Those were the days, weren't they? Now we're all kind of being burnt at the stake because of our use of coal, oil, and all that burning stuff that did make us 'handier' and 'happier' for a long time. 'Healthier' is debatable, though, at least now. Of course, hindsight is always perfect. What's intriguing in this advertisement for the bituminous coal industry are the use of the stereotypical 1950s housewife taking some serious umbrage from the Puritans, and the small-print patriotic blurb that reads "The contributions of the Bituminous Coal Industry are typical of the many ways in which the people benefit when business enterprise is allowed to operate freely as it is in the U.S.A." My impression is said industry was getting some flack even then for their practices, and we all know how unregulated enterprise doesn't always benefit the people. But the 1950s was a great time to be naive, so we may find amusement in this kind of advertising now, but don't kid yourself: we're all still pretty naive.
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