People Were Strange in the Fifties

There is an interesting slideshow on Slate showing ads form the fifties with ping pong tables in them. The point of the associated piece is that the ping pong table was a symbol for the good life in suburbia.

It's pretty interesting, but I was particularly struck by this ad.



What in the world was The American Home magazine all about? This cover shoot looks like A Clockwork Orange meets Gilligan's Island, with a group of people protraying a family who have approximately zero chance of coming from the same gene pool.

But it did come with a gorgeous 9 x 12 bird print, so I guess all was right with the world.