Student Life At Iowa State Teachers College
1943 Campus Cuties
I’m guessing this was taken at a Mexican restaurant that happened to have a tree inside it.
Can you imagine a 19-year-old dressing like this for a track meet?
Even minus the heels, in penny loafers and socks, Betty is dressed to impress.
Surely those soldiers were trying not to stare at Trebie.
Budgie knew how to hit the books.
Pat re-enacted her Gone With The Wind fantasy.
These fellows tried to get their attention after the photo shoot. Good luck!
Ferris Wheel In The Sky Keeps On Turning
Ready yourselves because today’s funny/interesting/curious name isn’t chock full of vowels or silly sounds or alliteration. ‘Tis true. But it will honor today’s birthday boy (no, not John Travolta), the guy on the one dollar bill. So buckle up, because we’re about to go on a wonderfully spherical ride.
http://www.famousinventors.org
The dapper Dan above is George Washington Gale Ferris Jr., an American engineer and inventor, not to be confused with the other famous Ferris–Bueller, the sick-faking high school slacker in the 1986 film. As you can probably surmise, this Ferris is best known for creating the original Ferris Wheel for the 1893 Chicago World’s Columbian Exposition, aka the World’s Fair, which celebrated the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’s arrival to the New World in 1492. We all know that rhyme, don’t we?
memegenerator.net
Though he appears to be named after our first president, he was actually the junior to dad, George Washington Gale Ferris…
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Yes, We Really Wore That: 1987
Yes. All those geometric figures and unnecessary flaps, bangled belts, and denim tops.
Yes. Popped collars.
Flintstone Barbies.
David Byrne meets Max Headroom.
Um, no. I never wore that. What IS that? Is it dead? Is it ruffles? He is speechless.
He wishes he could unsee it. But he can’t.
It’s already been seen.
All images from 1987 UT Austin Cactus.
The Desert’s Secret
As many of you know, I judge all my books by their covers. The only books I purchase are in the clearance $1-$3 section at Half Price Books, chosen firstly by their spines, then their covers, and then the summaries on the inside cover. I read them in a matter of weeks and donate them back to the store when I’m done. I haven’t bought a retail book from Barnes & Noble in over a decade. Why pay $25 for a book when you could eat enchiladas and have a frosty Coke?
So today, as I perused the clearance section, this little book caught my eye with its bright colors, still vivid since 1933. Isn’t it scandalous? I didn’t buy it because it’s not my fictional cup of tea, but I thought I should share its fun cover. Evidently, the author enjoyed the desert. And whoever does buy it will snag it for only three bucks!
The Popular Cork Room
Rare is the moment I get a yearbook pic without documenting the source. All I know about this source is that it was mid-60s and probably in Texas. In any event, I love the font on the Cork Room sign above. What I don’t get is why the other sign appears to say DROGS, not DRUGS.
But it wasn’t drugs that made this ‘do. Only black magic and sorcery could have enabled Lynda to achieve these “Kentucky Waterfall” tresses. Lynda shoots and scores on volume! 
This last one looks shows an era-specific soundboard with a not-so era-specific blond haircut. Must have seemed cutting edge at the time. 
Iowa State Teachers College: Lawther Hall Vs. Seerley Hall 1942
Getting Old Beats The Alternative
1935 San Antone
And A Happy New Year
Dammit, Janet
It doesn’t seem like that long ago, but it’s been 40 years…
Cat Porch
Ro Lady Lala Mara, First Lady of Fiji
Warmest winter greetings to you, BOFN readers! Today’s interesting name offers a plethora o’ vowels, reminiscent of a Hawaiian-themed Bing Crosby Christmas song. Join me as we shine a light Ro Lady Lala Mara, the wife of modern Fiji’s founding father, Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara. Ratu means Chief, and Ro was the title she was given. Below is Castaway Island in Fiji. Isn’t it lovely?
While her husband was born with the amazing name of Kamisese Kapaiwai Tuimacilai Uluilakeba (which contains all the vowels save O), his wife’s name contained all of them except E. I advise some vocal warm-ups before attempting to say it: Litia Cakobau Lalabalavu Katoafutoga Tuisawau. That wouldn’t fit on a drivers license.
It’s a lot to take in. They are equally amazing names, no? However, in this era of #metoo and diversity, one is forced to choose the XX chromosomes to celebrate. And really, Lala…
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I Don't Get It 