Remember When This Fad Swept The Nation?

"SteveLehto" (stevelehto) 09/27/2014 at 12:09 • Filed to: None

13

18

I am writing a book on Preston Tucker and some of my research requires me to page through old magazines. One in particular, Mechanix Illustrated from August 1948, is well-known to Tucker aficionados because of a review of the Tucker '48 sedan by famed auto writer Tom McCahill.

You might guess that the woman on the cover of the issue is not driving a Tucker '48. She's riding what the magazine promised was the latest fad - "Funny Cycles." While the Tucker sedan was quite newsworthy, this national craze was apparently more newsworthy. That's why it is on the cover.

I wasn't around in 1948 so as soon as I was done reading the piece on Tucker, I flipped over to the three-page spread on these newfangled contraptions which I can only assume my parents drove on a daily basis. After all, these barrel-wheeled vehicles, and other wheeled oddities, were sweeping the nation.

Oh my. I believe those are called gams . Even in 1948 the latest vehicles were marketed with eye-candy. Or, maybe bathing suits were the favored uniforms for the operators of the Funny Cycles. Obviously, the woman on the left is also a skilled operator of a Funny Cycle. That's why she's wearing the uniform.

As I study these pictures I notice that the heels are apparently also part of the uniform. Like the way some drivers wore scarves and goggles when piloting motor-cars of yore.

These funny cycles were still in their infancy and the leading scientists and engineers of the day were still wrestling with various design issues. Clearly, they have examined the spectrum, from the tiny wheels on the one end to the barrel and Eight-ball wheels on the other.

Would there be a potential for a mid-size wheel, something between the trike wheel and the barrel?

How about a smaller barrel? Or the other 14 balls in a billiard rack?

The good news is that with the recent end of World War II, there was a glut of scientists who had been freed up from working on things like the Manhattan Project who could now address these pressing concerns. And, there was most likely a massive quantity of government funding available as well.

It's been 65 years since this craze swept the nation. I'm sure there is a plethora of literature I can delve into later, just as soon as I finish the Tucker manuscript.

In fact, I just wrote myself a note: "Check for SAE papers on Funny Cycles, Circa 1948." Maybe there's a book there.

Follow me on twitter: !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

Steve Lehto is a writer and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . He wrote !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

Ramblin Rover - The Vivisector of Solihull > SteveLehto 09/27/2014 at 12:20

1

I admit - I did not know barrelcycles were a thing.

cnessel27 > SteveLehto 09/27/2014 at 12:22

0

Imagine rolling across a calm lake in the barrel Funny Cycle.

SteveLehto > Ramblin Rover - The Vivisector of Solihull 09/27/2014 at 12:25

0

I suspect they weren't. But I'm still looking into it . . . .

SteveLehto > cnessel27 09/27/2014 at 12:27

0

I wonder if it floated? Maybe it was the ultimate ATV!

Ramblin Rover - The Vivisector of Solihull > SteveLehto 09/27/2014 at 12:33

0

I've seen a hobby horse-based tricycle before, I think in an episode of Little Rascals. So those, at any rate, predated this fad (however large)... at least for children. It might be an interesting topic for a pop psychologist to look at, really - it seems like the 40s-mid 50s had a strong spate of kind of a playful "innocent" juvenility associated with femininity in pop culture. Not to say that didn't exist before, but I think it reached its peak around then. Take for example the bobbysoxers, contemporary advertising, the height of popularity of "baby", "kid", and other terms of endearment, and clothing fashions - the sailor suits and so on.

Saf1 > Ramblin Rover - The Vivisector of Solihull 09/27/2014 at 12:34

0

They look so practical for work! Making jam on the go?! Or anything involving long periods of mixing :)

SteveLehto > Ramblin Rover - The Vivisector of Solihull 09/27/2014 at 12:36

0

Interesting. I think you are right. Probably fueled on some level by the end of WWII and the state of mind during the Cold War.

Thanks for the note.

The Transporter > SteveLehto 09/27/2014 at 12:43

1

All the women in those photographs are now grandmothers and great grandmothers.

SteveLehto > The Transporter 09/27/2014 at 12:44

2

Well, if they are alive, they are old enough to be. That's true.

Ramblin Rover - The Vivisector of Solihull > SteveLehto 09/27/2014 at 12:44

2

Look up "Rolligon" some time. I think you'll be amused.

SteveLehto > Ramblin Rover - The Vivisector of Solihull 09/27/2014 at 12:46

0

I just did. Very cool!

505Turbeaux > SteveLehto 09/29/2014 at 14:07

3

I have some sort of an idea of what other fun I can have with these 2 ladies and an 8 ball...

SteveLehto > 505Turbeaux 09/29/2014 at 14:12

2

That's one of the things that make this piece so comical - they clearly just wanted an excuse to throw some pics of women in bathing suits into the magazine.

505Turbeaux > SteveLehto 09/29/2014 at 14:17

0

oh 100%. Love it!

Mercedes Streeter > SteveLehto 10/01/2014 at 15:26

0

Woah, how did I miss this post? A book on Tucker? Now that is something I'd LOVE to read!!!!

SteveLehto > Mercedes Streeter 10/01/2014 at 15:29

1

Stay tuned. I turned the manuscript in this past Monday. Follow me on twitter and you will get updates etc. @stevelehto

heyheauxs > SteveLehto 10/01/2014 at 17:01

0

Pancake Asses since (long before) 1948.

SteveLehto > heyheauxs 10/01/2014 at 17:03

0

Those were all the rage back then!