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Just in time to ride the last wave of novelty dances that began in the early 1960s with the Twist, a George State College chemistry professor came up with the Molecule-a-Go-Go. Alas, even the comely coed he picked to demonstrate its moves (and they said girls didn't like chemistry!) couldn't fail to disguise the fact that when it came to the dance floor, pretending to be a water molecule looked about as fun or sexy as a taking a pop quiz. Clip from Ron Mann's fabulous 1992 documentary, Twist. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=366973&view=rss&microfeed=true At the very same time during the 1950s that some young women wondered why they should study science when all they wanted to do was get married, and magazines aimed at teen girls and women did their best to simultaneously both dispel and uphold the stereotype of the masculine female scientist, Don Herbert was busy showing American kids the wonders of science as television's Mr. Wizard. And he didn't discriminate. More »
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Did you ever wonder why young, single women should waste their time in science class when they could be out tracking down eligible men? Listen and learn as Dad and Mom explain to their skeptical daughter Betty how science benefits married women, as well as those waiting for Mr. Right, in this clip from Why Study Science? Hopefully, Betty soon learned that cosmic rays and cake baking are both lots of fun. You can watch the rest of this 1955 educational film at the Prelinger Archives. More »
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Meet Mary Summerfield, Ph.D. In 1956, she was one of what American Girl magazine called "thousands of girls now serving as professional scientists." Dr. Summerfield thought more young women (er, girls) would consider science as a career but were afraid it would render them unfeminine spinsters. That's why the caption on her picture stressed she was a "research physicist—and homemaker" who thought "Cosmic rays and cake baking are both lots of fun." Here's how some other women's mags from the 1950s proved that careers in science could be downright girly. More »
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