15 Cultural Phenomena That Were Just Marketing Ploys

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15 Cultural Phenomena That Were Just Marketing Ploys

I enjoy this list of interesting facts. The longer the list is, the more I enjoy it. This one has over 500 entries, which is more than a hundred thousand words. I had to break it up into a series of posts because I couldn't fit it all into a single post. It's too long, too meandering, and too funny. I have to warn you, if you read it, you'll be stuck with a really odd sense of humor, a weird way of thinking, and a love of strange things. You'll probably enjoy it, but not everyone will. So, if you want to read a list of odd facts that aren't too odd and that you won't find offensive, stop reading now. If you enjoy this list of interesting facts, then please take the time to look at the other posts in the series. They are all funny. They are all interesting. Some are silly. Some are profound. You may find them offensive in some way, but that's okay. We are all entitled to our own opinions and we all have to deal with people who don't share them. That's life. 

Ten Commandments Monuments

Ten Commandments Monuments the Ten Commandments AM theLORD ihq God. Thee state have other gods before DE Theu shall 101 make 10 greats images They shall - JUST the Dun of the Lare no God in with Remember the Sabbach BAG + re F holp Donor IN Jather and the Worker the dig days B4 BY Song upen WE lend which Lord 10g Got der Thou shall get are Thre as SOS adidas adultry Thre shah tot soral Dee not Brea Jelse almes applist ml srighbor Thes statt NY no neighbor's Boste no - su Thos - rear to

Flavorwire

The Miss America Pageant

The Miss America Pageant CRACKED.COM Believe it or not, New Jersey hasn't always been an enthusias- tic supporter of young women's excellence. The Miss America pageant began in 1921 as a swim- suit competition to lure tourists back to Atlantic City once sum- mer was over in the time-hon- ored marketing tradition of boobs.

Insider

Shaving

Shaving CRACKED.COM The idea that hair is only desirable on some parts of a woman's body and not others can be traced back to about 1915, before which not much of their non-face parts were even seen in pub- lic, so no one cared. Then, the skimpier fashions of the flapper era gave Gillette the idea to convince women that armpit and leg hair is gross, actually, and they just so happened to have the product to fix it.

Bustle

Wedding Registries

Wedding Registries GRAGKED.COM By the 1920s, the ancient practice of showering newlyweds with weird sym- bolic gifts had mostly died out, and only their closest friends and family were expected to do anything more than party their faces off. That didn't suit department store Marshall Fields, who invented the wedding registry in 1924 to sell more merchandise under the guise of providing the couple with everything they need to start their new life (except any kind of useful sex edu- cation).

Racked

Diamond Engagement Rings

Diamond Engagement Rings CRACKED.COM These days, asking someone to marry you without the presentation of a little velvet box is a good way to get a no, you cheapass, but few people ex- changed engagement rings at all be- fore the 1930s, and even fewer of those rings contained diamonds. That was around the time the De Beers company came into a massive glut of diamonds and, to avoid crashing prices, con- vinced the public via a massive market- ing campaign that you didn't really love someone unless you put the product of horrific mining practices on their finger.

BBC

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