belies the tragedy of it all. Our deepest respect to the poor souls who took a spoonful of Norman to their lips and lived to tell the tale.

Yeoman Lowbrow

Posted: 1st, April 2014 | In: Flashback, Key Posts, The Consumer | Comments (6)

David Hasselhoff Sells Huge Statue Of Himself Dressed As A Lifeguard (Photos)

DAVID Hasselhoff is so rock and roll. And now you can roll him into your room and rock him gentle as you straddle his back and surf along to his greatest hits as a woman in red tosses salty water in your face. You see, David Hasselhoff is selling a David Hasselhoff statue he owns at a Beverly Hills auction. 

This is the Hoff who, when appearing in panto with dancing Louis Spence gave him the gifts of “A David Hasselhoff bag, Hasselhoff CD, Hasselhoff calendar and signed Hasselhoff picture” for Christmas.  This is the Hoff, the man who brought down the old fault line of Europe by standing on the Berlin Wall dressed in a suit of lightbulbs, a performance of which he said: “I went to the Checkpoint Charlie museum a few years ago. There was nothing of me, and I was disappointed. Look at all these people celebrating! What about me? I was there!”

Anorak

Posted: 31st, March 2014 | In: Celebrities, Key Posts, The Consumer | Comment

Miracle Appliances And The Desperate 1970s Women That Loved Them

WHEN mankind emerged from the primordial ooze that was that was the 1940s, homes began a rapid upgrade.  The Western nations’ economies grew in tandem with technology, and the benefits began to enter the home in the form of appliances that promised to transform the household.  Now you could own a toaster  – oh, the possibilities!

Yeoman Lowbrow

Posted: 31st, March 2014 | In: Flashback, Key Posts, Technology, The Consumer | Comment (1)

In South Korea, The Diary of Anne Frank Is Sold As A Brian Eno Romance

IN South Korea, The Diary of Anne Frank is a story of seduction, romance, 1980s fashions and a model who looks like Brian Eno.

Spotter: Kotaku

Anorak

Posted: 27th, March 2014 | In: Books, Celebrities | Comment

McDonald’s Fan Stian Ytterdahl Gets Entire Menu Tattooed On His Arm

MEET 18-year-old Stian Ytterdahl of Lørenskog, Sweden. He’s got a tattoo on his arm of the entire McDonald’s menu. 

Anorak

Posted: 27th, March 2014 | In: Reviews, Strange But True, The Consumer | Comment (1)

Social Media Morons Of The Day: Ribena For Breakfast

WHAT the Mad Men of advertising’s Golden Age would have made of today social media experts can only be guessed at. And our guess is they’d have made them unemployed. Anyone with a spark of creativity louder than a gnat’s fart would nowadays be hailed as social media guru.

Today’s disaster is supplied by Ribena, the sugary drink.

The Tweet copy trills:

“There’s no better way to start the day than sitting down to watch #DayBreak with a cuppa for you and a glass of Ribena Plus for the kids!”

Anorak

Posted: 26th, March 2014 | In: Key Posts, The Consumer | Comment

The Most Accurate Toy Representation Of A Real Cat Ever

THIS is the most accurate toy representation of a real cat ever:

Anorak

Posted: 25th, March 2014 | In: The Consumer | Comment

10 Fantastically Awful Retro Toys From Your Corrupted Youth

AS things heat up in Ukraine and the ever-precarious Middle East continues its pattern of unrest, we feel a tinge of concern for our Western economies hanging by a thread and our natural resources plundered at an unsustainable rate.  In such a state of affairs it is only natural that we, as a global community, band together and take a look at some truly awful toys.  It’s the right thing to do.

“Luscious Limbs” is more than a little bit macabre.  Sissy’s fiendish delight at gnawing on a human ear is particularly distressing.

Yeoman Lowbrow

Posted: 25th, March 2014 | In: Flashback, Key Posts, The Consumer | Comments (9)

The Vladimir Putin Butt Plug And Enema

VLADIMIR Putin, scourge of gays, is now a homosexual act prevention device.

It’s not yet Government issues in Russia, but give it time…

But do use the enema before serving:

Spotter: Nimrod Kamer @nnimrodd, Animal, PoliticalSculptor

Anorak

Posted: 24th, March 2014 | In: Politicians, The Consumer | Comment

Read Robert Crumb’s Weirdo Comic Book On Philip K Dick’s LSD-Driven Meeting With God

WE get to see the face of God in Robert Crumb’s Book Of Genesis. But was the representation of the Creator accurate? In 1974, Crumb gave us another image of God, one based on Philip K. Dick’s memory.

Dick’s Divine vision was triggered by seeing a delivery girl,who was wearing a Jesus fish on a chain about her neck. Dick had taken LSD:

In that instant, as I stared at the gleaming fish sign and heard her words, I suddenly experienced what I later learned is called anamnesis—a Greek word meaning, literally, “loss of forgetfulness.” I remembered who I was and where I was. In an instant, in the twinkling of an eye, it all came back to me. And not only could I remember it but I could see it. The girl was a secret Christian and so was I. We lived in fear of detection by the Romans. We had to communicate with cryptic signs. She had just told me all this, and it was true.

For a short time, as hard as this is to believe or explain, I saw fading into view the black, prisonlike contours of hateful Rome. But, of much more importance, I remembered Jesus, who had just recently been with us, and had gone temporarily away, and would very soon return. My emotion was one of joy. We were secretly preparing to welcome Him back. It would not be long. And the Romans did not know. They thought He was dead, forever dead. That was our great secret, our joyous knowledge. Despite all appearances, Christ was going to return, and our delight and anticipation were boundless.

Anorak

Posted: 23rd, March 2014 | In: Books, Flashback, Key Posts | Comment

The Miracle of Soap And The Scourge of Constipation: Vintage Hygiene Adverts

ONE thing you’ll find when looking through magazines from the 1930s and 40s is an amazing array of soap and constipation adverts.  It’s as if the world was ravaged by body odor and irregularity. Ad after ad proclaims the wonders of this fantastical object called “soap” – lives are changed by its tremendous power to rid even the smelliest among us of their funk.  But that was only half the battle, because mankind still cowered helplessly beneath the specter of constipation.  Countless adverts announce their special cure for this dread disease.

THE MIRACLE OF SOAP

Lifebuoy Soap 1937

This bride literally would have died a miserable old maid had it not been for Lifebuoy soap.  Evidently, her fiancé was so disgusted by her rank smell he was about to call off the wedding – until her friend introduced her to the World of Soap.   A close call – but it does make one wonder what other basic hygiene tools our young bride has yet to discover.

 

“Sure he picked a beautiful bride…. but oh, that ‘B.O.’!”

This advert is from ten years later (1947) – The War is over, Western Nation economies are on the rise, and all is right with the world… but the women still smell horrible.  Let’s take this ad step by step: Here we have a newly married couple who are attending a party.  Unfortunately, the young bride is shaming her husband by her amazing level of body odor.

 

“Oh, darling, I’ve failed you!”

Yes, honey, you may as well purchase a one-way bus ticket out of town.  Ted will explain that you “had an accident”.  Indeed, with the neighbors whispering about your incredible funk, your job as wife is an abject failure….. but wait, what’s this?  It seems Ted just happens to have in his possession a bar of soap.

And, of course, the miracle of soap once again saves a marriage, and possibly a life…. but not before we get to see Ted’s wife naked.

“You know how men are, Gail! They like to be proud of their sweethearts and wives! Besides, you must admit there’s not much allure in dry, lifeless, old-looking skin!”

As usual, soap is sold to guard against shaming the godlike husbands.  In this case, the woman’s repugnant smell isn’t the issue, it’s her disgusting skin.  Back then, that was grounds for a husband to literally put his wife out to pasture.

Yet another woman spared eternal shame because she hasn’t been exposed to the wonders of soap.  You’ll note it has an endorsement from film noir dame “Joan Bennett, Walter Wanger Star”.  Wanger was a film producer and Bennett’s third husband.  He ended up causing quite a scandal when he shot Bennett’s agent (he suspected they were having an affair).  Bennett went on to star in Dark Shadows and Suspiria (1977).   But I digress…

THE SCOURGE OF CONSTIPATION

“Actual cases on record of constipation relieved” – and all it requires is for you to garrote yourself in the most foolish way possible.  Personally, I’d choose bran flakes cereal over this spectacle of degradation… but that’s just me.

I know constipation is a bummer – God knows it can put a damper on a day.  That being said, if your constipation is causing the sort of misery where life isn’t worth living, you’ve got a very special constipation indeed.  I don’t know what HOOD-LAX is, but it sounds potent.  Might I suggest some late night Mexican food and a frothy pint of HOOD-LAX and make life worth living!

From devastated to cheerfully building a wall within two hours – that’s pretty damn impressive.  I understand it’s not exactly fun to wake up constipated, but she seems clinically depressed  – “the world’s all wrong” she exclaims.  I wonder if that Sal Hepatica not only helps loosen the stool, but also has a little “happy sauce” in the ingredients as well.  Either that or this chick is bi-polar.

Are you noticing a pattern here with the constipation symptoms?   It’s not annoyance at abdominal pain, it’s depression.  Clearly, there was something else going on here in women that was erroneously being blamed on constipation.  Any armchair sociologists out there who’d like to posit a theory?  I’d love to hear it.

Yeoman Lowbrow

Posted: 21st, March 2014 | In: Key Posts, The Consumer | Comments (2)

Saudi Arabian Cleric Issues Fatwa On All-You-Can-Eat Buffets

SAUDI hero of the day is the cleric who has issued as fatwa against fatsos:

A Saudi cleric named Saleh al-Fawzan has issued a fatwa against all-you-can-eat buffets in Saudi Arabia.

Fawzan said the value and quantity of the food sold should be pre-determined before hand.

“Whoever enters the buffet and eats for 10 or 50 riyals without deciding the quantity they will eat is violating Sharia (Islamic) law,” Fawzan was quoted on al-Atheer channel.

So. There you are – Islamic law is not so very different to the moral laws this country’s health experts have introduced.

Anorak

Posted: 19th, March 2014 | In: The Consumer | Comment (1)

From BBC Children’s Favourites To Captain Kangaroo, Edward White’s Puffin Billy Kept The Kids Delighted

ITEM of the day is this 60 piece puzzle in box of Captain Kangaroo (Bob Keeshan). There are no missing pieces.

The show was ideally suited to being packaged as a jigsaw:

That music was composed by Edward White and played by the Melodi Light Orchestra.

Anorak

Posted: 19th, March 2014 | In: Flashback, The Consumer, TV & Radio | Comment

I Was A 1960s Mod: Watch The Soul Rider Documentary

The modern fad for having as much sound and light as possible on your scooter reached the Epsom Downs for Derby Day. Proud owners are Roy Young and Linda Jarvis.  Date: 31/05/1964

IN the 1960s, Glenn Stewart was a mod. There Is More filmed Glenn over six hours as he recalled him time as a suited and booted, Vespa driving mod.

It’s a lovely short film about one of Britain’s fashion tribes:

Spotter: ModStyle

Anorak

Posted: 18th, March 2014 | In: Fashion, Flashback, Music | Comment

Sod The Sugar And The Salt We’re Allowed To Eat Fat Again

SO. Everything that we’ve been told about healthy eating for the past 30 years has turned out to be a mistake. Or a lie, your call:

For the health conscious reader who has been stoically swapping butter for margarine for years the next sentence could leave a bad taste in the mouth.

Scientists have discovered that saturated fat does not cause heart disease while so-called ‘healthy’ polyunsaturated fats do not prevent cardiovascular problems.

In contrast with decades old nutritional advice, researchers at Cambridge University have found that giving up fatty meat, cream or butter is unlikely to improve health.

They are calling for guidelines to be changed to reflect a growing body of evidence suggesting there is no overall association between saturated fat consumption and heart disease.

Tim Worstall

Posted: 18th, March 2014 | In: Money, Reviews, The Consumer | Comment (1)

Read Alfie’s Home: The Creepy Children’s Book That Will Make Your Gay Children Straight

DR Christian Jessen is the star of the Channel 4 documentary Undercover Doctor: Cure Me, I’m Gay.

Can you be “cured” of your homosexuality? Some want to change. They sign up to schemes to become healthy and straight and good.

He tells viewers:

“Reparative’ techniques used across the world, primarily by some extreme right-wing organisations, have included electric shock therapy, exorcism, hypnosis, and even sessions with prostitutes.”

Because this is Channel 4, the main premise of the show will be to portray the curing community as freaks and nutjobs. But you needn’t tune in to know that, although the penile plethysmograph to measure Jessen’s post-cure arousal is an interesting reworking of TV clap-ometer.

The Cohens

You see all Channel 4 need do is show viewers pages from Richard Cohen’s Coming Out Straight, Gay Children Straight Parents, Let’s Talk About Sex, and Alfie’s Home, published in 1993 by Cohen’s International Healing Foundation (IHF).

The IHF website states:

Our goal…
Our goal is to promote healthy individuals and relationships, while assisting in the healing of families, communities, and places of worship.

In this film, Cohen, an ex-gay who is now married with 3 children and president of PFOX (Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays), is seen playing with magnets. He says opposites attract, like magnets. Same things repel, like magnets. D’ yer see the point he’s making? Richard does.

This is book for children:

It’s all batshit mental. And it’s being  promoted in Uganda:

Spotter: Patheos, Right Wing Watch

Anorak

Posted: 18th, March 2014 | In: Books, Key Posts, Reviews | Comment