The case of Lizzy Borden stands out in the history of sensational criminal cases, but she was not the only person to be accused of killing her parents. This book examines 103 selected cases of individuals charged with parricide - the murder of a father or mother - in the United States.

Deals with the toothpaste and toothbrush industries from 1900 to 2008. This book shows that during these years, America moved from a nation of people who mostly cleaned their teeth with homemade powders to one that used such professional names as Colgate Platinum Whitening Toothpaste, often applied with an electric toothbrush.

Between 1850 and 1950, at least 115 women were lynched by mobs in the United States. The majority of these women were black. This book examines the phenomenon of the lynching of women, which was a much more rare experience than the lynching of men. Over the same period covered in this text, more than 1,000 white men were lynched, while thousands of black men were murdered by mobs. Of particular importance in this examination is the role of race in lynching, particularly the increase in the number of black lynchings as the century progressed. Details are provided--when available--for the...

This text examines the eyewear industry in America from 1900 to 2008, a period which mirrors an increased demand for eyewear. Eyeglasses, sunglasses and contacts are discussed. Topics covered include the marketing and selling of eyewear with particular attention paid to advertising strategies and the internal structures of the industry and its regulations, which have sometimes helped and sometimes hurt consumers. This critical examination reveals how a relatively simple and functional item such as corrective eyewear could be transformed through marketing into a fashion accessory and a...

The poverty that drives people to begging has been a pressing social issue in this country since its inception. This historical book explores begging and beggars in the period 1850 to 1940, with emphasis on how the police, the courts, the media and private charity organizations dealt with the issue. Efforts to suppress mendicancy are explored, including legislation, police crackdowns, and public vouchers for meals and shelter. Of particular interest is the way in which media portrayals have guided public perception of mendicants.

With its decentralized urban areas, pollution, and mostly inadequate public transit systems, today's America pays a heavy price for its auto dependency. This volume explores one of the more pressing aspects of the automobile problem--storage--from 1910 to the end of the World War II, contrasting the reality and perception of car parking as found in the pages of the popular newspapers and magazines of that period. From early bans on street parking to street widening efforts to the introduction of parking lots, garages, and parking meters, it chronicles attempts to accommodate the...

Payola is as old as the music industry and continues today. Contrary to popular belief, the acceptance of payola is legal. (Only the nonreporting of it would be illegal.)

The recipients of payola and the reasons behind it are discussed decade-by-decade. The early bribes to the minstrel groups and vaudeville players are traced, as are modern-day payments to disc jockeys and radio station program directors, where drugs are often given instead of cash. Particular attention is paid to 1959 and 1960 when federal investigators attempted to eradicate the practice.

While sexual harassment of women in the workplace has only been discussed publicly in the mainstream media, to any extent, for less than two decades it is a pervasive problem that women have faced for centuries. This book looks at the history of that harassment from the 1600s to 1992, from long forgotten domestic servants in England of the 1600s to abused Japanese textile workers of 1900, to the media surrounded Anita Hill in 1991 America. Coverage is world-wide with emphasis on the United States and the period 1800 to the present. Sexual harassment cuts across time periods, countries,...

It is at 31.4 years that the average woman multiple murderer kills the first of her 17 victims, whom she usually knows or is related to. The preferred method is poison, usually arsenic. She is more likely to prey on the vulnerable--the very young or the very old--than her mail counterpart. Her killing spree lasts five years; when caught, she shows little remorse.

Once the major Hollywood studios got over their loathing of television as an entertainment medium, they moved quickly to dominate both domestic and international programming. In the United States, the eight major studios controlled an overwhelming majority of all programming by the early 1950s. Their efforts in foreign markets were not quite so successful, but by the 1990s U.S. distributors controlled about 75 percent of the international television trade.