60 Years Ago in The New Yorker

This one’s not a mystery. It’s just a reminder that being replaced by machines, especially computers, is not new at all. And not unrealistic at all.


What’s the hat got to do with it? The hat is the punch line; otherwise it’s just two thugs.


Mirages? I note in passing that styles in swimsuits haven’t changed all that much in 60 years. This song is just a handful of years earlier.




90 Years Ago in The New Yorker

August, 1933: More cultural references to decipher.

Did I miss some modern artifact (radio in 1933, or a refrigerator)?


There was a rather turbulent mayoral election in New York in 1933: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1933_New_York_City_mayoral_election

It took a while to find a candidate who would fly with the voters.



Euphemism?


Is Mooney someone we would have known?