Undated: Herman Leonard

Photos taken in 1960 by the renowned photographer of jazz greats. Click on them for a larger view. (From left: Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington.)

* Herman Leonard website: @

* Selections of photos: @ and @

* Articles: @ and @

* Obituaries (Leonard died in August 2010): @ and @

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Undated: Flannery O'Connor

1960 sees the publication in February of "The Violent Bear It Away," the second (and last) novel by the influential Georgia-born author, as well as the essay "Some Aspects of the Grotesque in Southern Fiction." The latter was not published during her lifetime (O'Connor died in 1964); it was a lecture given at Wesleyan College in Macon, Ga., in October. It contains this passage: "Of course, I have found that anything that comes out of the South is going to be called grotesque by the Northern reader, unless it is grotesque, in which case it is going to be called realistic."

* Short biographies: @ and @ and @

* www.flanneryconnor.org (lots of information and links): @

* Essays by Joyce Carol Oates: @

* Text of "Some Aspects of the Grotesque in Southern Fiction": @
* Audio of O'Connor reading the essay: @

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Undated: Orange Slice Chair

Designed by Pierre Paulin for the Netherlands furniture maker Artifort, it was an immediate success when it was introduced at a trade fair in Cologne, Germany.

* More about the chair: @

* Pierre Paulin website: @

* Artifort website: @

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Undated: 'The Neurotic's Notebook'

Mignon McLaughlin worked as an editor at Glamour magazine and wrote short stories for several magazines. She also wrote aphorisms that were compiled in 1960 into "The Neurotic's Notebook." Among the more widely quoted: "Every society honors its live conformists and its dead troublemakers."

* Selected quotes: @ and @

* Facebook page: @

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Undated: The Mercury 13

Under the privately funded Woman in Space program, 19 women are subjected to the same battery of tests as the Mercury 7 astronauts to see if they are fit for spaceflight. Over the course of the program (1960-61), 13 of the women -- the so-called Mercury 13 -- pass the first series of tests; Jerrie Cobb of Oklahoma (left), the first to be tested, is the only one to pass all three phases. (The program would be shelved, however, for a variety of reasons, for reasons ranging from qualifications to politics. The first woman in space would be the Soviet Union's Valentina Tereshkova in June 1963; it would be June 1983 before a American woman -- Sally Ride -- would go into space.)

* NASA summary: @

* Listen to NPR segment: @

* Watch History Channel documentary (5 parts): @

* Time magazine article on Cobb (August 29, 1960): @

* Life magazine article on Cobb (August 29, 1960): @

* "The 'Astronautrix' and the 'Magnificent Male' " (from the book "Impossible to Hold: Women and Culture in the 1960s"): @

* "The Mercury 13: The True Story of Thirteen Women and the Dream of Space Flight" (book): @

* "Right Stuff, Wrong Sex: America's First Women in Space Program" (book): @

* "Promised the Moon: The Untold Story of the First Women in the Space Race" (book): @

* "A Forgotten Moment in Physiology" (scientific paper): @

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Undated: Little Richard goes gospel

The rock 'n' roll whirlwind -- whose '50s hits included "Tutti-Frutti," "Good Golly, Miss Molly" and "Lucille" -- releases two gospel albums after saying he is giving up popular music for the ministry. The albums are called "Pray Along with Little Richard, Vol. 1: A Closer Walk With Thee" and "Pray Along with Little Richard, Vol. 2: I'm Quitting Show Business."

* Listen to "Just A Closer Walk with Thee": @

* Biographies: @ and @

* Discography: @

* Fan site: @

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Undated: Origin of the word 'paparazzi'

The word -- usually meaning aggressive, intrusive celebrity photographers -- enters the language after the movie "La Dolce Vita" is released. (At left is a scene from the movie; it premiered in Italy in February 1960, but would not be shown in the United States until April 1961.) Among the movie's characters is a photographer named Paparazzo.

* Movie summary: @

* Reappraisal of movie by Roger Ebert: @

* NPR segment on paparazzi: @

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Undated: Crash test human

Lawrence Patrick, a biomechanics professor at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, studies how the human body responds in a car crash -- by using himself as a test subject. His research includes taking some 400 rides in a sled that violently brakes to simulate a collision, as well as absorbing blows to the chest from a 22-pound pendulum.

* More about Patrick: @

* 2006 obituary: @

* More about Wayne State research: @

* Segment on Patrick in "Tested on Humans" (British documentary): @

* Impact Damage to Internal Organs" (1961 paper co-authored by Patrick): @

* "The Evolution of the Crash Test Dummy": @

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Undated: U.S. Census

From 1950 to 1960, the population of the United States increases from about 151 million to nearly 180 million, a jump of more than 18 percent. The percentage increase is the largest since the first decade of the 20th century. (The Census Bureau's definition of the post-World War II "baby boom" includes births from 1946 to 1964.)

* 50 most populous cities: @

* "Statistical Abstract of the United States" for 1960 (in 12 parts; files are 1960-01.pdf through 1960-12.pdf): @

* "The Big Count" video: @

* 1960 questions and instructions: @

* "Myths and Realities About the 1960 Census": @

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Undated*: Independence throughout Africa

Starting with Cameroon (January 1) and ending with Mauritania (November 28), the year 1960 sees 17 African countries, all former European colonies, achieve their independence. Of those countries, 14 become free of French rule. The transitions are not always smooth or peaceful, particularly in the case of Belgian Congo, where United Nations troops would be sent in and a military coup would take place before the year is out. (* More than half of the African changeovers -- 9 -- are in August.)

* Map: @

* Timeline: @

* Summaries: @

* More about Congo crisis: @ and @

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Undated: 'Poisoning Pigeons in the Park'

Song satirist Tom Lehrer records and releases a studio version of "Poisoning Pigeons in the Park." On the flip side is "The Masochism Tango." Lehrer, a Harvard-educated mathematician, had already achieved a measure of fame with his darkly comic looks at nuclear war ("We Will All Go Together When We Go"), racism in the South ("I Wanna Go Back to Dixie") and dismemberment ("I Hold Your Hand in Mine)."

* Lehrer performing "Pigeons": @

* Lehrer performing "Masochism Tango": @

* "Pigeons" lyrics: @

* "Tango" lyrics: @
* Short biography: @
* Lehrer discographies: @ and @
* More Lehrer links: @
* "Curbing the Pigeon Conundrum" (New York City report): @

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Undated: X-ray flowers

Albert G. Richards, a professor of dental radiography at the University of Michigan, turns his X-ray equipment toward flowers, beginning with a daffodil. He goes on to make images of thousands of flowers, earning widespread acclaim, museum showings and a place on the cover of Smithsonian magazine in 1986.

* Richards' website: @

* Other websites and images: @ and @

* More about floral radiography: @

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Undated: The Dreamachine

Artist-writer Brion Gysin (left), working off an idea from friend-mathematician-Beat Generation devotee Ian Sommerville, develops the Dreamachine, described as "the first art object to be seen with the eyes closed." It's a strobe-like device made from a cylinder with portions cut out, then placed on a record turntable. The "viewer" is supposed to enter a deeper state of consciouness, though the device can also trigger epileptic seizures.

* More about Brion Gysin: @

* Dreamachine websites: @ and @ and @

* Dreamachine documentary: @

* Watch a video simulation: @ (Instructions and warnings: @)

* How to make your own: @

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Undated: Telephone answering machine

Telephone technology moves forward in 1960 as the answering machine is first offered for sale in the United States (the Bell System had previously leased equipment to customers). The "Ansafone" was developed by Kazuo Hashimoto of Toyko, though similar technology dates back to the 1930s.

* History of answering machines: @ and @ and @

* More about Hashimoto: @

* Patent application: @

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Undated*: Zydeco

The spelling -- and wider awareness -- of the syncopated dance music took hold with "A Treasury of Field Recordings, Volume 1," released in 1960 by the London-based 77 Records. In a booklet accompanying the album, folklorist Mack McCormick uses the "zydeco" spelling in transcribing the song "Baby, Please Don't Go" by the Dudley Alexander Washboard Band. The song, with lyrics in English and French, includes the phrase "Les haricots sont pas salés" -- literally, "The snap beans are not salted"; figuratively, too poor to afford salt meat.

* Histories of zydeco: @ and @ and @ (includes Cajun and Creole music)

* Excerpt from "The Kingdom Of Zydeco" (book): @

* Excerpt from "The Roots of Texas Music" (book; see page 205 for how "les haricots" evolved into "zydeco"): @

* 77 Records discography: @

* Selected zydeco artists and songs: @

* Listen to Clifton Chenier (shown in photo) perform "Zydeco Sont Pas Salés" from 1965: @

(* Further research shows that "A Treasury of Field Recordings" was released in December 1960. I'll just leave it here and tag it under both "undated" and "December.")

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Undated: Origin of the word 'tree-hugger'

Among the earliest recorded appearances of this term, used to describe (and often mock) a nature lover or environmentalist, is the 1960 translation of the Finnish novel "Our Daily Bread: A Novel." The phrase would not catch on until years later.

* More about "Our Daily Bread" and its author, Kalle Päätaloa: @

* More about the Chipko Movement (activists in India, shown in photo): @ and @ and @ and @

* TreeHugger.com (an environmental website): @

* Tree Hugger art project: @

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Undated: 'Lifeline to an Oyster'

A short film made by the oil industry on how, through research, it was determined that oysters could not only survive, but thrive in oil-tainted waters.

* Watch the film: @

* A short summary of the Louisiana oyster industry: @

* Louisiana Oyster Task Force: @

* American Petroleum Institute: @

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Undated: Volkswagen's 'Lemon' ad

One of the most successful campaigns in advertising history gets under way as Volkswagen begins publishing a series of witty, droll ads for the Beetle. "Lemon," part of what came to be called the "Think Small" campaign (after another famous ad), pointed to this car as failing VW's rigorous inspection system. The ad ended with the line, "We pluck the lemons; you get the plums."

* More pictures of ads: @ and @

* VW videos and enlarged "Lemon": @

* More about "Lemon": @

* More about the campaign: @

* "Think Small": @

* VW advertising in The New Yorker: @

* "Remember Those Great Volkswagen Ads?" (book): @

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Undated: 'The I Hate to Cook Book'

With its biting humor, easy-to-follow recipes and occasional social commentary, Peg Bracken's "The I Hate to Cook Book" becomes a surprise hit. Its appeal to the not-quite-perfect little homemaker is evident in this recipe for Skid Road Stroganoff: "Start cooking those noodles, first dropping a bouillon into the noodle water. Brown the garlic, onion and crumbled beef in the oil. Add the flour, salt, paprika and mushrooms, stir, and let it cook five minutes while you light a cigarette and stare sullenly at the sink." Chapter titles include "Potluck Suppers, or how to bring the water for the lemonade" and "Last-Minute Suppers, or this is the story of your life."

* Tributes from New York Times and Atlanta Journal-Constitution: @ and @

* Recipe for Skid Road Stroganoff: @

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Undated: Vinland

Springtime finds Norwegian explorer-author Helge Ingstad and his wife, Anne Stine Ingstad, at the northwestern tip of Newfoundland, Canada, where they are searching for evidence that Norse Vikings had lived in what was called "Vinland." At L'Anse aux Meadows ("Jellyfish Cove"), a local fishermen shows them what look to be house foundations. Subsequent excavations reveal this to be the earliest known European settlement in the New World, predating Christopher Columbus by some 500 years.

* More about Vinland: @

* Smithsonian's "Vikings" website: @

* "The Vinland Mystery" (documentary): @

* L'Anse aux Meadows Historic Site: @

* Map of Viking voyages: @

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