Today, we are happy to celebrate the 69th birthday of Elder JPZ! In recognition of his continued efforts in maintaining the WLBOTT alliance and upholding our burgeoning Twine faith, we are happy to announce a guest-Blott from his son, Elder DZ, in Santa Barbara, California.
Today, we are exploring what appeared in newspapers across the globe on the day of Elder JPZ’s birth — Saturday, August 4th, 1956. This was during the height of the Cold War (Berlin air-drops were still under way); Eisenhower was president, and the second US Presidential Election between him and Adlai Stevenson was only a few months away. Canada’s PM was the Liberal Party’s Louis St. Laurent. It was a happening time.
Using the newspaper microfiche and microtape archives at the University of California’s library, today’s Blott explores highlights from dozens of newspapers published 69 years ago, on this historic birthday.
First, the headlines on August 4, 1956…
From The Washington Post:
From The New York Times:
From the Hartford Courant:
From an Op-Ed in The Atlanta Daily World:
From The Atlanta Constitution:
The full article reads: “Walter Reuther, president of the CIO said today he believes Sen. McCarthy (R-Wis) has ‘done more to reinforce communism than any other American.”
The American labor leader told newsmen ‘McCarthy employs immoral methods and plays communism’s game.’
‘He has weakened the position of America in Europe,’ Reuther declared. ‘The CIO has always fought against McCarthyism and will continue to do so.’”
From The Times of India:
From The Jerusalem Post:
From Toronto’s Globe and Mail:
From the Irish Times:
And this oddity from Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post:
A number of the headlines underlined the racial tensions in the United States:
and from The Austin Statesman:
But not everything was doom and gloom. The cinema of the day offered an escape from the ails of the world. Local ads encouraged people to come in (and, oftentimes, drive-in) to watch the latest flicks (shown here with their 1956 trailers).
The King and I:
Yul Brynner from the King and I, would later star in Elder JPZ’s recently recommended movie: 1969’s The Magic Christian (itself deserving of a Blott for its subversive–albeit, dated–critique of greed).
1984 (starring Gordon Scott of Tarzan fame):
And the seven-time Oscar-nominated film: Earth vs. the Flying Saucers (plus The Werewolf)
But if the silver screen wasn’t for you, perhaps the small screen was. Here’s the evening line-up from Aug. 4, 1956.
Who could resist the appeal of this completely non-threatening and totally normal clown or the unbeatable excitement of primetime bowling?
And those adults of a seedier nature might find what their looking for in the accompanying ads:
But what is a paper without the Funnies? Here’s some highlights from our fateful Saturday in 1956. Whether it’s the rampant misogyny, the implied homophobia, or the incessant racism, some of these vintage comics read as quite obtuse, vulgar, or downright offensive to the modern viewer.
And this particular cartoon from 8/4/1956 that works a little too well for today’s Blott…
A paper from near Elder JPZ’s birthplace in Maryland carried a children’s section. Here’s some of its contents:
These papers also give a glimpse into the historical changes in culture, race relations, health, housing, etc.:
From The Austin Statesman (one of the two precursors to our current Austin American-Statesman):
A new sports-car cost between two and four thousand USD (~$23k to $50k in 2025):
Rent was under $100 / month (~$1,100 in 2025):
A new house was around $15k (~$175k in 2025):
The Swiss people were allowed to own cars:
And a cure for baldness was about to revolutionize the world:
What a time!
Penultimately, as modern papers do, the newspapers of the day were equipped with games, including the daily crossword. Elder DZ is planning to print out this crossword tonight to see how well he does:
Finally, let us once more wish a happy birthday to our Elder-in-Chief on his 69th birthday. May the following year be full of health, happiness, fulfillment, and–most importantly, Blotts.
