On this day: Nuclear tests during the Cold War

7th August 1957: The tail of an airship sticks up in the air after it was brought down by a nuclear test in Nevada, USA.

The downing of the (unmanned) ship came at the height of tensions during the Cold War, at a time Russian/Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, infamous for carrying out Stalinist purges in Ukraine, was repeatedly threatening the West with nuclear annihilation.

928 nuclear tests were held at the site in Nevada. The frequent mushroom clouds, seen for miles, became Las Vegas tourist attractions.

On this day: Dressing a Communist

Source

26th October 1957: Italian fashion designer Angelo Litrico is photographed cutting fabric for a jacket for Nikita Khrushchev. Khrushchev held the title of General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 until 1964.

The designer, born the eldest of twelve children in Sicily in 1927, found international fame dressing political figures on both sides of the Cold War standoff.

April Fools’ Day 1957: The Spaghetti Tree Hoax

I posted this a year ago, but I find it funny enough I’m posting it this April Fools’ Day too!

The Spaghetti Tree Hoax

On April Fools’ Day in 1957, the BBC ran a three-minute video on their programme Panorama, allegedly showing a family in Switzerland harvesting spaghetti.

At the time, many people in Britain didn’t know what spaghetti was made of, and so were easily convinced it grew on trees.

After running the hoax, the BBC was inundated with so many requests for advice on spaghetti trees that they had to release a statement to say it had only been a joke.

April Fools’ Day 1957: The Spaghetti Tree Hoax

The Spaghetti Tree Hoax

On April Fools’ Day in 1957, the BBC ran a three-minute video on their programme Panorama, allegedly showing a family in Switzerland harvesting spaghetti.

At the time, many people in Britain didn’t know what spaghetti was made of, and so were easily convinced it grew on trees.

After running the hoax, the BBC was inundated with so many requests for advice on spaghetti trees that they had to release a statement to say it had only been a joke.

Harper’s Bazaar January 1957