#scandal!

[houseofbrat]

Boeing Killed A Guy!

[link]

[questionableadvice]

The Turkey Trot Part 1: The Scandalous History*

*History sort of snuck into today's posts. I really couldn't stop it.

~ Victrola advertisement, January 4, 1920

“If Jack and Betty haven’t spoken a word to each other for three days, invite them into your home and put these two looniest of fox trots on the Victrola.”

Surprised that anything could get Jack and Betty talking again? Want to hear the looniest of fox trots* for yourself? The original 100 year old recordings can be hard to appreciate, but you can hear "Daddy" over here (give it a try it's got some nice piano work) and Johnny Maddox did a more recent version of "Quakers" (preview here, full song with Apple Music).

*The Fox Trot was a more acceptable "white washed" version of the earlier dance, the Turkey Trot.

The History Geek on the enormous scandal of the Turkey Trot, a dance so shocking it was denounced by the Vatican:

The early 20th century dance sensation the "Turkey Trot" was considered so scandalous that among other things it was banned at dance halls in Denver, an Archbishop in Cincinnati declared that anyone dancing the Tango or the Turkey Trot could not be forgiven for their sins, and it was denounced by the Vatican. According the the Library of Congress, "[i]n 1913 President-elect Woodrow Wilson, so fearing a scandal if people danced the Turkey Trot at his inaugural ball, opted not to have a ball" but a reception instead.

The dance, like the ragtime music it was danced to, originated in black communities and was eventually taken up by white people and spread internationally. It's an obvious example of cultural appropriation, but to traditional older white people at the time it was also evidence that complete segregation of the races was failing as they watched the music and dances become popular among the younger generations.

In Part 2: The Story of Mary N. Gray who danced the Fox Trot with bartenders and got taken to court!

[bonniehooper]

Top Picks of 2025

My Top 20 New Favorite Actresses - #17: Thuso Mbedu

Introduction to Her: Task

[lesbianfujoshis]

fat bear week was delayed because a contestant killed one of his competitors and now he's out of the competition. which feels unfair. cancel culture strikes again...

[delicatepoets]

NOW I KNOW THE MEANING BEHIND THE RING AND 🧍🏻‍♀️🚌

[classicrareroyalpics]

Princess Margaret showing her shoulders

[frozcnhearts]

x - @blocdstained

“ Don’t just lick things! “, well, it was hers, so he didn’t really have a say in this. But wow was he offended! She could just have shared! ...or bring him one as well. Weren’t they buddies or something like this? Partners in crime? 

“ Which side did you lick?! I’ll just take the unharmed one. “