Retrophilia: Don't Eat That!

retrophilia (ret troh FEE lee uh) n. 1 An intense attraction for things of the past. 2 a weekly series for popsucker wherin the irrepressible Wootini reveals the horrors of the past to the present to avoid making the same mistakes in the future.
I know people ate a lot of sketchy, barely-edible food products back in the fifties, but you've really got to draw the line somewhere. This sandwich, for instance. Looks a little weird, right? Well, I'm just glad this company couldn't spring for a full-color ad. I'm sure there are some of you out there who might disagree with me, but I think most of you will not want to make the jump to see exactly what's in between these slices of bread!

I've always thought sardines were kind of nasty, so it's hilarious that they're trying to promote them as everybody's favorite food. Well, specifically hungry guys. "Husky, man-sized sandwiches" for Junior and the gang after the big game? Good thing you've got plenty of Maine Sardines in the pantry so they don't run amok and tear your kitchen apart in a blind rage looking for something to eat.
Plus, you can do so much else with them like make "appetizing, nourishing main dishes... casseroles, croquettes, omelets and loafs." Sardine loaf? Really? At least they're packed in "modern sanitary plants under rigid Government inspection." What, was there some kind of crackdown on those fly-by-night sardine packing plants that were making everyone sick?
I know some of you will probably argue that sardines are delicious and awesome and whatnot, but let me just say you're not going to change my mind. I do, however, wish I could still send away for that free recipe book. It says they're "interesting" and it has full-color illustrations! I can't even imagine!






I don't know about sardines, but SOME canned fish definitely DID kill people, as Saint Andy Warhol reminds us.
(I think good sardines are super-tasty, although most sardines you buy are pretty bad.)
@wootini You can still send away for it a little google search turned this up
http://www.tias.com/39/PictPage/1922583517.html
oh, and this too
http://www.flickr.com/photos/charmandpoise/202902050/in/photostream/
If you enjoy things like this, you need to check out a book by James Lileks called "The Gallery of Regrettable Food." The entire book is a collections of excerpts from ads and recipe "books" like the one you posted. Everything from some truly strange hot dog casserolish things to recipes for cooking with ketchup :-)
Lileks also has a website here:
http://www.lileks.com/institute/gallery/
if you're interested.
Oh, I've had that book for years. It's AWESOME!