Soviet Anti-Alcohol Posters in the 1970s and 1980s

From the 1960s through the 1980s, artists throughout the Soviet Union designed propaganda posters to warn the public of the dangers of excessive alcohol consumption.

Soviet anti-alcohol posters in the 1970s and 1980s

With striking, colorful graphics and stark metaphors, the posters cast alcoholism as a snake choking the life from vivacious young men, a bottle as a prison, and more.

Drinkers grow slothful and lazy, abandon their families, endanger their coworkers, or become murderous brutes.

These posters and dozens more are collected in ALCOHOL: Soviet Anti-Alcohol Posters by Fuel Publishing.

"Not among trees or grasses, the serpent has warmed up among us. Don't suck on him, mammals, or you'll turn into a reptile yourself.", 1972

"Drunkenness won't be tolerated!", 1977

"Don't drink your life away.", 1977

"This is a shameful union — a slacker + vodka!", 1980

"Either, or.", 1983

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The Fascinating Story of George Crum, Inventor of the Potato Chip in 1853

Every time a person crunches into a potato chip, he or she is enjoying the delicious taste of one of the world’s most famous snacks – a treat that might not exist without the contribution of black inventor George Crum. According to the history books, the potato chip was invented on August 24, 1853, at Moon's Lake House in Saratoga Springs, New York.

George Speck, also called George Crum was born on July 15, 1824 in Saratoga County in upstate New York. The son of an African-American father and a Native American mother, Crum was working as the chef in the summer of 1853 when he incidentally invented the chip.

In the summer of 1853, George Crum was employed as a chef at an elegant resort in Saratoga Springs, New York. On Moon Lake Lodge's restaurant menu were French-fried potatoes, prepared by Crum in the standard, thick-cut French style that was popularized in 1700s France and enjoyed by Thomas Jefferson as ambassador to that country. Ever since Jefferson brought the recipe to America and served French fries to guests at Monticello, the dish was popular and serious dinner fare.

At Moon Lake Lodge, one dinner guest found chef Crum's French fries too thick for his liking and rejected the order. Crum cut and fried a thinner batch, but these, too, met with disapproval. Exasperated, Crum decided to rile the guest by producing French fries too thin and crisp to skewer with a fork. The plan backfired. The guest was ecstatic over the browned, paper-thin potatoes, and other diners requested Crum’s potato chips, which began to appear on the menu as Saratoga Chips, a house specialty.

Portrait of a George Crum with his wife

In 1860 George opened his own restaurant in a building on Malta Avenue near Saratoga Lake, and within a few years was catering to wealthy clients including William Vanderbilt, Cornelius Vanderbilt, Jay Gould, and Henry Hilton. His restaurant closed around 1890 and he died in 1914 at the age of 92.

The idea of making them as a food item for sale in grocery stores came to many people at around the same time, but perhaps the first was William Tappendon of Cleveland, OH, in 1895. He began making chips in his kitchen and delivering to neighborhood stores but later converted a barn in the rear of his house into “one of the first potato chip factories” in the country.

At that time, potatoes were tediously peeled and sliced by hand. It was the invention of the mechanical potato peeler in the 1920s that paved the way for potato chips to soar from a small specialty item to a top-selling snack food. For several decades after their creation, potato chips were largely a Northern dinner dish.

George and his wife Kate.

In 1921, Bill and Sallie Utz started the Hanover Home Brand Potato Chips in Hanover, Pennsylvania. Salie Utz used her knowledge of good Pennsylvania Dutch cooking to make the chips in a small summer house behind their home. The hand-operated equipment Salie used made about fifty pounds of potato chips per hour. While Salie stayed home making chips, Bill delivered them to "mom and pop" grocery stores and farmer's markets in the Hanover, PA and Baltimore, MD area.

Out in Monterey Park, California the Scudders company started making potato chips in 1926. Laura Scudder is credited with developing the wax paper bag for potato chips which made a wider distribution possible because of its preserving properties. Prior to this bag potato chips were dispensed in bulk from barrels or glass display cases.

In 1932, Herman Lay founded Lay’s in Nashville, Tenn., which distributed potato chips from a factory in Atlanta, Ga. Herman Lay, a traveling salesman in the South, helped popularize the food from Atlanta to Tennessee. Lay peddled potato chips to Southern grocers out of the trunk of his car, building a business and a name that would become synonymous with the thin, salty snack. Lay’s potato chips became the first successfully marketed national brand.

The industry that George Crum launched in 1853 continues to grow and prosper. Potato chips have become America's favorite snack. U.S. retail sales of potato chip are over $6 billion a year. In 2003 the U.S. potato chip industry employed more than 65,000 people.

(via The Great Idea Finder)

Before Fast Food Delivery, Here Are Some Amazing Photographs of Soba Noodle Cyclists of Early 20th Century Japan

Fast food delivery has changed drastically since the old days of demae (which literally “to go in front of”) in Japan. Before cell phones, apps, and online ordering existed, deliverymen used a special technique for stacking towers of food on their shoulders as they biked to places filled with frequent customers, such as universities. One popular food was soba–buckwheat noodles that can be eaten cold with dipping sauce or served in hot broth–because it was affordable and could be carried around without losing flavor or appearance.

Demae is thought to have originated during the mid-Edo period in the 1700s. It was primarily used by wealthy daimyo, feudal lords who would send servants to let shopkeepers know that they wanted food delivered to their homes. Over time, demae evolved into a more mainstream practice enjoyed by everyone from students to office workers.

Because there were no telephones, you couldn’t exactly call in an order. Deliverymen devolved a skilled technique for stacking towers of soba noodle bowls and then carrying them on a bike to places like universities where they had frequent customers. Astonishingly, some of these photos are from soba shops that are still in business today!

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Vintage Photos From the Scandinavian Airlines' Archive Show How Much Better Plane Food Was From the 1950s

Of the many things travelers dislike about flying, plane food is often high on the list. But in-flight dining hasn't always been bland.

These vintage photos from the collection of Scandinavian Airlines show passengers from the 1950s through to the 1980s enjoying gourmet meals such as caviar, lobster, and a whole leg of ham at 35,000-feet.

In the 1950s, passengers in sleeper cabins on a DC-6 aircraft were served an in-flight breakfast in bed.

In this photo, taken either in the 1950s or 1960s, a Scandinavian Airlines chef prepared lobster in the flight kitchen at Kastrup Airport in Copenhagen. Yes, even lobster was on the menu.

Dinner trays looked very different in the 1960s, when they included real plates, a glass, and metal cutlery.

A woman traveling with her baby on board a flight in 1968 was offered baby food in jars, provided by the airline. That year, Scandinavian Airlines started a service for children.

Back in 1969, some passengers were served meals directly by an in-flight chef. Here, the chef is dishing up Smørrebrød, a type of Danish open sandwich (rye bread topped with meat or fish and cheese).

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Intimate Found Photos That Capture People Having Tea Together in the Early 20th Century

Whilst the custom of drinking tea dates back to the third millennium BC in China and was popularised in England during the 1660s by King Charles II and his wife the Portuguese Infanta Catherine de Braganza, it was not until the mid 19th century that the concept of ‘afternoon tea’ first appeared.

Traditional afternoon tea consists of a selection of dainty sandwiches (including of course thinly sliced cucumber sandwiches), scones served with clotted cream and preserves. Cakes and pastries are also served. Tea is poured from silver tea pots into delicate bone china cups.

Nowadays however, in the average suburban home, afternoon tea is likely to be just a biscuit or small cake and a mug of tea, usually produced using a teabag.

Take a look at these found photos to see how tea time has changed for over 100 years ago. In these days, people drunk tea together mostly outdoor near the beach, in the garden, on the verandah, some at home, fews even in a tree house.

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Who Says Women Don’t Have Balls?

Vintage sexist advert presents BALLS–the candy to give you courage

In 1978, women has BALLS by the barrel load.

There was a time when it took a heavy dose of spunk for a woman stand up and be counter. Joan of Arc hid her gams in a suit of armor to defend Louis’s honor. Amelia Earhart donned a sexless jumpsuit to fly into the wild blue yonder. Madame Curie wore whites and gazed longingly at test-tubes.

These days, women have finally come into their own – with pants and permanents, muscles and makeup. But there still are a couple of things we can’t lay claim to right?

Not any more, Mary. Now we’ve got BALLS.

This was written by a women?

BALLS is the new candy sensation that lets you conquer the world. Just pop a few balls into your mouth and you’ll be ready for anything – a battle with the boss at the office (he can’t give you the shaft!); a tough game of tennis with Bob (the score’ll be forty/love). Bank your BALLS bedside, for easy reaching at those tender moments. Brown – Bags your BALLS to work, so you don’t run out of steam. Just taste those ticklers–mmm mmm, good.

Suck on some BALLS for an instant lift – and be the first in your building to mix it up with the guys. Buy some BALLS – the candy that gives you courage.

And now wear your BALLS on your chest. This attractive, 100 percent cotton yummy yellow T-shirt is available with 3 tempting teasers:

“You need BALLS to conquer the world”
“She who has BALLS will conquer the world”
“BALLS candy gives you courage”

When you’re down, BALLS helps you rise to the occasion. So let’em know where you stand. Knock ’em out. Get some BALLS, baby.

It’s total BALLS!

(via Flashbak)

Have You Ever Tried Peanuts in Coke?

Drinking Coca-Cola with salted peanuts isn’t only about the genius pairing of sweet and salty flavors; it’s about the experience, and knowing that your taking part in a tradition that has gone on for generations.

According to Coca-colacompany.com, this interesting combination originated in the South– sometime in the early 20th century. The article states: “Although there’s no written record, the first package of peanuts may have been poured into a glass bottle of Coke as early as the 1920s. Packaged, already shelled peanuts from Planters, Lance and Tom’s began showing up at country stores and filling stations where the familiar contour bottle of Coke was already being sold.”

In the article, John T. Edge, Director of the Southern Foodways Alliance at the Center for Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi, believed the combo “was likely born of country store commerce. Think of Coke and peanuts as a prototype fast-food for the 20th century South.”

There’s still the issue of... WHY? Serious Eats attempted to tackle that same question: “Nobody knows who exactly came up with this inspired idea of putting peanuts in Coke, but the pairing is guessed to go as far back as the 1920s. I’ve heard stories of busy Southern farmers who didn’t have time to break for lunch and would eat this on their tractors while in the field. References to salted peanuts in Coke pop up in historical fiction including The Secret Life of Bees, and other stories about the American south during the 50s and 60s.”

Maybe we should stop asking all these questions and start looking for some peanuts & Coke.

‘Cause apparently... it’s delicious!

Elizabeth Taylor Salad or Cyd Charisse Salad, Anyone? Here's the MGM Commissary Menu From the Late 1950s

If you were lucky enough to be dining at the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer commissary menu in the late 1950s and early 1960s, this would have been the menu you’d have been handed.

Elizabeth Taylor Salad or Cyd Charisse Salad, anyone? You knew you’d made it at MGM when they named a salad after you. To see the various choices you can see the inside pages on the website—and just get a load of the back page!

Grace Kelly eating with Ann Blyth and Janet Leigh in the MGM commissary. Elizabeth is in the background.

(via Martin Turnbull)

“You don’t have to be Jewish to love Levy’s”

“You don’t have to be Jewish to love Levy’s Real Jewish Rye,” the unexpected ad campaign for Levy’s, a Brooklyn bakery largely catering to and popular among local Jews, was Judy Protas’ brainchild—though several others have been credited with it over the years—and an instant hit.

According to The New York Times, the Levy’s slogan was just one of Protas’ many clever creations, though it certainly is her most remembered.

“We had a local bread, real Jewish bread, that was sold widely in Brooklyn to Jewish people,” she told The New York Times in 1979. “What we wanted to do was enlarge its public acceptance. Since New York is so mixed ethnically, we decided to spread the good word that way.”

And thus, from Ms. Protas’s largely anonymous pen sprang a slogan — “You don’t have to be Jewish to love Levy’s Real Jewish Rye” — that has far outlived the actual campaign, which began in 1961 and ran through the 1970s.

The Levy’s campaign, conceived by Mr. Bernbach and the art director William Taubin, featured photographs of conspicuously non-Jewish New Yorkers — a black boy, Asian and Native American men and a robed choirboy among them — blissfully contemplating a slice of the company’s rye.

The ads were aimed primarily at the metropolitan area, where, exploiting a singular New York delivery system, they appeared chiefly in the subways. Long part of the day-to-day texture of the city, they were so striking that they drew a national following and were sold individually as posters.

As a result of the ads, sales of Levy’s rye bread soared, and the campaign was admired by people as diverse as the syndicated columnist Walter Winchell, who called it “the commercial with a sensayuma” (say it aloud, fast), and Malcolm X, who liked the poster featuring the black child so much that he had himself photographed alongside it.

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Interesting Vintage Pictures of Russians Drinking Vodka From the Past

Vodka has traditionally been made by processing equal amounts of alcohol and water with some trace additives to soften the taste and then filtering the alcohol water mixture through carbon. The word vodka is a diminutive form of the Russian word for water. It was coined in the late 19th century by the famous Russian chemist Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev, who formulated the Periodic Law, classifying elements according to their atomic numbers. Before that time vodka was simply known as “grain wine."

According to some studies a typical Russian man drinks 180 bottles of vodka a year, or one every two days. In Russia, vodka is very cheap, about $1 for half a liter, and greatly cherished. One Moscow liquor store owner said, "In our country, vodka is a purchase of the highest importance. Russians will never skimp on vodka---they'll just eat less."

By the early 16th century, vodka drinking was enormously popular. Most of the vodka was produced by local tavern owners who became very rich at the expense of their customers. By the mid 17th century the consumption of vodka had gotten so out of hand that a third of the male population was deeply in debt to the taverns and many farmers were too drunk to cultivate their land. The state took over and monopolized the sale of the drink.

In the mid 17th century, the Orthodox Church declared that vodka was an invention of the devil and destroyed all the documents that related to vodka's early history. The church's and the government attempt to crackdown on vodkas drinking only drove the drink underground and encouraged people to make their own vodka at home, a custom that continues to this day.

Disturbed by the impact that vodka was having on his people, Czar Alexander III decided to improve the quality of vodka by hiring the famed Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev. Among the improvements he made were fixing the alcohol content at 40 percent and basing the amounts of water and alcohol used to make vodka on volume rather than weight.

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14 Interesting Vintage Food Ads From the 1950s

In the U.S., far-reaching advertising trends were established in the cultural and economic environment of the 1950s. Traditional media such as radio, newspapers and magazines remained vital ad conduits during the early years of the decade. Below is a small collection of 14 interesting food advertisements from the 1950s.

Armour Star Corned Beef Hash, 1955

Armour Star Meat Snacks, 1954

Kraft Cheez Whiz, 1954

Libby's Canned Meats, 1951

Betty Crocker Angel Cake, 1957

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