A-Z Challenge

All Things Vintage: Nifty, Neat-O, & No-No #AprilA2Z

Good-morning, kittens and dawgs! We’re more than halfway through the alphabet and coincidentally April which brings me to Nifty, Neat-O, and No-Nos with All Things Vintage!

Nesbitt's Orange Soda Ad in the summer (Marilyn Monroe) by Edward Runci 1946
Nesbitt’s Orange Soda ad (Marilyn Monroe) by Edward Runci 1946

Nifty!

That Nesbitt’s is 75+ years old and is still around. Our local Food City carries this vintage soda. I haven’t tried it yet, but I love orange soda and am anxious to touch its sweetness against my lips!

nesbitt's orange soda life mag 1941
Nesbitt’s Orange Soda ad featured in Life Magazine 1941

Nabisco products paraded through our lives and our cuber currently house their crackers. However, when I think of cereal I think on fond memories of eating shredded wheat at my grandparents’ house. It wasn’t sugar coated and with its coarse texture, it closely resembled eating hay. The key was to let the shredded wheat biscuits soak in milk before eating. I rarely buy it today, but when I do I it always makes me smile.

wheat-post-05-19-1945-997-a-M5SatEvePost
Nabisco Shredded Wheat ad appeared in the Saturday Evening Post 1945 (image source)

Neat-O!

I was surprised to find out that the craze for Nair hair remover of the 70s actually goes back to the 40s. Who knew, right? I love the idea of this stuff, but I can’t use it because my skin is too sensitive.

nair-day-09-01-1940-056-womansdaymagM3
Nair hair remover ad featured in Woman’s Day magazine September 1, 1940, of a pair of sexy stocking legs.

No-No!

I remember using Noxzema for a face wash as a teenager and it wasn’t until I saw this ad that I remembered using if for sunburn relief. I always got burned in the summers accidentally and on purpose. The latter is definitely a major no-no!

noxzema burn-life-07-06-1953-063-a-M5 lifemag

I saved the best for last. DH has several of Nicholson USA made files. This ad was featured in the Saturday Evening Post in 1945.

Nicholson file ad featured in Saturday Evening Post 1945

Nicholason file Saturday Evening Post ad 1945

Don’t ya just love the humor in that one? lol

Applauds and special thanks to the incredible A2Z team members:

Arlee Bird @ Tossing it Out
Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh
Heather M. Gardner
Jeremy @ Hollywood Nuts
AJ Lauer
Pam @ An Unconventional Librarian
Damyanti Biswas @ Daily Write
Zalka Csenge Virág @ The Multicolored Diary
Joy Campbell @ The Character Depot
John Holton @The Sound of One Hand Typing

Now, I invite you to hop with me in checking out some of the amazing A2Zers playing along this year and I hope you’ll come back Monday for Oh, My Papa!

16 Comments

  • Jeffrey__Scott

    Those are some great vintage adds. I remember eating shredded wheat too. We also called it hay. One of the few cereals, if I were to eat it, I’d dump generous amounts of sugar on it before consuming.

  • Rorybore

    We don’t have Nesbitts orange soda – up here there is Fanta which goes back to 1940s Germany when there was a trade embargo on Coca Cola products. I like Fanta though because it doesn’t use artificial colouring or flavours and has no caffeine. The cream soda is the best!
    And I still get the old fashioned shredded wheat “bales” as we call them, pour warm water over them and then a bit of milk and maple syrup – just a dash though! It’s my feel good breakfast. 🙂

  • John Holton

    Another trick with the big shredded wheats is to break them up before you add the milk. You’ll still have to let them soak in the milk to make them anywhere close to edible, but it shortens the time…

  • Arlee Bird

    I haven’t seen Nesbitt’s in years. I remembering getting it on occasion–cold, in glass bottles. On a hot day it was a great drink.

    Arlee Bird
    A to Z Challenge Co-host
    Tossing It Out

  • celticmama36

    Cathy, I keep meaning to tell you that David and I just love your blog header. It has to be one of the sweetest blog headers that I’ve seen. 🙂

    • Cathy Kennedy

      Suzanne, thanks! I found the image a few years back and it just said, Curious as a Cathy, so I snagged it. I can’t even remember where I found it now, but I love it still!

  • jlennidorner

    J here, of the #atozchallenge Arlee Bird’s A to Z Ambassador Team. Thanks for commenting on my blog.
    Is the challenge going well for your blog? M marked the halfway point!
    My blog’s giveaway is still going. I want everyone to visit more stops. On Sunday, there’s a post about how to better use the image alt code– featured on the main A to Z blog as well as my own.
    http://jlennidornerblog.what-are-they.com
    I’ve followed your listed social media.
    OMG handing the guy the file. I wonder if the cliché came from that, or if that was a riff on the cliché? Chicken/egg, eh?
    (Egg. Dinosaurs laid eggs before chickens existed. Doh.)

  • greyzoned/angelsbark

    I didn’t know Nair was from the 40s! I thought it came out in the 70s too!
    I grew up in the same city as the Nabisco plant (Niagara Falls). 🙂
    Love the file ad. hahaha…

    Good vintage finds here Cathy…

    Michele at Angels Bark

  • celticmama36

    I never have liked shredded wheat unless it was coated with sugar. I didn’t even like Raisin Bran for the longest time, can you imagine? Now, I love it. 🙂

    I think the file advertisement is hilarious. I can just see the warden helping the guy cut through the bars just so he could shoot him on the other side for trying to escape. That’s how it would work around here anyway.

    I’ve only had a sunburn that bad once that I can recall. I went to Carowinds with my aunt and cousins. When I got home and got undressed, it was like I still had the shorts and tank top on, only a solid white version. I don’t remember it hurting, though I’m sure it did. I definitely remember all the peeling that came soon afterwards.

    With the Nair, I thought the ad copy was funny. They compared it to face cream. I hope no one ever got the two confused. My skin is sensitive, too, so I don’t use any of these types of products.

    Thanks for a very interesting post! Have a blessed weekend. 🙂

  • Birgit

    I never liked shredded wheat…tasted like sawdust to me. I remember trying new to and the fumes from the stuff just about knocked me out. I also thought it may not be all that great for the body to place chemicals on it so the hairs is disintegrated. The last ad is too funny:)

  • lexacain

    I don’t know that orange soda, I sure remember shredded wheat though. I used Noxzema in the 70s, and yeah it really worked on sunburns! Love all the pics – great post! 🙂

  • Thomas Anderson

    Hi, dear Cathy!

    Thank you for these N memories, dear friend! I actually don’t recognize Nesbitt’s soda, but remember Nehi, Dad’s, Barq’s and other brands. I remember eating those large biscuits of Shredded Wheat when I was a kid. They did taste like straw and Frosted Mini-Wheats had not yet been brought to market. Remember the Nair TV commercial campaign based on The Royal Teens’ 50s hit record “Short Shorts”?

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ve04-BcEP94

    Remember Noxzema Skin Cream sponsoring Dick Clark’s music series Where The Action Is?

    That file in the jailhouse cartoon looks like a real bastard! 🙂 (DH will get the joke.)

    Have a great weekend, dear friend Cathy!

error: Please contact me for permission to download. Thank-you!!

Discover more from Curious as a Cathy

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading