Shampoo Tube

If you are of a certain age, Prell Shampoo was a common product in your home. Attractively priced, it was an iconic, clear green concentrate in a unique, unbreakable soft plastic tube. It has not disappeared from shelves since 1947. It continues to be a viable choice for both women and men.

Prell shampoo was founded by Procter & Gamble in Cincinnati, Ohio. In 1955, Prell was initially marketed toward women "who want their hair to have that radiantly alive look." But men discovered it as well, who seem to be attracted to its nostalgic fragrance. Concentrated Prell Radiant Shampoo dates back to around 1957 and was designed by Donald Deskey, a renowned figure in modern industrial design. Prell became one of the top-selling shampoos by 1977.

Throughout Prell's long history, it has been loved for its rich lather and clean scent. It is the oldest consistently made American shampoo brand. Prell, with its distinctive green color, became widely recognized due to its unique advertising campaigns and appearances in popular culture. 

Procter & Gamble sold the brand to Prestige Brands International in November 1999. Prestige then sold Prell to Ultimark Products in October 2009. In 2016, Scott's Liquid Gold-Inc. acquired Prell. In turn, Prell Products Inc., headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, acquired Prell from Scott's Liquid Gold in 2022. Despite the advertising glut of more expensive shampoos with ingredients that are difficult to spell, Prell remains a popular product for many.

The Hoover Do Over

The Hoover Dam is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border splitting Nevada and Arizona. From 1931 to 1936, over four million cubic yards of concrete and eighty-eight million pounds of plated steel were used. And with the removal of rock from the canyon walls, boring four diversion tunnels, and the sacrifice of more than 100 lives, the dam quickly became a symbol of the American "can-do" spirit. For millions of people in the 1930s, Hoover Dam, and on a lesser scale, the Empire State Building, came to symbolize what American workers could do even in the depths of the Great Depression. 

When President Herbert Hoover lost the White House in 1932 to President Roosevelt, his new Interior Secretary, Harold Ickes, snubbed the Hoover name from the day of the dam’s dedication. “This great engineering achievement should not carry the name of any living man but, on the contrary, should be baptized with a designation as bold and characteristic and imagination-stirring as the dam itself.” His political bias blotted out the fact that Presidents Woodrow Wilson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Calvin Coolidge already had dam sites attached to their names. 

As a former mining engineer, Hoover took an active part in settling the engineering problems and the location of the dam in Black Canyon. When he left office, construction finished more than a year ahead of schedule. The Hoover name was vindicated when House Resolution 140 was introduced and passed by the 80th Congress in 1947. President Harry S. Truman signed the resolution and restored the name Hoover Dam to the structure. To clarify, the names "Boulder Canyon Dam" and "Boulder Dam" were simply references to nearby Boulder City, Nevada, and not official. Almost a million people still come to visit the huge dam every year.

Note: The illustration above highlights the intake towers before Lake Mead was filled to its normal operating level.

John Hanley, Scale Model

Jo-Han was a manufacturer of plastic, scale model promotional cars and kits founded in 1947 by tool and die maker John Hanley (Jo-Han). Originally called Ideal Models, Hanley's first products were mid-1950s model aircraft and other promotional items including scale model kitchen sets and a training model of Chrysler's fluid drive transmission, resulting in a contract to produce models for Chrysler. Contracts with General Motors soon followed. American Motors Corporation was another common client, producing mainly 1/25 scale promo models in the 1960s. The decades of the Fifties and Sixties are considered the golden age for promotional models and kits. Most were known as "annuals" by hobbyists and followed the bigger business of promos for the new cars introduced at the beginning of each model year. Some models featured friction "motors" which could be reversed to wind up the friction gear to self-propel the models. Other companies that made promos for the automakers included Revell, Monogram, Lindberg, and MPC. Most of the original Jo-Han molds were scrapped or stolen over time as no kits have been produced in over twenty years. The last Jo-Han promotional model made was in 1979.

Make Yourself at Home

 

On this day in 1947, the comedy "Happened on 5th Avenue" premiered in New York City. It was directed by Roy Del Ruth for the first Allied Artists Pictures project. On paper one might wonder how this could possibly be poignant and funny. Herbert Clyde Lewis and Frederick Stephani were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Story. 

Victor Moore is outstanding as an honorable hobo who seasonally makes his home in a boarded-up Fifth Avenue mansion during the winter months each time its owner, Charles Ruggles—the second richest man in the world—winters at his Virginia estate. He helps himself to Ruggles' wardrobe and is assumed to be the owner once his "guests" start arriving. Two of which are Ruggles' ex-wife and runaway daughter. Ruggles returns early but his daughter requests he not be his usual self as "a game." While on his morning constitutional, Moore is introduced to Ruggles and he is invited back to the mansion, thinking he is just a guy down on his luck. Moore reveals himself to be quite the philosopher and wise counsel, much to Ruggles' ire. Their hilarious interaction is worth the wait. Once the stuffy Ruggles calms down and learns the positive turn of events that have transpired, he invites Moore back next year but instructs him to use the front door instead of accessing his home through the loose board at the rear.

Short Haul Airliner from Convair

 

On this date in 1947, the Convair CV-240 made its initial flight from Lindberg Field, San Diego, California. It all began with American Airlines' requirement to replace their fleet of Douglas DC-3s. Featuring a more modern design with cabin pressurization, the 240 series was a success. The 240 had a long development cycle that produced many variants during a twenty-plus-year period for civil and military use worldwide. The final 600 series used Rolls-Royce Dart turboprop engines with four-blade propellers, replacing the piston engines with three-blade propellers. 

A Royal Wedding and Then Some

 

On this date in 1951, Royal Wedding premiered. The Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musical comedy is set in 1947 London and starred Fred Astaire and Jane Powell with direction by Stanley Donen. Astaire and Powell play siblings, echoing the real-life theatrical relationship of Fred and Adele Astaire, who are persuaded to take their Broadway success to London to coincide with the wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Philip Mountbatten. The highly influential event leads to two additional marriages with fellow cast members, Sarah Churchill, and Peter Lawford, respectively. 

The film features Astaire's innovative set design idea from the 1920s which has him "dancing" on the walls and ceiling singing, "You're All the World to Me." Other signature dance routines by Astaire, along with a competent performance by Powell helped make the film one of the top box office hits of the year with an MGM profit of $584,000.