Uncle Sam Wants YOU on a National Bicycle — 1896

In celebration of American Independence Day, I give you Uncle Sam shilling for the National Cycle Manufacturing Co.

A supine genius who had accomplished more by age 24 than… almost everyone.

by High Shrink
Posted on September 30, 2018January 15, 2019
1900s

Vibrating furniture was a thing in 1905. This Detroit company doesn’t seem to have lasted very long, but its trimmed-in-fringe product was a featured exhibit at the 1905 Lewis & Clark Centennial. Read more….

Sometimes after a difficult week, one just needs to kick back with a dangling fake tongue and look “exceedingly funny.” This has been just such a week.

by High Shrink
Posted on September 24, 2018November 26, 2018
1920s

The thought of Baby Ruth-branded gum… it just doesn’t seem right. The new product was introduced to the public in 1928 by dropping thousands of packages of the gum from an airplane, each one attached to its own little parachute which floated down to the waiting hands of eager children. Read more….

Whether you trod the boards in the theatrical world or slogged through the sawdust on the carnival circuit, “The Billboard” was essential reading for keeping up with news and employment opportunities in the show-biz world. Almost everything you needed could be found in the magazine’s classified and advertising pages. Check out some of the more interesting ads found in issues from 1904 and 1905.