blast-from-the-past

Black Men Working at Cotton Gin Told Water Fountain Is For Whites Only

Adam Weinstein · 06/04/14 11:25AM

Two black workers in a Tennessee cotton factory just filed a federal complaint against a domineering white supervisor who called them "monkeys" and was recorded lamenting racial integration while telling them the water fountain and microwave were for whites only. Happy 2014!

In Stock: African Children

Hamilton Nolan · 04/15/10 09:23AM

"AFRICAN BOY. Can be used as ash tray, cigarette tray, candy or nut dish. 5' high in black wrought iron. Round wooden head with beady eyes. If not available at your dealer send $2.00 to:" America. [Copyranter. Click to enlarge.]

Hilarious Old Snuggie Ancestor Unearthed

Hamilton Nolan · 12/16/09 04:55PM

Robe scientists have discovered the earliest known Snuggie/ Slanket ancestor: "The Bundler." Which is apparently just footie pajamas held on with rubber bands? "Deliciously sexy on her, smoothly good-looking on him." No it's not. [Flickr via Copyranter. Click to enlarge.]

The Campy Swine Flu Ads that Saved America

Hamilton Nolan · 04/27/09 01:26PM

Basic message: Anything sign of happiness in your attitude will cause you to die, followed by your loved ones.
But hey, I like the pep!

The Best Of The Bizarre

Hamilton Nolan · 04/22/08 11:35AM

The nether regions of the magazine world are truly a strange place. An upcoming book called Bad Mags is a collection of some of the most "strange, bizarre, and peripheral" magazines of the last 50 years—obscure fetish porn, occult titles, true crime, punks, horror, aliens, serial killers. Awesome. We've combed through hundreds of titles to bring you the ten weirdest, dirtiest, and/ or most intriguing magazine covers there are. They're all below—some are NSFW, but all are worthwhile.

Answering Machine Humor Will Never Surpass 'Crazy Calls'

Hamilton Nolan · 04/17/08 03:18PM

"I let you know/ That I'm not home/ But I'll be back/ Before too long!" That, of course, is but a small excerpt from "The Rap," just one of the SEVEN zany answering machine messages available for only $14.95 on the classic mail-order tape "Crazy Calls!" The "Boogie Woogie" answer? The "Call Me If You Can-Can" answer? All there! The vintage ad below [via Videogum] still has the 1-800 number to call and order the tape, so if somebody can get these people on the phone, get one of these tapes, and bring it to us, we will smile momentarily and then say "There are no tape players left."