Class Signifiers of 1949

The April 1949 issue of LIFE magazine contained a chart that detailed the difference between highbrow and lowbrow tastes. The chart is actually two pages (only one is shown here), and it’s bigger and easier to read at Google Books.

Scroll up for an intro article about the chart, in which Russell Lynes calls highbrows snobs, and scroll down for a rebuttal from Winthrop Sergeant, who says if it were not for the few highbrows in America, the country would descend into Idiocracy (not a term used at the time, but it well describes his opinion). And in case you are wondering, I found an link to an explanation of unwashed salad bowls at Metafilter.

Times have changed, and a wise person knows that money, education, and taste are less useful as indicators of class (or at least classiness) than how one treats his fellow man. -via Nag on the Lake


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Strangely enough, this weekend's "America's Test Kitchen" radio program had a tip about this very thing. Kimball said to remove the top layer with course sandpaper and season with food grade mineral oil. Myself, I prefer to use a sludge of kosher salt and olive oil when the bowl (or board) is wet.
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In Futurama, there's an episode about the Olympics in year 3004, saying that steroid injections had become mandatory a long time ago...
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There's nothing wrong with using steroids or other performance enhancing drugs. What's wrong is agreeing to abide by a set of rules and then breaking that promise.

That said, the ethical situation gets trickier when rules are not enforced, not enforced equally or if most or all participants are violating them and getting away with it.
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But there *is* something wrong with using steroid and other drugs. They not only skew the playing field to the point that authentic, non-drug-using athletes cannot fairly compete through natural skill or grueling training but these "additive" also have horrible effects on the human body. Rules must be enforced across the board to prevent damage to what should be some of the healthiest people on earth.
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@Lynda if "preventing damage" is the goal where does one stop. Recent studies say running more than 25km a week is bad for you, so should we ban the marathon. What about American football and all the concern regarding head injuries. And all those athletes who shoot cortisone into aching joints only to end up with permanent damage. What about the mental state of children pushed by parents to excel, at the cost of a normal childhood. The list goes on.
As for fair, what about all the technological advantages rich countries have over poor ones - better training facilities, better equipment, financial support, scientifically formulated diets. If we are going to be truly fair shouldn't all athletes have access to the same training and equipment.
Where does one draw the line.
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