Most of the older-type westerns that are seen on the last, late show usually have the cliché in them that goes like this: pretty girl alights from stage coach, local cowpoke slides up to her and asks "Howdy Ma’am. Are you the new school marm?” This naturally leads to one thing and another, not always a plot, but what do you want for practically nothing? 

Read the whole article and see
the naughty pictures HERE

Warning: Nudity do occur in this article. If you are under age or live in a country where watching images of nude women for some reason  is against the law  I take no responsibility if you click the link above. In other words you’re flying solo from here on – Ted ;-)

Built in Manresa, near Barcelona, by Automoviles Utilitarios S. A., the pretty little PTV (named after company owners Perramon, Tacho and Vila) was the second-biggest-selling microcar in Spain, next to Biscuter. While the latter was strictly a primitive, utilitarian device, the PTV was- with its proper doors, 2-tone paint, chrome trim and 12-inch wheels- intended for a more upscale, discerning clientele.

After a lengthy 2-year development period, the prototype appeared in 1956, featuring an in-house 250cc motor with aluminum piston and head, which drove the rear wheels. Independent front suspension, large diameter wheels and snug, enclosed bodywork even allowed discussion of driving comfort- a subject not remotely considered by a Biscuter driver.

The car was improved over the years with the addition of bumpers and other extras. A 350cc motor was planned for later cars but was never actually put into production.

Inevitably, the end came from competition with a "real" car- the Fiat 600, license-built in Spain as the SEAT 600. This mass-produced, not-much-more-expensive car, had four cylinders and four seats, and simply steamrollered over the hand built PTV- a scene repeated all over Europe in the late 1950′s.

AUSA is still with us today, producing utility equipment and forklift trucks.

Text from Bruce Weiner Microcar Museum

Curators have been studying Picasso’s "The Blue Room"—one of the highlights of the artist’s early 20th-century "blue period" —since 2008, and they’ve discovered it was painted over another work: a portrait of an unidentified man.

"The Blue Room" depicts a woman posing in Picasso’s Paris studio, but underneath is a study of a mustachioed man in a bowtie. Researchers at Washington D.C.’s Phillips Collection revealed the hidden image with a combination of X-ray and infrared analysis.

"It’s really one of those moments that really makes what you do special," Phillips conservator Patricia Favero told the AP. "The second reaction was, ‘Well, who is it?’ We’re still working on answering that question."

Picasso reused many canvases early in his career, when he didn’t always have the means to afford fresh ones. His paintings "La Vie" and "Woman Ironing" were both previously discovered to have been painted over other pieces.

Text: NPR, Photos: AP Images

The Hamburg Amerikanische Paketfahrt Aktien-Gesellschaft (HAPAG for short, often referred to in English as Hamburg America Line (sometimes also Hamburg-American Line, Hamburg-Amerika Linie or Hamburg Line); literally Hamburg American Packet-shipping Joint-stock company) was a transatlantic shipping enterprise established in Hamburg, Germany, in 1847. Among the founders were prominent citizens such as Albert Ballin (Director General), Adolph Godeffroy, Ferdinand Laeisz, Carl Woermann, August Bolten and others, and its main financial backers were Berenberg Bank and H. J. Merck & Co. It soon developed into the largest German, and at times the world’s largest, shipping company, serving the market created by the German immigration to the United States and later immigration from Eastern Europe. On September 1, 1970, after 123 years of independent existence, HAPAG merged with the Bremen-based North German Lloyd to form Hapag-Lloyd AG.

Ports served

In the early years, the Hamburg America Line exclusively connected European ports with North American ports, such as Hoboken, New Jersey, or New Orleans, Louisiana. With time, however, the company established lines to all continents.

Notable journeys

In 1858, its liner Austria sank, killing 449 people. In 1891, the cruise of the Augusta Victoria in the Mediterranean and the Near East from 22 January to 22 March, with 241 passengers including Albert Ballin and wife, is often stated to have been the first passenger cruise. Christian Wilhelm Allers published an illustrated account of it as "Bakschisch". In 1900, 1901 and 1903 its liner Deutschland won the Blue Riband taking the prize from the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse. In 1906 Prinzessin Victoria Luiseran aground off the coast of Jamaica. No lives were lost by the grounding; however, the ship’s captain committed suicide after getting all the passengers safely off the ship. In 1912, its liner SS Amerika was the first ship to warn Titanic of icebergs.

HAPAG’s leader Albert Ballin, believed that safety, size, comfort and luxury would always win out over speed. Thus he conceived the three largest liners yet to be built, named the Imperator, Vaterland and Bismarck. The first two were briefly in service before the First World War. In 1914, the Vaterland was caught in port at Hoboken, New Jersey at the outbreak of World War I and interned by the United States. She was seized, renamed Leviathan after the declaration of war on Germany in 1917, and served for the duration and beyond as a troopship. After the war, she was retained by the Americans for war reparations. In 1919 Vaterland’s sister ships —Imperator and the unfinished Bismarck—were handed over to the allies as war reparations to Britain and sold to Cunard Line and White Star Line, respectively, and renamed Berengaria and Majestic. In 1917, its liner Allemannia was "torpedoed by German submarine near Alicante"; 2 people were lost.  In 1939, its liner St. Louis was unable to find a port in Cuba, the United States, or Canada willing to accept the more than 950 Jewish refugees on board and had to return to Europe.

 
A postcard of the view from the water of the Hamburg-American Steamship Lines docks in Hoboken, New Jersey, in about 1910.

Ship on the poster

SS Fürst Bismarck was an ocean liner built in 1890 by AG Vulcan for the Hamburg America Line. A steamship of 8,430 gross register tons, it was assigned to transatlantic crossings between Hamburg Germany and00 New York, USA. Fürst Bismarck and the sister ships were part of an express fleet that usually made the trip in five to six days.

Design

The SS Fürst Bismarck was designed with five decks constructed of steel and teak. The three funnels rose above the hurricane deck. The ship also had two masts, but without yards. Each side of the ship was subdivided into numerous watertight compartments. The hull of the ship had a double bottom, the space between divided into chambers, which could be filled with water or emptied by means of automatic pumps, thus increasing or decreasing the draught at will, and guarding the ship from grounding. The enormous engines [were] of 6000 to 8000 horsepower each. The screws are of manganese bronze, with three or four blades.

First class deck state rooms, located mid-ship, were 7 to 9 feet in width, with elaborate furnishings. Separate saloons for men and women allowed for privacy, smoking (gentlemen only), and conversation. The Second class rooms were on the same level as first class, but with most rooms located fore and aft, with smaller rooms and their own saloons. The steerage was directly below the Second Cabin; separate compartments housed single men, women, and families.

Service

Launched on November 29, 1890, the ship made its maiden run from Hamburg to New York, via Southampton (England), on May 8, 1891. In the service of Hamburg America line (HAPAG) on September 27, 1894, 5 days, 18 hours, 10 minutes, with Captain Adolph Albers (1843–1902) at the helm. Albers, later Commodore of the Hamburg America fleet, held several speed records for trans Atlantic crossings before his death at the helm of the SS Deutschland in 1902. Between its maiden journey and 1894, the ship made 140 crossings, predominantly as an immigrant ship, and carrying American travelers to Europe on the return journey. On July 4, 1894, in honor of its many crossings and "in memory of Muhlenberg, Herkimer, Steuben and Dekalb," the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Columbia Liberty Bell Company presented the ship, and its Captain, with a replica of the Liberty Bell, requesting that the ship’s captain ordered it to be rung when the ship came in sight of the Navesink Highlands (by day) or Navesink Twin Lights (by night). After 1894, it was occasionally in use as a luxury cruise ship. HAPAG commissioned a second SS Fürst Bismarck (1905) in 1905.

In 1904, the ship became the auxiliary cruiser the Don in the Russian Navy. In 1906, she was assigned to the Russian Volunteer Fleet with the name Moskva. In 1913, she became a depot ship in the Austrian Navy, the "Gaea." The vessel was seized by Italy during the First World War, rebuilt, and renamed San Guisto. She was scrapped in Italy in 1924.

From the 33rd edition of “XX^th Century Health And Pleasure Resorts Of Europe” published in 1933

ROUGH CLASSIFICATION OF SOME OF THE MOST POPULAR SWISS RESORTS

SUMMER MOUNTAIN RESORTS: (For those opening in Winter, see Winter Sports Resorts) :Adelboden, Airolo, Anderrn rtt Arolla, Arosa Arveyes, Axenfels, Ballaigues, Beatenberg, Berisal, Binn, Bricolla, Btirgenstock, Caux, Celerina, Charnper y, Champex, Chateau-d’Oex, Chesieres, Col des Plariches, Centers, Corbeyrier, Crans-sur-Sierre, Davos, Diablerets, Eggishom, Engelberg, Etivaz (Bains d’), Evolena, Fafleralp, Ferpecle, Fiesch, Finhaut, Forclaz, Frutigen, Gletsch, Griesalp, Grimentz, Grindelwald, Gruben-Meiden, Gryon, Gstaad, Guttannen, Gsteig, Innertkirchen, Interlaken, Kandersteg, Klosters, Lauterbrunnen, La Fouly, La Sage, Lenk, Lenzerheide, Les Hauderes, Les Plans s. Bex, Les Rasses, Le Sepey, Leysin (climatic), Maloja, Mayens de Sion, Meiringen, Montana, Muhlen, Monte Generoso, Morschach, Murren, Oeschenen-See, Pontresina, Reuti, Riederalp, Riederfurka, Riffelalp, Rossinieres, Saanen, Saanenrnoser, Saas-Fee , Saas-Grund, Sarnaden, San Bernardino, Savognino, Scheidegg, Seelisberg, Simplon-Kulm, Spliigen, Ste-Croix, St-Mcritz, Taes’ch, Tiefenkastel, Val Ferret, Val d’Illiez, Villars, Weiss horn, Wengen, Wengernalp, Wiesen, Zermatt, Zernez, Zuoz.

RESORTS on or near the following LAKES: Lake of Geneva (Lac Leman), see Caux, Chexbres, Coppet, Evian-Ies-Bains (France), Geneva, Lausanne- Ouchy, Montreux with Clarens and Territet, Nyon, St. Cergue, Vevey, Villeneuve. Lake Lucerne, see Axenfels, Brunnen, Burgenstock, Lucerne, Morschach, Lake Lugano , see Lugano, Cademario, Monte Generoso, Monte Salvatore, Sonvico. Lake Maggiore, see Locarno, Ascona …. and Section ITALY. Lakes of Neuchatel and Bienne, see Neuchatel, Bienne, Cressier, Neuveville, St. Blaise, Yverdon. Lakes of Thoune and Brienz, see Interlaken, Beatenberg, Gunten, Hilterfingen, Oberhofen, Spiez, Thoune. Lake of Zurich, see Zurich. Mountain Lakes, see Arosa, Champex, Crans, Davos, Fafleralp, Le Prese, Klosters, Maloja, Montana, Piora, San Bernardino, St. Moritz.

SPRING, AUTUMN and MID-CLIMATIC RESORTS: PRACTICALLY ALL THE LOWER LAKE DISTRICTS (see above), as well as such places as Ballaigues, Bex-les-Bains, Henniez (Bains d’), Le Prese, Meiringen, Ragaz, Sierre and some of the lower mountain resorts. (For the dates of opening of the latter, see individual insertions.)

WINTER SPORT RESORTS: Adelboden, Andermatt, Arosa, Arveyes, Baltatgues , Beatenberg, Caux, Celerina, Champery, Champex, Chateau-d ‘Oex, Ohesteres , Crans-sur-Sierre, Davos, Diablerets, Engelberg, Grindelwald, Gryon, Griesalp, Gstaad, Gsteig, Jaunpass, Julier Route, Jungfraujoch, Kandersteg, Klosrers ;’ Lenk , Lenzerheide, Le Sepey, Les Rasses, Leysin, Maloja, Montana, Montreux (by mountain railways), Murren, Pontresina, Reuti, Roasinieres , Saanen, Saanenmoser, Samaden, San Bernardino, Splugen , Ste. Croix, St. MOritz, Surlej, Vevey (by mountain railways), Villars, Wengen, Wiesen, Zermatt, Zuoz. – Summer ski-ing on the Jungfraujoch.

SWITZERLAND FOR THE FOREIGN VISITOR

Switzerland, the" Inexhaustible ". is no longer looked upon as a mere tourist district. the World is recognizing more and more the advantages of its health giving properties and educational facilities,

and, now that the League of Nations has" come to stay", it may even be regarded as the centre of International Politics.

The days when people had time to spare are past, and with them the days when EngIish families could afford to put in a few months (sometimes even a few years) of leisurely existence on the Continent , Money is more plentiful, but time scarcer now-a-days. This has affected the Swiss Tourist World to acertain extent though the main Summer mountain resorts and Winter Sport centres are still crowded during the height of their respective seasons. It is for this reason that from time to time some “mumbling and grumbling” regarding prices is heard. If only people would realize how comparatively cheaply they could live when the rush is over and what delightful accommodation would then be offered them for the same terms as a small room during the season, no one except those obliged to, would travel in the full season, excepting, of course in the more remote and less patronized places. Except for actual mountaineering, May and June, when the Alpine Flora is at its best, and Autumn with its glorious colouring, are preferable in any but the highest Mountain resorts. On the lakes and in the lower regions it is during these months that the meadows and orchards offer such a wonderful sight, whilst for Winter Sports, snow conditions from the middle of January to the end of February are usually at their best and the hours of sunshine longer.

From a TOURIST point of view, Switzerland consists of several distinct districts, which can be roughly classified as follows:

THE BERNESE OBERLAND Best reached from Berne via the Lake of Thoune, includes:

THE LAKE RESORTS of Thoune, Hllterflngen , Oberhofen, Gunten and Spiez, with Beatenberg above the Lake;

THE KANDER VALLEY (Berne-Loetschberg-Simplon Railway) leaving from Spiez to Kandersteg, in which lie the stations of Pruttgen (junction for the car service to Adelboden), Reichenbach (junction for Griesalp) ; . The famous excursion centre of Interlaken and the many beautiful Summer and Winter mountain resorts at the foot of the Jungfrau Group (Grindelwald, Lauterbrunnen, Murren, Scheldegg , Wengen, Wengernalp) ; The Jungfrau Railway, which carries passengers up to an altitude of 11,400 feet into a world of ice and snow, is unique; The Bernese Oberland extends beyond Lake Brienz to Melrfngen at the foot of the Grimsel, whence the railway continues via Brünig (junction for Hohfluh and Reuti) to Lucerne.

THE GRISONS (Canton of Graubünden), starting at Coire, the Capital, includes the famous high mountain resorts of Arosa, Davos , Klosters, Lenzerheide, Pontresfna , and the Engadine with. Samaden, St. Moritz and Maloja. Sunshine and snow conditions in these higher places can be relied upon m Winter, whilst in Summer the wonderfully bracing air and the sun on the high altItudes is unsurpassed in health-giving properties. The scenery with its white capped mountains, dark pine forests and turquoise blue lakes is beautiful in all parts. The Grisons extends, passing Maloja, towards the Italian Lake DistrIct ; passing the famous baths of Tarasp-Schuls to the Austrian Tyrol; by the Bernma Railway passing Pontresma and Le Prese to Italy, and via Zernez over the Ofen Pass (for Merano in the Alto-Adige). It includes the Albula Pass (by train or car) and the beautiful Car Routes over the Julier, Fluela, Splugen and San Bernardmo Passes.

THE JURA round about the Lakes of Neuchatel and Bienneincludes the Baths of Yverdon and the heights above, where several charming Summer and Winter resorts (Ste. Croix-Ies Rasses , etc.) are dotted amongst the beautiful forests. Ballalgues , being just above Vallorbe, is the nearest Swiss Summer and Winter resort to Paris and a delightful motoring centre. Neuchatel is charmingly situated on Its own Lake. Cressier and St. Blaise are within a short distance of Neuchatel ; Neuveville and Bienne (Biel) (a centre of the watchmaking industry) lie on the northern shore of the Lake of Bienne. Fribourg (Berne-Lausanne main line) and Morat (Murten) (Berne-Lausanne car route) are extremely picturesque and historically interesting old towns. Henniez-Ies-Bains (mineral springs) and Marnand are on the mam Berne-Lausanne car route.

THE LAKE OF GENEVA (Lac Leman) forms the frontier between France and Switzerland, extending from Villeneuve in the Rhone Valley to Geneva, with Montreux, Vevey, Lausanne, Nyon, Coppet, etc. on the Swiss side. Large, comfortable steamers link up all towns and villages on the Lake, whilst railways, trams, funiculars, and car services run from all places to the many beautiful resorts on the heights, famous in Spring for their Flora, in Autumn for the colouring of their wooded slopes, and several of them for Winter sports. This is the most" residential" district of Switzerland for foreigners, partly owing to Its mild climate, partly to its facilities for international travel, and greatly owning to its educational advantages.

GENEVA, now a great international centre, has many attractions. The neighbourhood includes Coppet, Divonne-Ies-Bains (France), Monnetier (France), Nyon, St. Cer gue , and the numerous charming resorts just over the frontier in Savoy.

THE LAKE OF LUCERNE (Vierwaldstattersee) extends from the famous tourist centre of Lucerne, (with Burgenstock and Sonnenberg on the heights above), between the Rigi, Pilatus and other mountains, towards the Briinig Pass; towards the well-known mountain resort of Engelberg, and, passing Seeliberg, Schoneck and other places on its slopes and shores, is rejoined at Brunnen by the Gotthard Railway which leaves it at Fluelen. Morschach and Axenfels lie just above Brunnen. This lake is considered by many to be the most beautiful of Swiss Lakes. In Spring and early Summer, when the orchards are in blossom, this can scarcely be disputed. The Autumn foliage is also very beautiful. -Comfortablesteamers, railway and car services link up all places.

THE PAYS D’ENHAUT lies between the picturesque old town of Gruyeres, the hills North of Lake Geneva and the Bernese Oberland, terminating at Zweisimmen, the junction for Lake Thoune and Lenk. It consists mainly of pasture land, wooded hills and rocky summits, interspersed with picturesque and prosperous villages, including the well-known Summer and Winter resorts of Cha teau-d ‘Oex, Rossfniere , Etivaz (Bains d ‘), a few miles from Cha teauvd”Dex or Le Sepey , Gstaad, Gsteig, Saanenand Saanenmoser and the Jaunpass with the picturesque village of Charmey. Beyond Zweisimrneri lie the Baths of Weissenburg, and at Oey-Diemtigen a road branches off to Grimmialp.

THE RHONE VALLEY, though the river has its source in the beautiful Rhone Glacier at Gletsch, is generally referred to as the district extending from Brigue (junction of the Simplon, Lotschberg and Furka Lines) to Lake Geneva. From a tourist point of view, with the exception of Sion and Sierre, it acts chiefly as the starting point for the numerous mountain resorts on the heights and in its lateral valleys. Commencing from the Lake.

AIGLE for Champery (via Montheyand Val d’I1liez) ; for Corbeyrier ; for Leystn (by funicular or car) ; for Le Sepey and Diablerets and via the Col des Mosses to Chateau-dOex ;

BEX-LES-BAINS for Villars (with Arveyes and Chesteres), Gryon, Les Plans;

MARTIGNY for Lac Champex, the Great St. Bernard, the Val Ferret (La Fouly), Col des Planches, Fionna y, the road to Chamonix via Forclaz and Trient, and the Martigny-Chamonix Electric Railway via Finhaut .

SION for Mayens de Sion, Evolena, La Sage, Les Hauderes , Arolla, Ferpecle and Bricolla ; SIERRE for Montana and Crans, Grimentz, St. Luc, the Weisshorn Hotel and the Val d’Anniviers generally;

TOURTEMAGNE for Gruben-Meiden .

VIRGE for the famous Summer and Winter mountain resort of Zermatt and the Zermatt Valley resorts (Randa, Taesch, etc.), and via Stalden for Saas-Fee and Saas-Grund ;

BRIGUE for the Furka Railway and Route, which includes Fiesch (starting point for the Eggfshorn mountain hotel and Binn) and Gletsch at the foot of the Rhone Glacier and the Grimsel Pass ; For the Loetschberg Railway to Berne, passing the stations of Goppenstein (for Fafleralp), Kandersteg, Fruttgen (for Adelboden), Spiez and Thoune ; For the Simplon Railway and car route to Domodossola (Italy) passing Berisal and the Hotel Bellevue at the summit of the Simplon Pass. Cars can be shipped through the Loetschberg and Simplon tunnels.

THE ST. GOTTHARD ROUTE (Bale-Milan Express) runs from the Lake of Lucerne southwards through beautiful mountain scenery to Lugano , Goeschenen (junction for Andermatt on the Furka-Oberalp Railway), Airolo and Bellinzona (for Locarno and Mesocco). The Car route over the Pass is open from Spring to Autumn. Cars are shipped through the tunnel at very moderate rates.

THE SWISS-ITALIAN LAKES include the Lake of Lugano and the Lago Maggiore, Locarno with Orselina and Ascona being the only resorts on the latter in Swiss territory. Lugano is a large tourist resort and the starting point of several beautiful excursions by mountain railways, steamer or car. Cademario and Sonvico lie on the heights above Lugano. Locarno, rendered famous through the Conference, is a mild climatic resort, the starting point for Lake excursions and the beautiful Centovalli Rail wa y to Domodossola and the Simplon, and for the Val Maggia Line to Bignasco. In early Spring the mimosa trees, camelias and other Southern vegetation add greatly to the charm of these Tessinese resorts.

Amongst WATERING PLACES, Ragaz , between Zurich and Coire, Tarasp-Schuls-Vulpera in the lower Engadine, Weissenburg on the M.O.B. line and Yverdon in the Jura are of the best known. The LEADING TOWNS are Basle, Berne, the Capital, Geneva, seat of the League of Nations, ‘Lausanne and Zurich. Each of these towns has an individual character and charm and is historically interesting. (For picturesque towns, see" For Sightseers ", Part I). The Railways of Switzerland are almost entirely run by electricity.

The "POSTES ALPESTRES" (public motorcar services) are most excellently organised and greatly facilitate travelling on the old diligence routes and in out of-the-way places.

The Principality of LIECHTENSTEIN, adjoining the Eastern Frontier of Switzerland, with its picturesquely situated Capital, VADUZ, is well worth visiting, either by train or car.

This post is the last of the “Holidays in The thirties” series so I’ll see if I cant find something else to build a new Monday series on. As I’m interested in just about anything I think you may see a new series next Monday –Ted

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Sonja Jeannine is a retired Austrian stage actress who particularly became famous with the sexploitation films of the early to mid-1970s.

Career

Jeannine started her career with the ensemble Löwinger-Bühne and later passed to cinema, especially acting in sex report films directed by Ernst Hofbauer, such as three Schulmädchen-Report films as well as Schlüsselloch-Report (hotel sexuality report) and Frühreifen-Report (adolescent sexuality report). During 1976 and 1977, she was active in Italian exploitation cinema but returned to Viennese theatres with Erich Padalewski by 1978. By the early 1980s, she was performing at Theater in der Josefstadt and during this period, she met entrepreneur Richard Lugner in 1983 with whom she got engaged. Jeannine’s last acting performance was in the play Der Schwierige at the Bregenz Festival the same year.

Selected filmography

• The Countess Died of Laughter (1973)
  Virgins of the Seven Seas (1974)
• Das Netz (1975)
  La figliastra (1976)
  Mannaja (1977)
  Il corsaro nero (1977)

Text from Wikipedia

Coca Cola teamed up with award-winning ad agency Ogilvy & Mather China on a new “2nd Lives” campaign and created 16 red screw-on caps that transform the otherwise-useless left-over plastic bottle into something creative, fun and usable. This environmentally friendly campaign launched in Vietnam, where 40,000 free caps will be given away when purchasing the iconic soda drink.

These fun caps transform the used beverage bottles into a lamp, a paintbrush, a spray bottle, a pencil sharpener, a soap dispenser, and many other usable objects. Graham Fink, the chief creative officer of Ogilvy & Mather China, explains the idea behind the project: “We have created fun tools with Coke bottle tops, bringing small moments of happiness into people’s lives.“

With the creativity of this campaign and the good cause behind it, this could easily be one of Coca Cola’s best campaigns ever. Don’t forget to check out the video to see how all the different caps are used.

Found on BoredPanda

The words "Edsel" and" styling" rarely appear together without prompting memories of the car that proved a disaster for Ford Motor Company back in the Fifties. But "Edsel," as in Edsel Ford, Henry’s only son and company president in the Thirties, was responsible for one of the most revered automotive designs of all time: the matchless 1940-41 Lincoln Continental. From the moment it appeared, it turned heads and made even normally conservative types eager to part with lots of cash just to own one. Today, nearly a half-century later, it still does.

Edsel had dreamed of making Lincoln the best car in the world ever since his father had acquired Henry Martyn Leland’s second automaking enterprise (Cadillac was the first) in 1922. Though always in the shadow of his great father and thus something of a tragic figure, Edsel was blessed with an unerring sense of style. It was readily apparent in the masterful K-series LincoIns of the Thirties as well as more ordinary cars like the Ford Model A and 1932 V-8.

It was in the Thirties that Edsel became enamored of certain European cars, especially their narrow, upright grilles, long hoods and front fenders, and other elements he thought of as "continental." Believing such themes could be successfully applied to an American car, he collaborated with E. T. "Bob" Gregorie, the young head of Ford’s design department, on a special convertible body for the production Lincoln Zephyr chassis. Completed in late 1938, the car was sent to Palm Beach, Florida, where Edsel used it during his annual winter vacation. It immediately attracted over 250 inquires as to when it might be offered for sale. Encouraged by this response, he okayed a production version as an addition to the 1940 Zephyr line, and his personal car reached Lincoln showrooms with only the barest of changes from the original design.

The result was one of the first Forties cars recognized as a true classic. Officially a Zephyr, the Continental appeared without any identifying name script as Edsel’s four-seat cabriolet and as a closed coupe. Naturally, its 125wheelbase chassis and 292-cubic-inch, 120-horsepower V -12 were shared with Lincoln’s junior series, but masterful long-hood I short-deck proportions made the Continental longer overall than-equivalent Zephyrs. It was also heavier, thanks to the considerable leading involved in the mostly handbuilt body, so it didn’t handle quite as well. Even so, the Continental was agile for a car of its day weighing nearly two tons, not to mention being highly refined and handsomely furnished. Only the finest broadcloth and leather were used for the upholstery, and the radio speaker, hom ring, control knobs, and instrument bezels were covered in genuine gold plate. With all this, the Continental was hardly cheap-$2916 for the cabriolet, $2783 for the club coupe-and this plus the painstaking craftsmanship explains why production was only 54 and 350 units, respectively, for the model year.

The Continental became a separate series for 1941 and saw higher production, 400 cabriolets and 850 coupes. Changes were few. Appropriate name script, combined turn signal and parking lamps, and pushbutton door releases were the main distinguishing points outside. Alterations were more substantial-and less welcome for 42. A flashy facelift that prefigured immediate postwar styling brought higher, squared-up fenders and added seven inches to overall length, so weight went up. A larger 305-cid V -12, used only this year, provided an extra 10 bhp. Production for the war-shortened season was just 336 units combined.

During and immediately after the war, a number of proposals surfaced for a new Continental, including a wood-body derivative of the new generation Lincoln scheduled for 1949. In the end, all came to naught. The 1942 Continental returned for 1946 with the original 292 engine and largely carryover styling. It vanished after 1948.

Today, the 1940-41 "Mark I" remains the most revered Continental, which is as it should be. After all, there’s nothing like an original.

Fanta – The Humble Beginnings Of  A Worldwide Phenomenon

There have been all kinds of stories about Fanta’s creation in Nazi Germany during WWII. Some of what has been said is true— a great deal is fiction.

Prior to the breakout of the war, Germany was the location of The Coca-Cola Company’s greatest overseas success. Records for sales were set year after year. By 1939, there were 43 bottling plants and more than 600 local distributors.

The German branch of The Coca-Cola Company had been run by an American-born man by the name of Ray Powers. He was killed in a car accident in 1938 and was replaced by the German-born Max Keith. As the new CEO, Keith was entrusted with all the operations for The Coca-Cola Company in all the occupied countries.

During the war, Keith was able to maintain a degree of contact with the Atlanta-based headquarters of The Coca-Cola Company via Switzerland. But by 1941 he was no longer able to receive Coca-Cola syrup, and was therefore unable to continue to manufacture Coca-Cola.

Keith’s solution to the ingredient shortage was to invent a new drink. It was made from what was available at the time, namely things left over from other food industries. There was whey, which was a byproduct of cheese production and apple fiber left over from cider presses. A variety of other fruit byproducts were added depending on what was available at the time. This led to the many variations in flavor that later became the different marketed flavors of Fanta. This new soft drink was sweetened with beet sugar. As CEO, Keith held a contest to name his new creation. He instructed his employees to let their “Fantasie”—German for “imaginations”—run wild. A salesman, Joe Knipp immediately blurted out “Fanta”!

The new soft drink was not only successful enough to keep the bottling plants open and the people employed for the duration of the war, but enabled Fanta to become a soft drink favorite in Europe. In 1943 there were 3 million cases of Fanta sold in Germany and the occupied countries. Evidently, not all of that quantity was purchased to drink as a refreshing soft drink, but may have been used to flavor soups and stews, due to sugar rationing.

Max Keith was not a Nazi, and never became one, as has been rumored. Although he suffered hardships as a result of his decision, he never gave into pressure to join the Nazi Party. With the success of Fanta, Keith was able to safeguard The Coca-Cola Company’s interests in Europe until after the war, when they were able to re-establish drink production almost immediately.

The Coca-Cola Company acquired the rights to Fanta in 1960. Today, Fanta is sold in the highest volume in Brazil, Germany, Spain, Japan, Italy and Argentina. Fanta was originally created in an orange flavor that now accounts for 70% of all Fanta sales.

Fanta is sold in 188 countries and is available in 70 flavors, although some flavors are only available in the country where they are manufactured. Fanta is the number one soft drink in Thailand, and a new flavor was just launched in Japan—Fanta Japanese Melon.

Text from RetroPlanet

Help Needed
I need your help visitors, both in suggesting sodas and soft drinks from around the world and in giving your opinion on the ones presented if you know the product. And you can start with giving your opinion on the ones posted already or reading what other visitors have written  – Ted

List of Soft drinks and sodas posted already
Visitors soft drinks and sodas suggestions and comments

The remarkable ride across the United States by Two-Gun Nan was big news nearly 100 years ago. Now, her story is being retold. Tom Moates reports.

The dawning of the 20th century remained an age where stuffy Victorian ideals hemmed in women at every turn, but a few heroines blazed new trails into uncharted territory – these were the original "cowgirls."

These adventurous characters, even now, remain as detectable primer charges for larger, later cultural explosions. Within a few years, the daring spirit they embodied spread among women like a prairie fire in a drought. Women’s suffrage and rights movements were born in large part thanks to brave women not only living in the unglamorous trenches of frontier life out west, but also those who embodied new ideals in the hugely popular and very public wild west shows, western vaudeville theater acts, and rodeos.

The momentum of the cowgirl legacy is still felt today, and their stories remain as relevant as ever. Two-Gun Nan, towered with the tallest of these larger-than-life figures. She did so not only in the show arena as a lead in the rather masculine realm of trick roping, sharp shooting, archery, stunt riding, bronc riding, and steer riding, but also as the sensuous, beautiful, entirely feminine Oriental dancer character she portrayed known as Princess Omene as well.

Still, even boasting these startling talents that eventually made her the highest paid star in the biggest show of the era – the combined venture of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West and Pawnee Bill’s Far East troupe – none of this was what she was best known for. Her most remarkable feat was real, not staged, and incredibly difficult and dangerous.

Two-Gun Nan’s magnum opus came in 1910-11 when she rode from San Francisco to New York on her Thoroughbred mare, Lady Ellen, covering 4496 miles and taking 180 days in the saddle. At 31 years old, she became the first woman to ride from coast to coast. She did it wearing pants and split skirts, riding astride, which was likely still illegal in some parts of the country. She did it packing a pistol, which she used on at least two occasions to shoot up inhospitable towns. And, she made the ride alone.

Germany 1949  – 1955. Helmut Bastert’s factory in Bielefeld, Germany built bicycles, mopeds and light 48cc-248cc motorcycles, but is best remembered for unusual Das Einspurauto (one-trace-car). These expensive and sophisticated scooter-like bikes had 150cc ILO [JLO] engines with three-speed transmission or 175cc with four-speed transmission. Some sources mention a 200cc ILO and others a Sachs 248cm. The body was fabricated from aluminium built up over a steel frame, aircraft fashion, and the wheels were solid aluminium.

The machine had an engine compartment light, Bosch ignition and twin taillights in teardrop design. The dash panel included an idividual light for each gear selected, and the rider’s red leather-covered seat converted quickly to a dual seat.

The first prototype of this machine was stolen and never recovered. From 1952 to 1956 around 1200 units left the factory.

Text From Sheldon’s EMU

Aunt Mabel boasting about all the prizes she has won competing in beer relays.

And here’s a picture of Mabel in training for the next competition.

In Context

Beer raleys are arranged like this. There are three persons in each team and the teams stand on each side of a table. In front of each competitor is an open bottle of beer. No 1 on each team grab the bottle as the start signal sounds, empty it and smashes the empty bottle in the table. The moment the bottle hits the table, No 2 grabs his, empty it and so on. The team that finishes first wins of course.These competition is run in cup system, so the winning team may have downed copious bottles of beer before the competition is over. I should know, during my design studies this was the most popular game we had and I was good at it – Ted

Loch Lomond (/ˈlɒxˈloʊmənd/; Scottish Gaelic Loch Laomainn) is a freshwater Scottish loch which crosses the Highland Boundary Fault. It is the largest inland stretch of water in Great Britain by surface area. The loch contains many islands, including Inchmurrin, the largest fresh-water island in the British Isles. Loch Lomond is a popular leisure destination and is featured in song.

Geography

Loch Lomond is a freshwater loch lying on the Highland Boundary Fault, often considered the boundary between the lowlands of Central Scotland and the Highlands. It is 39 kilometres (24 mi) long and between 1.21 kilometres (0.75 mi) and 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) wide. It has an average depth of about 37 metres (121 ft), and a maximum depth of about 190 metres (620 ft). Its surface area is 71 km² (27 sq mi), and it has a volume of 2.6 km³ (0.62 cu mi). Of all lochs and lakes in Great Britain, it is the largest by surface area, and the second largest (after Loch Ness) by water volume. Within the United Kingdom, it is surpassed only by Lough Neagh and Lower Lough Erne in Northern Ireland and regarding theBritish Isles as a whole there are also several larger loughs in the Republic of Ireland.

Traditionally a boundary between Stirlingshire and Dunbartonshire, Loch Lomond is currently split between the council areas of Stirling, Argyll and Bute, and West Dunbartonshire. Its southern shores are about 23 kilometres (14 mi) north of Glasgow, Scotland’s largest city.

Loch Lomond is now part of Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park. Ben Lomond is on the eastern shore: 974 m (3,195 ft) in height and the most southerly of the Scottish Munro peaks. A 2005 poll of Radio Times readers voted Loch Lomond as the 6th greatest natural wonder in Britain.

The main arterial route along the loch is the A82 road which runs the length of its western shore. For a long time this was a notorious bottleneck, with the route clogged with tourists during the summer months. It was upgraded in the 1980s and 1990s, although the stretch north of Tarbet remains unimproved.

Text from Wikipedia 

……those new gardens nails we’re battling here in Europe to day is a big problem check out what they were up against back in the dark ages – Ted

Image found at Retronaut

Billy Lee Tipton (December 29, 1914 – January 21, 1989) was an American jazz musician and bandleader. Born Dorothy Lucille Tipton, he is also notable for the post-mortem discovery that, though he lived his adult life as a man, he was biologically female.

Early work

In 1936, Tipton was the leader of a band playing on KFXR. In 1938, Tipton joined Louvenie’s Western Swingbillies, a band that played on KTOK and at Brown’s Tavern. In 1940 he was touring the Midwest playing at dances with Scott Cameron’s band. In 1941 he began a two and a half-year run performing at Joplin, Missouri‘s Cotton Club with George Meyer’s band, then toured for a time with Ross Carlyle, then played for two years in Texas.

In 1949, Tipton began touring the Pacific Northwest with George Meyer. While this tour was far from glamorous, the band’s appearances at Roseburg, Oregon‘s Shalimar Room were recorded by a local radio station, and so recordings exist of Tipton’s work during this time, including "If I Knew Then" and "Sophisticated Swing". The trio’s signature song was "Flying Home", performed in a close imitation of Benny Goodman’s band.

As George Meyer’s band became more successful, they began getting more prestigious work, performing with The Ink Spots, the Delta Rhythm Boys, and Billy Eckstineat the Boulevard Club in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.

Bandleader

Tipton began playing piano alone at the Elks club in Longview, Washington. In Longview, he started the Billy Tipton Trio, which consisted of Tipton on piano, Dick O’Neil on drums, and Kenny Richards (and later Ron Kilde) on bass. The trio gained local popularity.

During a performance on tour at King’s Supper Club in Santa Barbara, California, a talent scout from Tops Records heard them play and got them a contract. The Billy Tipton Trio recorded two albums of jazz standards for Tops: Sweet Georgia Brown and Billy Tipton Plays Hi-Fi on Piano, both released early in 1957. Among the pieces performed were "Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man", "Willow Weep for Me", "What’ll I Do", and "Don’t Blame Me". In 1957, the albums sold 17,678 copies, a "respectable" sum for a small independent record label.

After the albums’ success, the Billy Tipton Trio was offered a position as house band at the Holiday Hotel in Reno, Nevada, and Tops Records invited the trio to record four more albums. Tipton declined both offers, choosing instead to move to Spokane, Washington, where he worked as a talent broker and the trio was the house band at Allen’s Tin Pan Alley, performing weekly. He played mainly swing standards rather than the jazz he preferred. His performances included skits in the vaudeville tradition, in which he imitated celebrities such as Liberace and Elvis Presley. In some of these sketches, he played a little girl. He mentored young musicians at the Dave Sobol Theatrical Agency.

In the late 1970s, worsening arthritis forced Tipton to retire from music.

Personal life

Early in his career, Tipton presented as a male only professionally, continuing to present as a woman otherwise. He spent those early years living with a woman named Non Earl Harrell, in a relationship that other musicians thought of as lesbian. The relationship ended in 1942. Tipton’s next relationship, with a singer known only as "June", lasted for several years.

For seven years, Tipton lived with Betty Cox, who was 19 when they became involved. According to Cox, they had a heterosexual relationship. Betty remembered Tipton as "the most fantastic love of my life." Tipton kept the secret of his extrinsic sexual characteristics from Betty by inventing a story of having been in a serious car accident resulting in damaged genitals and broken ribs, and that it was necessary to bind the damaged chest to protect it. From then on, this was what he would tell the women in his life.

Tipton was never formally married in a ceremony, but several women had drivers’ licenses identifying them as Mrs. Tipton. In 1960, Tipton ended his relationship with Cox to settle down with nightclub dancer and stripper Kitty Kelly (later known as Kitty Oakes), who was known professionally as "The Irish Venus". They were involved with their local PTA and with the Boy Scouts. They adopted three sons, John, Scott, and William. After Tipton’s death, Kitty gave several interviews about him and their relationship. In early interviews, she said, "He gave up everything… There were certain rules and regulations in those days if you were going to be a musician," in reference to breaking into the 1920−30s music industry. William described Tipton as a good father who loved to go on Scout camping trips.

Their adopted sons became difficult to manage during their adolescence. Because of the couple’s ongoing arguments over how they should raise the boys, Tipton left Kitty in the late 1970s, moved into a mobile home with their sons, and resumed an old relationship with a woman named Maryann. He remained there, living in poverty, until his death.

Death and aftermath

In 1989, at the age of 74, Tipton had symptoms he attributed to emphysema and refused to call a doctor. He was actually suffering from a hemorrhaging peptic ulcer, which, untreated, was fatal. It was while paramedics were trying to save Tipton’s life, with son William looking on, that William learned that his father had female anatomy. Tipton was pronounced dead at Valley General Hospital. The coroner shared this with the rest of the family. In an attempt to keep the secret, Kitty arranged for his body to be cremated, but later after financial offers from the media, Kitty and one of their sons went public with the story. The first newspaper article was published the day after Tipton’s funeral and it was quickly picked up by wire services. Stories about Tipton appeared in a variety of papers including tabloids such as National Enquirer and Star, as well as more reputable papers such as New York Magazine and The Seattle Times. Tipton’s family even made talk show appearances.

Two wills were left by Billy Tipton: one handwritten and not notarized that left everything to William Jr.; and the second, notarized, leaving everything to Jon Clark. A court upheld the first will, and William inherited almost everything, with John and Scott receiving one dollar each. According to a 2009 episode of the documentary program The Will: Family Secrets Revealed, which featured interviews with all three sons, it was revealed that a final court judgment awarded all three sons an equal share of his wife Kitty Tipton’s estate (not Billy Tipton), which, after lawyers’ fees, amounted to $35,000 for each son.

Text from Wikipedia

A recipe from an ad for Campbell’s soup here that I’ve picked up at a street market earlier this year. It was in a folder full of recipes ranging from the early forties to the seventies. The ad design puts this one in the late sixties, early seventies.

You’ll find the recipe HERE

In context:
the serving dish the course is in on this picture is actually from a Norwegian factory called Stavanger Flint even though the ad was designed and prinred in the US

Country-style furniture has been the most popular furniture in this country for decades. It is easy to understand why. Besides its look being visually pleasing and compatible with just about any home setting, it is also very functional. This handsome piece, which is inspired by the past, proves the point. Though the original served as a light-duty workbench in a Shaker community, its good looks makes this piece a welcome addition in just about any room. In a dining room, it will serve handily when entertaining and, if used in the living room, it is a conversation piece. Or you may prefer to simply use it in your workroom for light-duty tasks such as crafts and painting.

Plans and work descriptions here –>

Round the same time as the Mark B was launched, work had begun on what was referred to subsequently as a "streamlined version" of the Minicar. Badged as the ‘ESC’ (England’s Smallest Car), this prototype utilised the main body and rear suspension of the Mark B, but added mock front wings, a passenger side door and a valance beneath its oval-shaped grille.

By the time of the Earl’s Court Cycle and Motor Cycle Show in November 1951, several pre-production Mark Cs were on show. On these the front wings had become longer and less triangular in profile than the ‘ESC’, the grille was also lower and more rounded and the front valance was now a more defined bumper shape. The new Minicar design was very well received, and was due to go on sale in early 1952. By July however, "owing to supply difficulties" it was still unavailable, and the earliest production cars were not recorded as being built until October 1952. Four of the cars were on display at that year’s show along with a Sharp’s Minivan.

The change in the body style from the Mark B was both functional and aesthetic. The Mark C utilised the same 180° steering lock and worm and sector steering system that was seen in the prototype Commercial and the front wings allowed for ample clearance at full lock. They also addressed a demand from customers for a "greater smoothness of line", and allowed a more robust location for the mounting of the front lights. Other improvements included rod and cable operated brakes on all three wheels, which "appreciably shortens stopping distances."

During development, the Mark C had utilised the same sliding pillar suspension on the rear as the Mark B, but by September 1952, this had been changed for Flexitor suspension units produced by George Spencer Moulton & Co. Ltd. The Flexitor units were a type of lever arm shock absorber which used bonded rubber in torsion as the shock absorber. On these units a stub axle is mounted upon a trailing-arm with the pivot point being a steel rod. This rod is bonded inside a rubber tube which runs through and is also bonded to an external steel housing. The housing is bolted to the underside of the car. The units provide about 3 in (76 mm) of vertical movement to each independent rear axle.

The engine mounting was substantially different. Instead of being suspended from an alloy cradle as on the Mark A and B, the engine now sat in a steel cradle bolted to a steeply inclined steel tube that pivoted directly behind the engine through an alloy steering head bracket. This bracket, holding the engine and front wheel unit is bolted to a cast alloy bulkhead which forms a major structural component of the car. The engine mounting was said to have been a regular source of failures on both the Mark A and the Mark B, and this new design was again the work of Granville Bradshaw.

The single side door, which had been introduced to around 6 1/2 % of Mark B production vehicles after November 1951, became a standard fixture on the Mark C. Because the car’s monocoque construction depended principally upon its skin for rigidity, the size of door was severely limited and to overcome the resulting decrease in structural rigidity, vertical steel strengthening brackets were fitted either side and along the bottom edge of the door aperture.

By January 1953, some cars were being fitted with fibreglass rear wings. Bonnets in fibreglass followed soon after, but these were not used on production vehicles until December 1954. The production cost of the fibreglass parts was about the same as those of aluminium, but the parts were said to be both lighter and stronge.

Text from Wikipedia

TV, newspapers and the radio is crammed absolutely full of the world cup around here these days and I could not possibly be less interested – Ted :-(

1934 Talbot 105 Salon

One of the outstanding chassis of the 1930s was the Talbot 105 designed by Swiss-born Georges Roesch, and introduced in 1931. It had an ohv. 2970cc. six-cylinder power unit and was available with a wide range of bodywork. from four-seater sports to saloon. In its competition form, the 105 scored an enviable list of victories, although a preselector gearbox muted the performance of post-1933 models. In 1935. Rootes acquired Talbot with the inevitable loss of individuality.

1935 Cord 810

A Gordon Buehrig’s classic design for the Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg group was the ‘coffin-nose’ Cord 810 of 1935, a design so radical that Buehrig patented it. Key features were the wrap-around louvres which replaced the conventional radiator grilles and the retractable headlights (adapted from aircraft landing lights supplied by another component of Erret Lobban Cord’s business empire). The 810 was also the first American production car to combine front-wheel drive with independent front suspension.

1935 Daimlier 2.5-litre

Preselector transmission was used on Daimlers of the 1930s, in conjunction with the ‘Fluid Flywheel’ torque convertor, giving an ease of control unrivalled until the advent of the automatic gearbox. Typical of the wide range of Daimler models of the 1930s is this 1935 15hp, with a 2.5-litre, six-cylinder engine; this design was revived after the war as the DB18.

1935 Ford Model Y

Developed in Dearborn for the European market. the 933cc Model Y Ford was the last significant model in whose gestation Henry Ford himself played a part. The first drawings were committed to paper in October 1931. sixteen prototypes were ready for exhibition by mid February 1932 and the Model Y was in full production by August of that year. This Model Y dates from late 1935, when a fully equipped Model Y Tudor cost £100, the only saloon car ever sold at so low a price.