Photo by savaman

This is a short post. It’s not really a blog post I guess, but a photo essay followed by a multiple choice test.

The topic of showing cleavage came up when I was watching the Golden Globes, where many of the actresses were showing serious cleavage, and Mariah Carey especially showed so much cleavage that it was difficult to concentrate on anything other than her big, shiny boobs.

Over dinner with friends the following night, the discussion heated up when a few of us felt that showing cleavage was unnecessary and tacky, others felt that it was completely legit (the “if you’ve got it flaunt it” school of thought) and yet others were fairly neutral, saying that showing cleavage can be either tasteful and elegant (if you’re not showing too much and if you’re not too old and wrinkly), or it could be disastrous (if half your boobs are out there and/ or if you’re decolletage has known better days).

A few photos to give you a general idea of how regular, non-celebrity women are choosing to show cleavage:

Photo by Michael Lehet

Photo by brianschulman

Photo by streetguy

And now to the test. It has a single question and six possible answers.

Question:
How do you feel about showing cleavage?

Answers:
a. It’s a fashion Don’t, of course. Showing cleavage is always slutty, tacky and totally unnecessary.
b. It depends. If you’re fairly young and you don’t show too much, it can look great.
c. Hey, if you’ve got it, flaunt it! And anyone that says otherwise is simply jealous.
d. You call yourself a feminist? Breasts are perfectly natural. There’s no reason to hide them or to fuss about them.
e. Definitely a faux pas. Showing boobs is not a feminist act but rather a cheap attempt at using one’s body for getting male attention.
f. It’s fine, except for the office. I don’t want to see anyone’s cleavage/ chest, regardless of their gender and of how fabulous they look, when I’m trying to get work done.

How do YOU feel about showing cleavage?

Loved this Comment: “What does it say about our society that in order to be taken seriously (particularly at work), women have to pretend they don’t have breasts and keep them covered (but not TOO covered because then they’d be prudes and look unfashionable) according to arbitrary dress rules that were set in place by people without breasts at all (men)?” Noble Savage

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Showing Cleavage

The Federal Trade Commission Act of 1914 established truth in advertising law. It says that advertising must be truthful and non-deceptive, and advertisers must have evidence to back up their claims.

An ad is considered deceptive if it contains a statement, or omits information, that is likely to mislead consumers acting reasonably under the circumstances.

Obviously, there are many gray areas when it comes to truth in advertising. The following ads, from as early as the 1920s and from as late as the 1970s, demonstrate it well:

1. Pepsi Cola is wholesome and light

Image credit: Miss Retro Modern

“Today’s delicious, pure Pepsi Cola – the wholesome, light refreshment.”

2. This inflatable doll looks just like a real woman

Image credit: jbcurio

“Just add air. Life like in every detail…just add air and instantly I become a 5’4” beauty who wears size 8 clothes… take me to a party, boating or swimming (I float).” 1970.

3. This gentle exercise routine will enlarge your breasts

Image credit: Uh.. Bob

“Now, through the famous Swedish method of gentle exercise that doctors recommend, you can develop the beautiful form that you desire. Yes, just 10 minutes a day of this scientific development based on modern up-to-date principles allows you to put weight on where you wish – take weight off where you don’t want it.”

4. My special garments dissolves fat by perspiring

Image credit: jbcurio

“The entire body, or any part, can be reduced without dieting by dissolving the fat through perspiration produced by wearing my garments.” 1923.

5. Canned spaghetti is a “wonderful eating”

Image credit: jbcurio

“An easy to fix, money-saving dish that’s truly wonderful eating.”

6. Corn syrup on toast for breakfast is yummy and energizing

Image credit: Miss Retro Modern

“Top off your toast with ENERGY. Bee Hive for breakfast gives you two big benefits… a refreshing taste of delicious flavor and plenty of instant energy.”

7. Sugar can help you keep your weight down

Image credit: Miss Retro Modern

“Sugar keep your energy up and your appetite down. Sugar: only 18 calories per spoon, and it’s all energy.”

8. My nose shaper will fix your nose without surgery

Image credit: jbcurio

“My new nose-shaper corrects ill-shaped noses without operation, quickly, safely and permanently.” 1916.

Apparently, “truth in advertising” often means “stretching the truth to its limits.”

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Truth In Advertising

When I was younger, I wanted to be many things. One of them: an ad executive. I ended up being a lawyer (and hating it), then a blogger for hire. I’m not sure if I should regret the career I never had in advertising, though. Being creative under crazy deadlines and constant pressure is tough.

Judging from the following weird ads, sometimes it’s so tough, that the results are, to put it mildly, bizarre.

1. Scotch Hair Set Tape

Image credit: sugarpie honeycomb. 1970.

2. Hair Dryer For The Bald

Image credit: sugarpie honeybunch. 1972.

3. Physical Violence Is A Great Way To Sell Cigarettes

Image credit: jbcurio. 1975.

4. Bewitched Hairspray

Image Credit: sugarpie honeybunch. 1965.

5. This kid scares the hell out of me

Image credit: bayswater97. 1930s.

6. Is That His Mom? She Scares Me Too

Image credit: Marcoa84

7. Baby-Approved Cigarettes

Image credit: bayswater97

8. Eat Eat EAT! And Always Stay Thin With jar-packed sanitized tape worms

Image credit: 1vintage1

9. This Ad Is Especially Appetizing

Image credit: sixtiesbooks

10. Drink Your Yeast! Yum

Image credit: Sugarpie Honeybunch

—
Related reading:
Truth In Advertising
Funny Ads

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Weird Ads

I’m looking at this ad for Bacon Salt, and I’m thinking that bacon tastes really great, but I’m pretty sure I want bacon to taste like bacon and other foods to taste like other foods.

The website suggests sprinkling bacon salt over pretty much everything, including fries, steak and corn.

Edited to add:

Via Twitter, and thanks to Roy Britten of Cruel And Unusual Geography and to Aaron Tucker, I found out you can also get Baconnaise, Bacon Lip Balm, and Maple Bacon Lollipops (“These lollipops are sugary and have a great maple flavor. They’re also loaded with tiny bits of REAL BACON!)

I’m sure there’s more baconstuff, but I think the above paints a pretty good picture of what’s available on the market.

So, what do you think? Would you WANT everything – including sweets, including your lips – to taste like bacon?

Related Reading: Pita Bread Recipe

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Bacon Salt

Apparently, some good looking people are only willing to date other good looking people.

You’ve got to see this: a website with the highly intelligent tagline “a good looking people community,” where you can search for people based solely on how they look.

Because obviously looks are the most important thing in a person, and if you’re good-looking, there’s no way you’d want to date someone who’s not.

One of the site’s most useful features is a tool that allows you to search for people based on how others have rated their looks. Ratings include: “stunning,” “good looking,” “looks nice,” “looks OK,” “not much,” “ugly,” and “horrifying.” Yes, there are a couple of people in the “horrifying” category.

Thankfully, it looks like the site is not doing too well in terms of traffic. Maybe people are not THAT shallow after all.

—
Comment of the day: “At least they’re all in one place, kinda like a zoo.” Writer Dad.

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Good Looking People

Photo credit: Jesse
Creepy costumes for Halloween: it took me some time to figure out how she did this Chucky costume – at first I thought it was photoshopped – but then I realized she’s closing her eyes and the fake eyes were painted on her closed lids.

Photo credit: Ben Alman
The head looks a little too real, especially at first glance.

Photo credit: Jared Zimmerman
There’s something creepy about those eyes and about the combination of a real face and a mask that looks almost real.

Photo credit: piperkinsvater
This is perhaps cheating, because it’s actually a mannequin, but it’s so CREEPY, I had to include it here.

Photo credit: Brent and Marilynn
A creepy costume!

Photo credit: Jacob Barss-Bailey
Not the creepiest but a little strange and definitely very original.

Photo credit: mattbatt
This one actually makes me a little sad for the dog.

Photo credit: Ben Brown
Despite being photoshopped, this one is awesome – and creepy.

My little girls? Princesses, of course.

Happy Halloween.

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Creepy Costumes

Photo credit: dogseat

The funny hairstyles of the 20th century:

1950s: Beehive Hair
Beehive hair first showed up in the late 50s and continued to be popular during the 60s. It was quite elaborate and required A LOT of hairspray.

Photo credit: Banlon1964

Early 1960s: Big, Stiff, Very “Done” Hair
Can you imagine running your fingers through THAT?

Photo credit: Dr. Monkey

1970s: The Farrah Fawcett Flip, or Feathered Hair
This style was weird-looking even when it framed Farrah’s beautiful face. It was even more difficult to pull off for ordinary women.

Photo credit: watsonsinelgin

There was a male version too:

Photo credit: DCvision2006

1970s – 1980s: Tight Perm, A.K.A Poodle Perm
This is more than a tight perm – it’s a tight perm cut in mullet style. Funny hairstyle indeed.

Photo credit: La Belle Province

1980s: Big Hair
The eighties were all about power dressing, big shoulders, lots of jewelry and of course BIG hair. You will likely need a combination of hair mousse, hair gel and hairspray to recreate this lovely look.

Photo credit: ninjapoodles

1970s-1990s: Mullet
A Mullet is a hairstyle that is short in the front, top, and sides, but long in the back. This hairstyle was popular from the early 1970s to the early 1990s.

Photo credit: FatMandy

1980s: Mohawk
The Mohawk is a hairstyle which consists of shaving both sides of the head, leaving a strip of noticeably longer hair in the middle. Mohawks became common in youth punk subcultures in the early 1980s, then gradually spread to mainstream fashion. The hair in the middle is often elaborately shaped:

Photo credit: Ethan Woods

Or colored:

Photo credit: Malingering

Timeless: The Combover
This is my favorite funny hairstyle. A combover is worn by bald or balding men in which the hair on one side of the head is grown long and then combed over the bald area to minimize the display of baldness.

Donald Trump made this hairstyle famous:

Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

But lots of non-billionaire men sport this hairstyle too:

Photo credit: lets.book

—
If you enjoyed this article on funny hairstyles, you might enjoy these too:
Ugly Shoes
Short Shorts And Other Fashion Mistakes
Funny Ads

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Funny Hairstyles

“Unisex” was a hot seventies fashion trend. But these pants are taking it a little too far, don’t you think? I mean, as much as I love the cut of these seventies pants – I think it’s fabulous – I can’t imagine myself, let alone a guy, wearing them.

Toronto Life, October 1969. Image Credit: jbcurio

I’m curious to know if real guys in the real world actually wore these pants.

Seventies fashion. Incredible!

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Seventies Fashion, Oh My

This is the promotional text on the inside of the gum pack I bought today.

Is it just me or is this really, really weird?

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As Smooth As A Baby’s Bottom, But More Minty

Funny ads? Perhaps, but these ads are so bad, they probably had the opposite effect on the consumer than what the advertisers had intended.

Some of these ads are old, some are new. Apparently, bad advertising and uninspired copy writing are timeless.

1. Funny Ad: Sausage
This should be enough to turn anyone into a vegetarian, and certainly would NOT make me (a non-vegetarian) buy this particular sausage.

Photo credit: krizsa

2. Funny Ad: Gillette
Strange.

Photo credit: krizsa

3. Funny Ad: Cigarettes
This one is probably a play on the classic Laugh-In line: “Blow in my ear and I’ll follow you anywhere.”(1968)
Gross!

Image credit: krizsa

4. Funny Ad: Milk
Is this a convincing argument for drinking milk? Not only is the concept not a very good one, but the copy writing is strange too.

Image credit: caffeina

5. Funny Ad: Harry’s Bread
Harry’s Bread tagline is “Nice and Soft“, so it’s obvious what they were trying to do here. It is so soft that she can comfortably sleep on it. But does it make you want to EAT that bread?

Image credit: Tomas

6. Funny Ad: FIM Financial Services
This Swedish Finnish ad for an investment company says “Sure you can smell your way to money. We’ll tell you how”. Thanks Norwegian Guy and Anton for providing the correct translation, and Silja for clarifying that the ad is from Finland.

Image credit: gruntzooki

7. Funny Ad: Online news
According to Kate, who posted this on Flickr, this is a Sydney subway ad for online news. She adds, “I’m not sure it makes a compelling argument.” I agree!

Image credit: Kate Raynes-Goldie

8. Funny Ad: Bursa Kebab
Bursa Kebab is a restaurant in San Francisco. I’ve never eaten there, and I can’t say that this ad makes me want to.

Image credit: Paul Schreiber

9. Funny Ad: Capital One
Regardless of the current financial chaos, does this ad make you want to move your banking needs to Capital One?

Image credit: jarek69

10. Funny Ad: Vitalis
He looks SO CUTE with his tousled hair. After applying Vitalis, he looks like a freak.

Image credit: jbcurio

More funny ads:
Weird Ads
Vintage Ad

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Funny Ads