The 1960’s are defined by the hippie counter-culture craze that impacted the lives of every citizen in the United States and around the world.
The history of the Hippie counterculture movement during the 1960’s and its long-lasting impact on America
Category: 1900’s Fads and Trends
The Twist dance craze of the 1960’s
The advent of Rock and Roll in the 1950’s introduced a profound change in the way men and women danced. One of the first worldwide rock-n-roll dance crazes occurred in the 1960’s when The Twist dance hit the scene and became a worldwide sensation.
The Bell Bottom Pants fad of the 1970’s
Trousers with legs that became wider from the knees downward were immensely popular in the 1970’s. Called “bell bottom pants” because of the bell like flare at the bottom of the pants leg, the bell bottom pants craze began in the late 1960’s but bell bottom pants were worn many years before.
The spirited history of Vaudeville Theater Shows (1900’s)
About Vaudeville Vaudeville, popular from the late 1880’s through the early 1930’s, was a theatrical form of entertainment in the United States and Canada. Vaudeville performances, which often ran around the clock, ran a series of separate, unrelated acts which included musicians, dancers, comedians, trained animals, magicians, male and female impersonators, acrobats, jugglers, and one…
The history of the Victor Victrola Phonograph (1900’s)
Invention of the Gramophone In 1880, Emile Berliner invented the flat phonograph record and recording/playback device called the Gramophone, the direct forerunner to Victor Talking Machine Company’s Victrola phonograph. Three years earlier, in 1877, Thomas Edison had invented the cylinder phonograph. Two problems kept the cylinder phonograph from succeeding though – the wax recording media…
The complete but concise history of Motion Picture Movies – from fad to modern-day entertainment (1920’s)
Although the principle for moving pictures had existed for decades, the popularity of motions pictures (aka movies or “films”) did not explode until the 1920’s. At this time, most United States film production occurred in Hollywood with some minor movie productions still being made in New Jersey and Long Island (e.g., Paramount). By the mid-1920’s,…
The history of Radio – How a 1920’s fad paved the way for modern-day entertainment.
The growth of radio in the 1920’s When KDKA transmitted the first commercial radio broadcast (the election results of the Harding-Cox race) on November 2, 1920, that sound could travel magically through the air to a location many miles away must have seemed magical to the people of that era. Unfortunately, few people heard the…
The dirty little history of Eight Pager Comics (plus how Tijuana Bibles got their name).
Eight-pager comics, also known as Tijuana bibles, bluesies, jo-jo books, gray-backs, blue bibles, and two-by-fours, were pornographic comic books that were very popular in the United States during the 1930’s.
Who can remember the LSD (Acid) craze of the 1960’s?
Lysergic acid diethylamide, LSD or “acid”, famous for its role in the 1960’s counterculture movement, is a colorless, odorless, and slightly bitter tasting drug. It goes by many names including Acid, Trips, Uncle Sid, Blotter, Lucy, Alice, back breaker, battery acid, doses, dots, Elvis, loony toons, lucy in the sky with diamonds, lazy sunshine dust,…
History of The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1970’s)
Rocky Horror Picture Show Introduction The Rocky Horror Picture Show (RHPS) is a 1975 film adaption of the British classic rock musical stage play written by Richard O’Brien. The movie, a parody of science fiction and “B” grade horror films, was a popular cult movie that, due to its unusual soundtrack and unique allowance of…
