White Castle Bridge Score Pads

Treating myself to lunch at White Castle yesterday reminded me of some cool old White Castle Bridge Score Pads I recently found... I guess back in the day, tiny hamburgers and playing cards went hand in hand. I'm not going to pretend to know anything about Bridge, but I do know I love a hot 'n steamy Belly Bomber (oh, excuse me, I mean a "Slider.")

Anyway, these score cards contain the classic White Castle imagery that I've always loved... the restaurants now of course have slightly modified their look in recent years (as most fast food places think they are required to do), and these nostalgic score pads contain an interesting array of yesteryear examples, from the building design, to the menu items, packaging, and logo.

PLUS: An old White Tower matchbook from my collection... for some interesting history about this White Castle competitor, click HERE!

Fred Allen's Donut Cartoons

Fred Allen was an American comedian whose absurdist, topically pointed radio show (1932–1949) made him one of the most popular and forward-looking humorists in the so-called classic era of American radio, (you can find out more about him HERE.) What concerns us in today's post-Veteran's Day / Remembrance Day post is this collection of "funniest donut cartoons" that Allen produced in conjunction with the Doughnut Corporation of America in 1946. Assembled here are some familiar, and not so familiar classic gags from the golden era of cartoons, chosen by Fred and packaged in a small 30+ page booklet as a way to not only entertain, but to also show support during overseas war efforts when Americans were voluntarily depriving themselves of bread, cakes, and doughnuts (aka the valuable wheat ingredient) to help feed the starving millions of four continents. Also includes some fun tips on how to turn your square shindig into a super-duper, dynamite Donut Party!

View-Master Wolf Man

Now before you get too excited about an AEET View-Master post, please know up front that I tried my hardest to actually scan and photograph the VM reels. Unfortunately, this is beyond my scope of scanner / photography knowledge and understanding. (I've seen the View-Master Frankenstein posts at a few other fine horror blogs and have no clue how they did it.) Anyway, as a planned Halloween post last month, I already had the Wolf Man cover and booklet pages scanned... I suppose there's no need to just delete them, the booklet itself not only tells the scary classic tale featured on the reels, it also includes some fun werewolf art and games. And just maybe this VM teaser will entice you to go out and hunt down the reels yourself.

Talking View-Master version of Dracula.

St. Louis Zoo '68

The St. Louis Zoo is one of my favorite places in the entire world, and it's definitely one of the greatest, most gorgeously designed and meticulously maintained zoos too (I've been to enough of them from coast to coast in the USA to know!) And this year, the STL Zoo celebrates it's amazing 100th Anniversary (1910 - 2010), so what better way is there for me than to tip my hat by blogging about it with highlights from the St. Louis Zoo Album guide published in 1968, (aka: the year I was born.) I'll spare you the bulk of the usual A to Z animal photos, and instead focus on the AEET type fun stuff like the animal show, the train, the map, some fabulous 1904 World's Fair architecture, and of course everyone's favorite mounted gorilla-- "Phil."

For more about the St. Louis Zoo, click HERE!

The St. Louis Zoo Album guide, published by the Zoological Board of Control of the City of STL, and compiled and edited by Hattie Ettinger, 1968.

Shooting's Fun For Everyone

You certainly don't have to be a hunter or even a gun enthusiast to enjoy this wonderfully illustrated rifle shooting pamphlet (for boys and girls) issued by the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers Institute in 1959. Each page is seriously jam packed with important info, safety tips, and fun facts, and occasionally even "Blooey" the half dog / half rifle mascot steps into the action-- leaving you to ponder how such a creature as this could even exist. Also, his bullet-headed buddy "Sammy Shooter" (aka Vinny the Vibrator) makes a few arousing appearences here while obviously taking a much needed breather from his usual, tiresome dildo duties. Okay, enough yappin'-- now go bag ya some pesky varmits!