POCKETFUL OF SECRETS

Is that a diary in your pocket or are you just glad to see me?

If necessity is the mother of invention, then we’ve entered a whole new realm of need. At right you see a pocket sized appointment diary produced in 1976 by the Syarikat Great Wall Advertising Co. of Penang, Malaysia. The fact that the place is supposedly located on Love Lane should be a clue what this item truly is, for while it may seem on the outside to be a standard issue journal, on the inside it’s in fact a portable porn collection.

The discreet cover allows you to take a gander at the interior babes pretty much anywhere, with nothing to give you away except perhaps a tell-tale bulge in the trousers. But if anyone notices you can simply smile and tell them your day’s slate of meetings and errands are that exciting. The personal memoranda page says that if the diary is found it should be returned to the owner, but we doubt anyone who found it would give it up, and we also doubt the previous owner would admit it was his.

On the whole we really can’t figure out if this book is perverted or wonderful, but either way it’s certainly one of the most unusual items we’ve ever come across. The good folks at Syarikat Great Wall must have churned these out in droves, because guess what? We found three of them, all different. We’ll defnitely be sharing the other two a little bit later. As for right now, we’re calling it a day. We have to, er, jot down a few ideas.

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HISTORY REWIND

The headlines that mattered yesteryear.

1945—Hollywood Black Friday

A six month strike by Hollywood set decorators becomes a riot at the gates of Warner Brothers Studios when strikers and replacement workers clash. The event helps bring about the passage of the Taft-Hartley Act, which, among other things, prohibits unions from contributing to political campaigns and requires union leaders to affirm they are not supporters of the Communist Party.

1957—Sputnik Circles Earth

The Soviet Union launches the satellite Sputnik I, which becomes the first artificial object to orbit the Earth. It orbits for two months and provides valuable information about the density of the upper atmosphere. It also panics the United States into a space race that eventually culminates in the U.S. moon landing.

1970—Janis Joplin Overdoses

American blues singer Janis Joplin is found dead on the floor of her motel room in Los Angeles. The cause of death is determined to be an overdose of heroin, possibly combined with the effects of alcohol.

1908—Pravda Founded

The newspaper Pravda is founded by Leon Trotsky, Adolph Joffe, Matvey Skobelev and other Russian exiles living in Vienna. The name means “truth” and the paper serves as an official organ of the Central Committee of the Communist Party between 1912 and 1991.

1957—Ferlinghetti Wins Obscenity Case

An obscenity trial brought against Lawrence Ferlinghetti, owner of the counterculture City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco, reaches its conclusion when Judge Clayton Horn rules that Allen Ginsberg’s poetry collection Howl is not obscene.

1995—Simpson Acquitted

After a long trial watched by millions of people worldwide, former football star O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman. Simpson subsequently loses a civil suit and is ordered to pay millions in damages.

1919—Wilson Suffers Stroke

U.S. President Woodrow Wilson suffers a massive stroke, leaving him partially paralyzed. He is confined to bed for weeks, but eventually resumes his duties, though his participation is little more than perfunctory. Wilson remains disabled throughout the remainder of his term in office, and the rest of his life.

Classic science fiction from James Grazier with uncredited cover art.
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