Could you survive?

[LizzieMaine]

Belts were still around in the 70s, as I can personally attest -- the first sticky pads came out in the middle of that decade, and they weren't very reliable, so the belted versions were still around for a good while after.

When internal products were introduced, some women found them uncomfortable and preferred to stick to what they knew. I don't know what the percentage of internal to external protection users today is, but they still seem to co-exist to this day. Just a matter of personal taste, I guess.

The rubber apron itself wasn't intended as direct protection for the wearer -- belted disposable cellulose pads had been on the market since the World War 1 era, and were the most common form of protection. The idea behind the rubber apron/rubber panties was to protect the wearer's clothing from possible leakage. As the quality of pads got better, the rubber aprons became less common, and pretty much disappeared by the war era. You could still get "sanitary panties" well into the sixties though.

There's an excellent women-only Powder Room thread from a few years back on the history of feminine hygiene that goes into a lot more detail on such things.

 

[Spitfire]

Advertising was on so of course I could survive. I started in this game before the mac changed everything. So there is no doubt.
And if I couldn't I would just join RAf and be trained as a pilot.
1937 would give me 3 years to learn the tricks of the trade before the balloon went up.
If I could survive that, is quite another matter...

 

[Edward]

WEll, I'm assuming for this hypothesis we'd be going back as at the age we are now - in which case I'd be too old to be conscripted, thank goodness.

 

[David Conwill]

WEll, I'm assuming for this hypothesis we'd be going back as at the age we are now - in which case I'd be too old to be conscripted, thank goodness.

I've got until 1943! Maybe I'll just volunteer for the USAAF. My eyesight should keep me mostly out of the shooting.

Of course, I'd probably end up sent to the Phillipines over my vehement protests and wind up on the Bataan Death March.

-Dave

 

[Undertow]

Don't mean to sound like a big poop, but I think any one of us could survive in those days. A great ratio of humanity currently survives on even less, so I think we could all swing it.

 

[Amy Jeanne]

Ah, but don't forget -- Modern Internal Protection was first marketed in the US in 1936, and was an immediate success, even as makers of gum-rubber aprons wept and gnashed their teeth.

I do see tampons advertised in my old magazines quite a bit, but I think I'm going to ask my grandmother about them. That is one topic I haven't discussed with her, yet it's my most fascinated topic (and feared at the same time!) I see her on Sunday. I'll report back in the PR thread.....ok, done here....carry on....

 

[Edward]

Don't mean to sound like a big poop, but I think any one of us could survive in those days. A great ratio of humanity currently survives on even less, so I think we could all swing it.

Very true..... I'd rather not have to try, though!

 

[Spitfire]

WEll, I'm assuming for this hypothesis we'd be going back as at the age we are now - in which case I'd be too old to be conscripted, thank goodness.

If that's the case, I don't want to go. Why should i. So much more fun here...

 

[Gingerella72]

I think I could survive, but some areas I would need to make huge adjustments in; learning to manage my allergies and asthma without modern medicine probably being the most important issue.

Less important but nonetheless weighing in on the quality of life would be wearing glasses all the time (I wear contacts and despise glasses), living without air conditioning (I absolutely DIE in hot humid weather), and of course, living without modern feminine hygiene products.

 

[SGT Rocket]

Once in a while, I like to play a little "what if" game with my friends and it might be fun to play here.

If you were suddenly sucked out of the year 2007 and plopped back into 1937, could you continue to live in the way in which your accustomed, or would you have to make some very major changes in how you live?

For instance, could you make a living? Could you do what you do now, or would you have to learn a new skill? How about technology? Could you easly survive with only what was available in 1937? Or would you have to find huge reserves of patience to live without the speed and ease of today's gadgets? And remember, you would HAVE to dress vintage every day...even in the dead of a humid summer.

I'm sure you can come up with all sorts of fun things to think about.

Let 'er rip!

I haven't really thought about surviving in 1937. I think that I'll have to ponder that a while until I can make a coherent reply. However, I have been planning for the Zombie Apocalypse for quite some time. I think I could survive the ZA, at least for a while, because I have a plan, material, weapons, etc... However, getting transported with just the shirt on my back to 1937, not so sure. If I could survive just a few years until WWII, I could always join the service...

 

[The Good]

If I were dropped into the year 1937, I'd just be another young man in the midst of the Great Depression, who happens to have knowledge of the occurrence of World War II. I'm not sure in what ways I could benefit from that, though. I'd most likely be drafted into the armed forces, and I would probably be serving on the Pacific Front, given that I live in California.

 

[sheeplady]

If I were dropped into the year 1937, I'd just be another young man in the midst of the Great Depression, who happens to have knowledge of the occurrence of World War II. I'm not sure in what ways I could benefit from that, though. I'd most likely be drafted into the armed forces, and I would probably be serving on the Pacific Front, given that I live in California.

Your post brings up an interesting point. Since the gentleman and ladies in the FL have a greater knowledge of WWII than the average current person, I am wondering if a knowledge of WWII would be a source of worry. For instance, if a person joined up, and was assigned to a regiment or outfit that particularly took a beating or saw some serious casualities, would that be a source of worry? Or would the knowledge about the specifics (battles, pitfalls) be helpful in surviving?

What about for the ladies? Would this knowledge create more worry or more comfort if your SO was in the military?

 

[LizzieMaine]

I'd think pretty seriously about joining the WACs myself -- I don't have an encyclopedic knowledge of order of battle or anything like that, but I do have the one skill that was absolutely essential to victory: I know how to run a mimeograph machine.

 

[JimWagner]

If you had prior knowledge of what was going to happen in WWII, and you ran your mouth, probably one of two things would happen. You'd be thought to be a spy since you knew things classified (like where and when D-Day was going to happen). Or maybe a Section 8 looney. Either way, it would be best to not say anything to anyone.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

If I were dropped into the year 1937, I'd just be another young man in the midst of the Great Depression, who happens to have knowledge of the occurrence of World War II. I'm not sure in what ways I could benefit from that, though. I'd most likely be drafted into the armed forces, and I would probably be serving on the Pacific Front, given that I live in California.

Not necessarily. Many of the divisions that fought in the Pacific, particularly the ones that were pre-war National Guard such as the 27th (New York), 31st (Alabama, Florida, Georgia), 32nd (Michigan, Wisconsin), 33rd (Illinois), 37th (Ohio), 38th (Indiana), and 43rd (Connecticut, Maine, Rhode Island, Vermont) Divisions were from east of the Mississippi. Though California's 40th Division also served in the Pacific.

If you had prior knowledge of what was going to happen in WWII, and you ran your mouth, probably one of two things would happen. You'd be thought to be a spy since you knew things classified (like where and when D-Day was going to happen). Or maybe a Section 8 looney. Either way, it would be best to not say anything to anyone.

I've got three volumes of the B-24D manual and one for the M1 40mm Bofors gun that still say "Restricted." Just stick to betting on the World Series. lol

 

[Harp]

If I were dropped into the year 1937, I'd just be another young man in the midst of the Great Depression, who happens to have knowledge of the occurrence of World War II. I'm not sure in what ways I could benefit from that, though.

Erin passport to Buenos Aires; bank/law office employ;
red meat, hard liquor, and soft beautiful women for the duration.

 

[Puzzicato]

Don't mean to sound like a big poop, but I think any one of us could survive in those days. A great ratio of humanity currently survives on even less, so I think we could all swing it.

I'd be concerned about winding up like Arthur Dent, being the Only Begotten Sandwich Maker, because while I know how to use modern technology, I have no idea how it actually works, and not a whole lot of practical skills. Sure, millions of people survive on nothing, but they generally have learned extremely practical things - what berries are poisonous, when to harvest crops, which restaurants don't deliberately taint their food waste.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

Erin passport to Buenos Aires; bank/law office employ;
red meat, hard liquor, and soft beautiful women for the duration.

Sounds like a plan to me! :thumb:

 

[LizzieMaine]

I'm a big believer in the "history is impossible to change" theory of time travel, myself -- anything any of us tried to do to manipulate the outcome of events using our knowledge of the future would either be negated by unexpected circumstances or would be the way history was intended to turn out all along. So using almanacs to win heaps on sports betting or using historical knowledge to prevent Pearl Harbor could only fail.

And a reminder to those expecting to take money back with you in hopes of staking yourself to a good start: those bills better be signed by Julian and Morgenthau (or Peppiatt, if you're in the UK). Modern currency would be utterly useless in 1937.

 

[Bluebird Marsha]

It's a fun question to play with, although I'd be tempted to ask what I'm allowed to have on my person when the vortex sucks me in. Hopefully it would be on a day when I'm dressed to my vintage nines, because if I landed there in my normal jeans and a low cut blouse, the results could be either funny or terrifying depending on your humor threshold. I picture my first act to be one of theft, ransacking clotheslines trying to find something to wear!

Making three assumptions, that I landed appropriately dressed , with something to sell, and in a major city the first thing I'd do is find an employment agency and pretend to be widowed with no money. That would explain no references and no real job experience. I wouldn't worry about my real age, let's face it, most of us look about ten years younger than our 30's era contemporaries. At least we'd land there with most of our teeth! I don't think my background would help me much. Sure, I'd be a kick butt librarian even without a computer, but I'd have no verifiable credentials. And the money they paid then was beans compared to what I make (even accounting for the differing costs of living) so at best I'd end up in some women's boarding house, with plenty of nosy nellies around. I think it would be the lack of checkable background that would keep many of us out our comparable professions. Assuming that I could find a job of some kind (which is a big assumption), I could make some money gambling, even without Biff's sports almanac, but there's a big problem with hitting it rich on that one. Winning too much too consistently would probably get the attention of some very unpleasant gentlemen from the mob. Bad idea in any decade.

Best thing to do would be lay low while building credentials till the war starts. And try and develop post-it notes. I think I could swing that one! But can't we all go through the vortex together? Safety in numbers you know