Sex sells even with old-time packing crates

Before the introduction of Playboy in the 1950s, horny straight men had to get their jollies through advertising that was suggestive. These ads included the labels affixed to the ends of wooden crates of fruits and vegetables. (Keep in mind that the open crates were placed right on the store shelves--no fancy point-of-sale displays that you see in today's supermarkets.) Growers and distributors got the idea that they could sell more perishables to grocers if they used sex on the labels. Why? Housewives usually did the shopping back then, so that can't be the reason. But male grocers? They might enjoy seeing sexy female images on the crates. So, if the grocer has only a limited amount of shelf space, why not choose a crate that he finds attractive?

And they grew apples in Hawaii?

A trip through the Way Back machine. And a lot was not pretty then

Mr. Peabody and Sherman with the Way Back Machine, early 1960s

Boston 1949, photo by Cornell Capa

A Nike missile battery, late 1950s and early 1960s

Early Burger King restaurant in Tampa, Florida

Pink was the rage in the early 1950s

Zebras drew carriages in New York City in the 1890s until the early 20th Century

The 'American Way' in the 1950s. Today economic disparities are again widening.

The sad deaths of old vehicles

Scrapped taxis outside Chongqing, China

Old milk trucks; photo by Bob Oswald via Flickr

Alabama

Bus in Ontario, Canada

Planes were once allowed at drive-in movie theaters

Back in 1948, when the thought was that everyone eventually would operate their own airplane to commute to work, an entrepreneur in Asbury Park, New Jersey, tried to get to front of the future. Edward Brown Jr., a former Navy pilot, opened the first Fly-Thru Drive-in Theater. There was room for 500 cars and 25 airplanes. The planes landed in an airfield next to the drive-in, then they would taxi to the last row which was dedicated for planes. When the movie was over Mr. Brown provided a Jeep to tow the planes back to the airfield. History is unclear about the success of the venture. 

Today only 356 drive-ins operate in the United States, a big decrease from the 4,000 to 5,000 that existed in 1958, according to Drive-ins.com. I know of some drive-ins that resorted to desperate measures to stay in business. The Comerford Dive-in in Dupont, Pennsylvania, went to far as to switch from Disney films to porn flicks (heterosexual, of course). It has since closed.

Welcome to the salad bar

It's the freshest salad you can get. Anywhere.

Sandy Hook's shorebirds

For beach-goers in northern New Jersey, Sandy Hook is a haven for sunbathers and swimmers. But Sandy Hook also is a vitally important habitat for shorebirds.

Adult Piping Plover

Sandy Hook's relatively undisturbed dunes and beaches provide an excellent site for feeding and nesting. The nine-mile-long peninsula attracts some 70 species of birds during the summer. That diversity has led New Jersey to place Sandy Hook on the state's list of Important Bird and Birding Areas. The National Audubon Society includes Sandy Hook as a globally significant birding habitat.

Piping Plover on nest

The most protected of these birds is the Piping Plover, which has been listed as endangered along much of the Atlantic Coast. Only 2,000 adult pairs remain in existence, according to the National Park Service.

Eggs are laid in a depression in the sand

The Park Service takes special measures to protect the birds. Rangers and volunteers section off areas of beaches, including clothing-optional Gunnison Beach, to protect Piping Plovers for nesting and feeding. The fencing remains in effect from mid-March to September.

After traveling thousands of miles from their wintering grounds along the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean, Piping Plovers have now returned to Sandy Hook to their summer breeding sites. It usually isn't until beach season that sun-seekers realize that the birds are back.

Parent and chick

Chick hunting for insects

The Piping Plover is a cute sparrow-sized shorebird whose sandy beach-like color camouflages it from predators. The adult has orange legs, a black ring around the neck, and a black band across the forehead from eye to eye. The only reliable way to tell the sexes apart is that the chest band is larger in males. They forage for food on beaches, moving in short bursts, around the high tide zone and along the water's edge. They mainly eat insects, marine worms and crustaceans. Their call is a soft, whistled peep peep. The alarm call is pee-werp.

In each breeding season, the female lays up to four eggs in a shallow, scraped depression in the sand. Both sexes share in the incubation, which lasts about 30 days. Once a chick hatches it is able to feed within hours. However, they are flightless for about 30 days. The parents show them how to find insects for food, and brood them for protection from the elements and from predators.

Predators include foxes, skunks, feral cats and gulls. But the biggest problem for Piping Plovers is human disturbance. Stay away from posted areas, and keep to the shoreline to avoid crushing eggs or chicks. Keep your dog on a leash or at least in check. And never feed the gulls. That entices the gulls to remain close to shore, leaving Piping Plovers, their chicks or their eggs prone to attack.

The Park Service has a great slide show about the natural life of the Piping Plover and the work being done to safeguard the birds from extinction. Gunnison Beach isn't just for sunbathers; it's also home to the Piping Plover. Give these birds the respect they deserve.

Dreams that never came to pass

Critters

Unimpressed

Explorer

Confrontation

Where's the food?

Curiosity...

A dog-eat-dog world