Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Barristers, #1



A conversation today with a barrister (who shall remain nameless), briefed by me to appear in a matter:

Barrister: “I won’t be able to appear on the 14th, I’m getting married.”

Myself: “Did it not occur to you four weeks ago, when you had the matter listed for the 14th, that you were getting married?”

Barrister: “No, I forgot to put it in my diary.”

Barristers, #2


Two solicitors came to a sticky end and were slowly making their way up to Heaven. On their way up the great staircase that leads to the Pearly Gates one turned to the other and said, "Look, Charles, I don't care how rare it is for a solicitor to make it up here, if there are any barristers in there, I'm not going in. Especially silks. I'm sick of them all.”

"Agreed, Leo," replied the other, "I'm with you all the way on that. I'd rather suffer an eternity in Hell than talk to another Q.C."

And so it was that they reached the gate and, with much eyebrow raising by the Heavenly Host, were judged worthy to enter.

"One moment, St. Peter," said Leo, as the gates swung wide. "Just one thing, we're sick of barristers.  Are there any inside?  Because if there are, the deal's off..."

"Certainly not!" cried St. Peter. "You're quite safe - no barristers in here.”

Thus reassured, the two pressed on. They were finding Heaven very enjoyable until all of a sudden an ancient looking chap with a long beard, wearing a barrister’s gown and wig, pushed past them, a bundle of papers under one arm and a battered copy of the Evidence Act under the other.  Infuriated they stormed back to St. Peter.

“Oi, St. Peter!” cried Leo, already drafting his pleadings in his head, "You said there were no barristers here.."

"There aren't," stammered St. Peter

"Well, who's the silk with the long beard, then?" demanded the outraged lawyer.

"Oh," said St. Peter, realisation dawning, "That's not a barrister! That's God. He just thinks he's a barrister..”

Last Words: Joe Hill


“Fire!”

- Joe Hill (1879-1915), labour activist executed by firing squad for murder. Hill shouted the above word after the firing squad received the commands “Ready…aim…”

If any readers have seen the videos of Woodstock, they may recall Joan Baez singing a song entitled “Joe Hill”.

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Vintage Ads: Pitney-Bowes Postage Meter

Time for another vintage ad, this time from what would seem to be the 1950’s. There are quite a number of sites on the internet that post the advertisement without any text shown:

(Click on ad to enlarge).

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Quote: Edward Everett Hale


I am only one,
But still I am one.
I cannot do everything,
But still I can do something;
And because I cannot do everything,
I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.

-  Edward Everett Hale (1822 - 1909)

Robert Askin



I came across the above photograph in a book of news photographs. I apologise for the quality in that it is a photograph I have taken of the photograph in the book, in that I was unable to locate the original on the internet.

The person in the photo is of a past NSW Premier , Robert Askin.

The photo was taken in 1973 whilst Askin reviewed police cadets at Sydney’s Redfern Police Academy and it shows Askin flanked by NSW Police Commissioner Fred Hansen (right) and Chief Superintendent Harry Griffin. Reportedly Askin hated the photo - Askin and senior police officers were associated with high level corruption and the photo made Askin look like a 1920’s Chicago mobster with 1920’s crooked cop partners.

The photo started me thinking about Premiers of NSW.

Friday, September 24, 2010

The Old Bailey


Watching a DVD about a barrister at the Old Bailey started me wondering as to the origins of the name. How is it that London’s major criminal court, a court which has seen defendants as diverse as Dr Crippen, the Kray Twins, Jeremy Thorpe, the Yorkshire Ripper and Lard Haw-Haw, is known by the name Old Bailey?

In looking that up, some familiar names and references also turned up…

- The Old Bailey is the former name, and the continuing popular name, used by the public for the Central Criminal Court in London.

Remembering..


________________

Byter Leo sent an email which touched off responses from my friends and myself, all of us being in the email group. Although lengthy, Leo’s initial email and the responses are worth posting to bring back some memories…
________________
From Leo:

They were the days.........

Bring back any memories? Older than dirt

Someone asked the other day, 'What was your favourite 'fast food' when you were growing up?'
'We didn't have fast food when I was growing up,' I informed him.
'All the food was slow.'
'C'mon, seriously. Where did you eat?'
'It was a place called 'home,'' I explained.
'Mum cooked every day and when Dad got home from work, we sat down together at the dining room table, and if I didn't like what she put on my plate, I was allowed to sit there until I did like it.'

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Quote: Friedrich Nietzsche


“What does not destroy me, makes me stronger.”

- Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900)

The Twilight of the Idols (1899)

Michael Caine's Autobiography



I have previously posted stories about Zulu, one of my favourite pics, and quotes by Michael Caine. In the days when Bytes consisted of an email before becoming a blog, I also posted a piece about the ending of The Italian Job. I will repost that article this weekend.

Michael Caine’s new autobiography, The Elephant to Hollywood, will be released in England on 30 September. I am unaware when it will be available in Oz. It looks like a good read from the section that was published in The Daily Mail on Sunday. Read it at:

A couple of quick items from that extract:

On Elizabeth Taylor and diamonds:

Many years ago, Richard Burton bought Elizabeth Taylor a diamond necklace for an extraordinary sum.

Several years later I ran into her at a party and she was wearing it. I was telling her how beautiful it was when she pulled me towards her and whispered in my ear: ‘It’s not the real one – it’s paste!’

‘Why don’t you wear the real one?’ I asked. ‘It’s too dangerous,’ she said, looking around her. I followed her gaze: all I could see were multi-millionaires. ‘Surely you’re safe here?’ I said, pointing at the two bodyguards standing behind her chair.

‘Oh – them,’ she said. ‘They’re always here when I’m wearing this.’ I thought for a moment. ‘But surely you don’t need them if the necklace is paste?’

She looked at me pityingly. ‘If I didn’t have the guards, Michael,’ she explained as if to a small child, ‘everyone would know it was paste.’

Sydney Exhibitions

Byters may be interested in the following exhibitions which are on in Sydney or coming to Sydney (text is from the exhibition promotional material):


Sin City:  Crime and Corruption in 20th-century Sydney

Jusrice and Police Museum
1 May 2010 - 22 May 2011

"No city in the world can rival Sydney's tolerance for organised crime."
Professor Alfred W McCoy, 1980.

In the second half of the 20th century, Sin City was in every way a fitting nickname for Sydney. Organised crime held a grip on the city and corruption was rife, infiltrating the top levels of politics, law and justice.

Focusing on the 1940s to the 1980s, this exhibition will examine some of the audacious crimes, fascinating people and various vice trades – from suburban SP bookmakers and sly-grog sellers to narcotics dealers and flashy illegal casinos – that bankrolled corruption.

By presenting a mixture of new interviews, short biographies, rare objects and a comprehensive news archive, Sin City will uncover the elements of Sydney that condoned and encouraged corruption, and expose some of the popular myths associated with this celebrated topic.

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Ten Simple Rules for Dating My Daughter



Some time ago Bruce Willis was asked what he would do when his four daughters became old enough to start dating. He replied that if he shot the first boy who came to the house and left the body lying on the lawn, the rest would soon get the message.

I mention this because Byter Peter, my brother in law, has a daughter who is soon to be at the dating age. When we discussed the topic, I referred him to a piece that had been written by Bruce Cameron which gave some helpful advice. He hadn’t yet seen it so here it is:

Ten Simple Rules For Dating My Daughter

Rule One:
If you pull into my driveway and honk you’d better be delivering a package, because you’re sure not picking anything up.

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Blowing a Raspberry



“Take a butcher’s at my china over there. He lost his titfer, is copping it from his trouble and strife so he’s going to the rubbity for a few. It’s a load of pony if you ask me.”

Translation:

Take a butcher’s hook (look) at my china plate (mate) over there. He lost his tit for that (hat),is copping it from his trouble and strife (wife) so he’s going to the rubbity dub (pub) for a few. It’s a load of pony and trap (crap) if you ask me.”

It might sound like something out of The Bill or The Sweeney but the above are some of the better known examples of cockney rhyming slang. Incidentally, there are various possibilities and explanations for how the police in England came to be referred to as “The Old Bill”, or “The Bill” for short. They are examined at the UK police website at:

The Sweeney (I loved that show) is itself a shortening of rhyming slang and illustrates a point made above, that some rhyming slang becomes shortened to one word. The Sweeney is short for Sweeney Todd, meaning The Flying Squad, a division of the Old Bill.

Which is a long winded (ha ha) way of explaining that blowing someone a raspberry is a shortening of the rhyming slang raspberry tart, which means “fart”. Blowing a raspberry is to mock, jeer etc by making a noise of breaking wind.

Unlike my trouble and strife, who thinks that a movie is lowered in tone by a good fart joke or scene, my boys and I have wiped tears away watching the windy scenes in various movies.

Indeed, there are websites that list the best raspberry tart scenes.

Friday, September 17, 2010

Quote: Charles V


"To God I speak Spanish, to women Italian, to men French, and to my horse - German."

-  Emperor Charles V (1500-1558)

Chales was King of Spain from 1516-1556 and became Holy Roman Emperor from 1519 to 1558.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Little Golden Book Titles That Didn't Make It



Little Golden Books launched in 1942 and sold at 25 cents each. They changed publishing history in that for the first time, children's books were high quality and low-priced. They were available to almost all children, not just a privileged few. Since then, over two billion Golden Books have been sold.

Here are some of the titles that have been rejected:

1. You Are Different and That's Bad

2. The Boy Who Died From Eating All His Vegetables

3. Daddy's New Wife Robert

4. Fun Four-Letter Words to Know and Share

5. Hammers, Screwdrivers, and Scissors: An I-Can-Do-It Book

6. The Kid's Guide to Hitchhiking

7. Kathy Was So Bad Her Mum Stopped Loving Her

8. Curious George and the High-Voltage Fence

9. Curious George and the House of Ill Repute

10. All Cats Go To Hell

11. The Little Sissy Who Snitched

12. Some Kittens Can Fly

13. That's It, I'm Putting You Up For Adoption

14. Grandpa Gets A Casket

15. The Magic World Inside The Abandoned Refrigerator

16. Garfield Gets Feline Leukemia

17. The Pop-Up Book of Human Anatomy

18. Strangers Have The Best Candy

19. Whining, Kicking, And Crying To Get Your Way

20. You Were An Accident

21. We Really Do Love Your Sister More

22. Things Rich Kids Have And You Never Will

23. Pop! Goes The Hamster and Other Fun Microwave Games

24. The Man in the Moon Is Actually Satan

25. Your Nightmares Are Real

26. Where Would You Like To Be Buried?

27. Eggs, Toilet Paper, and Your School

28. Why Can't Mr. Fork and Ms. Electrical Outlet Be Friends?

29. Places Where Mommy and Daddy Hide Neat Things

30. Daddy Drinks Because You Cry

31. People Who Are Better Than You

32. Bugs You Can Eat

33. Why You'll Never Be Good Enough

34. Where Do Syringes Come From?

35. Things That Go Boom and Things That Light Fires

36. 50 Fun Glue Games

37. Everybody Is Okay Except You

38. What's In A Joint?

39. Mummy's Pills Taste Just Like Candy

40. Learn How To Fly With Just a Ladder and a Pillowcase

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Vintage Pics: Railway Square #2

I previously posted a photograph of Railway Square (the area between Broadway TAFE and Central Station), Sydney in 1913 which showed the prevalence of trams and horse drawn carriages and carts as the dominant means of transport.  The photograph is reposted for comparison and can be enlarged by clicking on the image, as can the further images which follow:


By 1922 the horses and carts had given way to cars but it is still interesting to note that cars shared the road with pedestrians.  The following photo shows Railway Square in 1922; the photo thereafter is undated but also appears to be from the 1920's:

Some points to note:

-  The middle photo was taken from the Central Station clock tower looking south west.

-  Sydney University can be seen on the horizon of the middle photograph, at top right.

-  The building on the left was a post office.

-  There are no horse drawn vehciles observable in either of the 2 later photographs.

-  Enlarge the middle pic and have a look at the roadster with whitewall tyres, bottom of pic towards the left.

-  The area around Central Station was a busy commercial precinct, with a number of the new department stores being situated there.  Note the Marcus Clarke furniture showroom on the right.  When the underground City Circle rail line was built, the major retailing area moved north, causing the Central Station area to decline both in retailing and generally.

Monday, September 13, 2010

Sir Archibald Clark Kerr

Warning:
The following post contains risqué language.

Back in June I posted an item about names which, when spoken, can sound quite rude. I mentioned the prank by the young people at Heathrow, the practice of giving the name Haywood Jablome to journos (and subsequently having that published)  and the paging of names by Bart Simpson. Read the post at:

I am indebted to my father in law, Noel, for bringing to my attention a similar item concerning a letter sent by Sir Archibald Clark Kerr many years ago. A little bit of research on the internet revealed the details.

Archibald Clark Kerr (above), 1st Baron Inverchapel, was born in Australia in 1882 and died in 1951. Having become a British diplomat, Sir Archibald served as the Ambassador to China 1938 to 1942, as Ambassador to the Soviet Union between 1942 and 1946 and to the US between 1946 and 1948.

Despite his many years of loyal service to Britain, his friendships with Stalin during WW2 and the Kaiser’s sister before WW1, and the fact that he was a disappointed suitor of the Queen Mother, he is today best remembered for a letter he wrote to Lord Pembroke in 1943 whilst he was Ambassador to Moscow.  The handwritten note on the letter indicates that the letter was released under the Freedom of Information Acy in 1990:

(Click on image to enlarge).

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Last Words: Jessica Dubroff


“Do you hear the rain? Do you hear the rain?”

- Jessica Dubroff (1988-1996),
seven-year-old pilot minutes before her plane crashed.

Jessica began taking flying lessons from flight instructor, Joe Reid, on her sixth birthday. She was an enthusiastic pupil and her father, Lloyd Dubroff, who was separated from Jessica's mother, suggested a coast to coast flight. Jessica embraced the idea, Joe Reid agreed to provide flight instruction and make his aircraft available and her father had caps and t-shirts made to promote the event, which was named “Sea to Shining Sea”.

Although Jessica had logged 33 hours of flight training, she was not the holder of a pilot or student certificate, the minimum age in the US being 17 years for a pilot certificate and 16 years for a student pilot certificate. This meant that her flying instructor had to be at the controls during all flight operations. The plane to be used in the coats to coast flight was a 4 seat single engine propeller Cessna with dual controls. Reid would sit with Jessica in the front and her father in the back. Reid was to be paid for his services at normal rates and told his wife that he would be "flying cross country with a 7 year old sitting next to you and the parents paying for it.” He referred to the flight as a “non-event for aviation”.

There was no body recognising juvenile flight record attempts nor was there any official record keeping for such attempts. The Guinness Book of Records had ceased keeping youngest pilot records seven years earlier because of the risk of accidents. Nonetheless the flight was publicised as a record attempt, encouraged and promoted by Jessica’s father. ABC New gave her father a video camera and blank tapes to record the event.  It received heavy media attention, notwithstanding that Reid attended to at least part of the flying and assisted in landing because of winds on one occasion.

On April 11 1996 the plane crashed, only 24 hours into Jessica's quest to be the youngest person to fly a plane across America. Jessica, her father and Reid died in the crash, which occurred just after taking off during a storm.

An investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board found that the probable cause of the accident was Reid’s "improper decision to take off into deteriorating weather conditions (including turbulence, gusty winds, and an advancing thunderstorm and associated precipitation) when the airplane was overweight and when the density altitude was higher than he was accustomed to, resulting in a stall caused by failure to maintain airspeed."

The NTSB also commented that "contributing to the pilot in command’s decision to take off was a desire to adhere to an overly ambitious itinerary, in part, because of media commitments.”

Congress subsequently passed legislation which prohibited young persons without a pilot’s certificate or student pilot’s certificate manipulating aircraft controls to set a record or engage in an aeronautical competition or aeronautical feat.

At a time when Jessica Watson and Holland’s Laura Dekker have been receiving attention for attempts to be the youngest to sail solo  around the world, it is appropriate to note the words of the ABC’s Ted Koppel, who said on Nightline in relation to the death of Jessica Dubroff: "We need to begin by acknowledging our own contribution...We feed one another: those of you looking for publicity and those of us looking for stories." Koppel ended by asking "whether we in the media...by our ravenous attention contribute to this phenomenon," and answered: "We did.”

Thursday, September 9, 2010

No Bytes For a Few Days



I will be away from my computer for the next few days so I am posting a couple of items for weekend reading, one a lengthy look at youth culture in Oz in the 50's and 60's and one a repost on Hanlon's Razor. 

Older Byters may find memories being brought back from dusty recesses by the youth culture item.

Enjoy.

Btw, I like this comment I came across...


Australian Youth Culture of the 1950's and 1960's


This item began as a simple post about a clip of the group The Chantays playing a 1963 instrumental hit, Pipeline.  I had mentioned the piece to my guitar playing teenage son but, on viewing the clip, it was so lame and dated that I wanted to give it a wider distribution.  This was to include a background explanation about my memories of surfing music in the 60’s. However, like Topsy, it just growed.

Bodgies:

To understand youth culture in 1963 we need to go back a bit earlier.

Australia in the 1950’s took its lead from America, in movies, music and popular culture. The young in Australia embraced rock ‘n roll, bobbysoxers and American artists, although a local rock ‘n roll scene led by people such as Johnny O’Keefe was also emerging.

Hanlon's Razor


Hanlon’s Razor is an adage submitted to a book on Murphy’s Laws by Robert J Hanlon. It holds "Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity."  A paraphrase is "Assume stupidity, not malice."

Similar comments have previously been expressed::

- Napoleon Bonaparte: "Never ascribe to malice that which is adequately explained by incompetence."

Stan Cross


(Click on cartoon to enlarge).

Some of you may be familiar with the above in that it has been reproduced as a spray can graffiti on the side of a building in Cleveland Street as you drive towards Moore Park.

The cartoon is regarded as Australia's most famous, and funniest, print cartoon. It is by American born, Australian raised, Stan Cross (1888-1977) and appeared in Smith's Weekly on 29 July 1933. Reflecting that staple of humour, the assault on dignity, the cartoon also struck a chord with a population battered by the Great Depression. They laughed along with the chap hanging off his mate's trousers, which have been pulled down to his mate's ankles.

The cartoon was enlarged and reprinted onto quality paper, selling for two shillings and sixpence. It was displayed on workplace walls, in hotels, barbers shops and shop windows. It was also reprinted in many overseas publications.

In 1945 Virgil Reilly, a staff writer with Stan Cross on Smith's Weekly, saw it on the wall in the quarters of the Japanese commander at Wewak, New Guinea. It had Japanese characters written thereon which were translated as "Japanese braces much better than British braces."

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Socrates, Bill, Ted and Julia


"I was really too honest a man to be a politician and live."

-  Attributed to Socrates (469-399 BCE) by Plato in The Trial and Death of Socrates.

Socrates served as a soldier but later retired from political life to raise his children and to work at stonemasonry.  An inheritance from his father enabled him to spend his time in philosophy, spending his time in discussions with the young citizens of Athens, challenging them and and questioning their acceptance of current norms and accepted beliefs.  Condemned and convicted of corrupting the youth of Athens and of interfering with religion, he declined the opportunity to escape, drank the hemlock poison he was given and died in the company of his friends.

I must admit, however, that my Socratic knowledge has been permanently tainted by Bill and Ted's kidnapping of Socrats (in the movie continually pronounced So-crates) back to the future  in Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure.  See one of the scenes at:


Bonus Post:

Now that Julia Gillard has finished negosiating with the Independents and is again PM, it is opportune to have a look at, and listen to,  Andrew Hansen's musical comment on our ranga... click on:


Thanks to Byter Di for drawing my attention to it.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Quote: Eleanor Roosevelt


"One thing life has taught me: if you are interested, you never have to look for new interests. They come to you. When you are genuinely interested in one thing, it will always lead to something else."

- Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962)

Monday, September 6, 2010

Father's Day and Duct Tape

I wish to share with you some comments about my Father's Day cards.

Over the years I have sought to instil in my kids various life lessons and to pass on advice that will stand them in good stead as they meet the challenges of the world. One such lesson is that essential items in any backpack, especially when travelling, are duct tape and toilet paper. Each item serves many uses and can often be relied upon to avert an emergency or solve a problem. My children, who are reminiscent of Donald Duck’s nephews, see this life lesson as a basis for amusement but one day they will be telling their kids to carry duct tape and toilet paper. Last Father’s Day they gave me the following card...

(Click on pics to enlarge).

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Father's Day 2011



Father's Day... 

I never know whether the apostrophe goes before the "s" because it is a day for each individual father, or after the "s" because it is for all fathers collectively.

I have previously posted items for earlier Fathers Days, either on the Bytes blog or in its previous life as an email send. To see those items:
1. Go to the blog site by clicking on the words bytes daily on the top of the email or by going to:
http://www.bytesdaily.blogspot.com/
2. Go to the search function, which is the white rectangle at the top left of the Bytes page.
3. Type in Inigo Montoya and hit enter.
4. Then go back and do the same with Blind Rower and hit enter.
When I was thinking about the coming Father’s Day I was reminded of the Banjo Paterson poem, Father Riley's Horse. This in turn started me thinking. Why are priests, who are pledged to celibacy and therefore sans children, called Father? Why are other members of the clergy and holy orders called by family designations – Brother, Sister, Mother? And what of Matthew 23:9? – “And do not call anyone on earth 'father,' for you have one Father, and he is in heaven..”

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Stone Mountain

Everyone knows about Mount Rushmore, especially if they have seen Cary Grant and Eve Marie Saint clambering all over it in the climax of North by Northwest.

Located in South Dakota, it is a monument carved out of a granite mountain honouring the first 150 years of US history. It features 18 metre high busts of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. Carving started in 1927 and concluded in 1941.

(Click on photos to enlarge).

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Vintage Pics: George Street, Sydney

George Street, Sydney near Hunter Street, c 1900
(Click on photo to enlarge).

Some points to note:

-  The presence of numerous electric trams and horse carriages.

-  The lack of cars.

-  The passengers in the front tram standing at the entry, sitting on the hand rail and on the step. Less stringent OH&S and civil liability then.

-  The chaps at the bottom left with brooms – note the stains on the roadway near the trains, reminders that equine transport has different waste emissions to motor vehicles.

-  The building on the right, the site of mercers, tailors and shirtmakers for men, Peapes & Co Ltd, which advertised under the slogan “for men and their sons”. The company supplied the official uniforms for most of the private schools around Sydney

Bytes

Dear Byters
Although in the past I have generally posted short items during the week and longer items on weekends, recently some of the midweek items have tended to be longer ones.

I am therefore going to slightly change the format:  generally the longer items will still be posted on the weekends but I am cutting the posting back to one item per day, whether they are long or short.

This will make reading on busy mornings easier and will keep the focus on one item at a time..


"A man with one watch knows what time it is; a man with two watches is never quite sure."

-  Lee Segal

Said Hanrahan



Whereas Australia’s best known poets, Banjo Patterson and Henry Lawson wrote of the bush from a perspective of visiting city dwellers, whether romantic (Patterson) or harsh and cruel (Lawson), John O’Brien wrote as a person who actually lived in rural towns and participated in that existence.

John O'Brien was the psuedonym of Patrick Joseph Hartigan (1878-1952), who was born in Yass, New South Wales. Hartigan was a Roman Catholic priest in the Goulburn diocese and later parish priest at Narrandera, rural towns in New South Wales.

O’Brien’s poems are gentler, more affectionate of rural life and its people, descriptive of essential features such as farming, the Irish and the church. In many ways they are similar to Steele Rudd's anecdotes and stories in On Our Selection, but in poetic form.

“Said Hanrahan” (1921) gently pokes fun at the pessimism of the Irish Catholics and the attitude that sees difficulty in each situation, but against a backdrop of very real drought, floods and bushfires, constant threats in the Australian landscape and the Australian psyche.

The poem remains relevant today as new generations face difficulties in the environment and in society.

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Quote: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow


"If spring came but once a century instead of once a year, or burst forth with the sound of an earthquake and not in silence, what wonder and expectation there would be in all hearts to behold the miraculous change. "

-  Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882)

Vintage Ads: Cocaine #3

As already seen, attitudes were quite different in the past to substances that are today seen as dangerous and are prohibited or controlled. More examples:

Morphine:

The morphine alkaloid was first extracted from the poppy plant in 1804. Morphine was first marketed to the general public in 1817 as an analgesic and also as a treatment for opium and alcohol addiction. It was later found that morphine was actually more addictive than either alcohol or opium. Morphine was the most commonly abused narcotic analgesic in the world until heroin was synthesized and came into use.

(Click on pictures to enlarge).
Ayer's Cherry Pectoral
This cure for colds, coughs and "all diseases of the throat and lungs" contained either morphine or heroin.