# Things that went out of style due to negative connotations (ex: the Hitler 'stache) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 8, 2007, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-went-out-of-style-due-to-negative-connotations-ex-the-hitler-stache/395067 "2007-03-08T04:44:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2007, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-went-out-of-style-due-to-negative-connotations-ex-the-hitler-stache/395067/81 "2007-03-14T19:28:31Z")
Except for Mickey’s, you don’t see too many middle-class white folks drinking malt liquor anymore. Then: ![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/kqbiJT8zZOI/maxresdefault.jpg)https://www.youtube.com/embed/kqbiJT8zZOI?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque ![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/PLgr3NANe64/maxresdefault.jpg)https://www.youtube.com/embed/PLgr3NANe64?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque ![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/XxU01md7RFg/maxresdefault.jpg)https://www.youtube.com/embed/XxU01md7RFg?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque ![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/naslIwDvgkM/maxresdefault.jpg)https://www.youtube.com/embed/naslIwDvgkM?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/pS2RAc4Cu8U/hqdefault.jpg "Schlitz TV Ad w/ AWB and Tommy James") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pS2RAc4Cu8U) Now: ![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/lrHkb0ZPsaE/maxresdefault.jpg)https://www.youtube.com/embed/lrHkb0ZPsaE?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque ![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/t3KRqiiWx8U/maxresdefault.jpg)https://www.youtube.com/embed/t3KRqiiWx8U?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque ![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/2GOZ-ZX9gaE/maxresdefault.jpg)https://www.youtube.com/embed/2GOZ-ZX9gaE?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque ![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Y0sp6mYVmRU/maxresdefault.jpg)https://www.youtube.com/embed/Y0sp6mYVmRU?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque [QUOTE=Sid Hatfield] How about the word “discriminate?” [/QUOTE] I wonder if the same thing will also happen with the word _special_. " A special discount? What, do they only give it to retarded people?" ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2007, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-went-out-of-style-due-to-negative-connotations-ex-the-hitler-stache/395067/82 "2007-03-14T19:56:16Z")
> [@](#): > > Well, I don’t know whether they were ever in style, but in Germany you can’t wear Lonsdale clothing anymore since neo-Nazis decided to wear them (for the NSDA in the middle of the name). Als to Adolf, I don’t think there are a lot of younger people named that way - here is a site where you can see when it went out of fashion… Aha! Now _I_ see a connection I’ve wondered about. In the James Bond novel **Moonraker** the villain, Hugo Drax, is described as “a Lonsdale type of character”. I always wondered what it meant. Drax is eventually revealed as an ex-Nazi who wants to destroy London with his Moonraker rocket. Evidently Bond saw through the British disguise to see the Nazi underneath. That association of Lonsdale with Naziism must have deep roots, predating any current neo-Nazi associations. I’ve always wondered if actor Michel Lonsdale got the part of Drax in the movie **Moonraker** because of that chance line in Fleming’s novel. ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2007, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-went-out-of-style-due-to-negative-connotations-ex-the-hitler-stache/395067/83 "2007-03-14T20:33:15Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] Aha! Now _I_ see a connection I’ve wondered about. In the James Bond novel **Moonraker** the villain, Hugo Drax, is described as “a Lonsdale type of character”. I always wondered what it meant. Drax is eventually revealed as an ex-Nazi who wants to destroy London with his Moonraker rocket. Evidently Bond saw through the British disguise to see the Nazi underneath. That association of Lonsdale with Naziism must have deep roots, predating any current neo-Nazi associations. [/QUOTE] Or indeed, the founding of the company apparently. Moonraker was published in 1955 – the Londale clothing company wasn’t founded until 1960. I think Fleming was more likely likening Drax to [Hugh Lowther, the 5th Earl of Lonsdale,](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_Lowther%2C_5th_Earl_of_Lonsdale) who seems to have been something of a celebrity, and would still have been a recognisable name at the time. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2007, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-went-out-of-style-due-to-negative-connotations-ex-the-hitler-stache/395067/84 "2007-03-14T20:37:02Z")
> [@](#): > > Or indeed, the founding of the company apparently. Moonraker was published in 1955 – the Londale clothing company wasn’t founded until 1960. i was unaware of that. If he was indeed referring to the Earl, then that might explain it, though. ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2007, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-went-out-of-style-due-to-negative-connotations-ex-the-hitler-stache/395067/85 "2007-03-14T22:46:17Z")
[QUOTE=RealityChuck] “Pussy” meaning “cat” is rarely used nowadays. [/QUOTE] Except for blue haired women older than Jesus. Once a year or so I deal with someone who refers to her cat as “Pussy”. Imagine how hard it is to keep a straight face as you hear about how her pussy isn’t as active as usual, or worse, her pussy has a bad odor. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2007, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-went-out-of-style-due-to-negative-connotations-ex-the-hitler-stache/395067/86 "2007-03-14T23:17:05Z")
[QUOTE=Siam Sam] I don’t mean to suggest it’s a bad thing to be, but you don’t hear many guys saying, “I feel gay today.” At least, not since the 19th century. Or unless they ARE gay in 21st-century terms. [/QUOTE] The slang term “gay” really didn’t become widely known in the general culture until the 1960s, although it had been around since at least the 1920s. ---
**Author:** ![merrily](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@merrily](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/merrily)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2007, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-went-out-of-style-due-to-negative-connotations-ex-the-hitler-stache/395067/87 "2007-03-15T01:18:52Z")
[QUOTE=Spectre of Pithecanthropus] Interestingly, I’ve seen Harpo Marx’s real name as both Adolph and Arthur, with the latter winning out especially in later years, so I suspect there was a conscious change made there. [/QUOTE] From [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harpo_Marx) : > [@](#): > > Harpo changed his name from Adolph to Arthur by 1911. This was due primarily to his dislike for the name Adolph (as a child, he was routinely called “Ahdie” instead). Urban legends to the effect that the name change came about during World War One (due to anti-German sentiment in the US) or during World War Two (due to the stigma that Adolf Hitler imposed on the name) are groundless.[1] ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2007, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-went-out-of-style-due-to-negative-connotations-ex-the-hitler-stache/395067/88 "2007-03-15T01:44:51Z")
[Spam](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spam_%28food%29)? ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2007, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-went-out-of-style-due-to-negative-connotations-ex-the-hitler-stache/395067/89 "2007-03-15T02:39:07Z")
[QUOTE=Alive At Both Ends] Birds have shells? [/QUOTE] Not anymore. ☹ ( 😛 ) To add to the Swastika trivia, up until WWII, the crest of the 45th Infantry Division, now better known as the Oklahoma National Guard, was a red diamond with a yellow swastika, a Native American symbol of good luck (many members of the 45th Infantry Division were Native Americans). For a time after the war broke out, many of the soldiers wore no patches on their shoulders, until the crest was replaced by the Thunderbird (very similar to the logo used by the USAF air demonstration team). On a related note, Hitler’s personal train car was called “_Amerika_” until Germany declared war on the United States in 1941, and until soon after the Pearl Harbor raid, the overall commander of the US Navy was titled “CINCUS”, short for Commander In Chief, United States (Navy). (Say it out loud, and you’ll understand why the title was renamed “ComInCh”) ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2007, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-went-out-of-style-due-to-negative-connotations-ex-the-hitler-stache/395067/90 "2007-03-15T03:39:16Z")
I’m surprised no one has mentioned it yet, but a big thing that’s gone out of style that probably half of all people used to do completely casually is… SMOKING! Lite up today and you’re _ **worse** _ than Hitler… ---
**Author:** ![Dan\_Norder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4af34b/32.png) [@Dan\_Norder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dan_Norder)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2007, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-went-out-of-style-due-to-negative-connotations-ex-the-hitler-stache/395067/91 "2007-03-19T09:55:09Z")
[QUOTE=ryobserver] The Gladstone bag, specifically the small Gladstone bag once used as a sort of mens’ handbag, never really recovered from witness reports that Jack the Ripper carried one. [/QUOTE] Just to be clear, there are no confirmed witness reports of sightings of Jack the Ripper. The couple of ones scholars think are most likely to have been the killer didn’t feature a bag. In fact the two main Gladstone bag sightings were almost certainly not the killer: one is pretty well confirmed to have been an innocent bystander and the other report has no real reason to be linked to the Ripper crimes at all. But then popular imagination frequently has a life of its own beyond what really happened. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2007, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-went-out-of-style-due-to-negative-connotations-ex-the-hitler-stache/395067/92 "2007-03-20T07:27:34Z")
[QUOTE=Walloon] The slang term “gay” really didn’t become widely known in the general culture until the 1960s, although it had been around since at least the 1920s. [/QUOTE] Right. Otherwise you’d have to wonder just what kind of “gay old time” Fred and Barney were having… (Flintstones’ theme song was written in the 50s.) ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2007, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-went-out-of-style-due-to-negative-connotations-ex-the-hitler-stache/395067/93 "2007-03-20T08:31:08Z")
[QUOTE=ilovetoberandom] I’ve never met anyone named Judas. [/QUOTE] Never met a Jude or heard “Hey Jude”? And Thaddeus, as a Christian name, is also Judas… the “good” Judas. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2007, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-went-out-of-style-due-to-negative-connotations-ex-the-hitler-stache/395067/94 "2007-03-20T08:39:30Z")
[QUOTE=vetbridge] Except for blue haired women older than Jesus. Once a year or so I deal with someone who refers to her cat as “Pussy”. Imagine how hard it is to keep a straight face as you hear about how her pussy isn’t as active as usual, or worse, her pussy has a bad odor. 😃 [/QUOTE] My jamaican landlady called the strays she fed her pussies and her… personal one… her kitty. It _was_ hard to keep a straight face, yes. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2007, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-went-out-of-style-due-to-negative-connotations-ex-the-hitler-stache/395067/95 "2007-03-20T09:15:27Z")
FWIW, I once had a boss in the United States military with a Hitler 'stache. It was creepy. And it just goes to show that if you have enough chutzpah you can get away with just about anything. Apropos to **gotpassword** ’s nomination of Ebeneezer, it’s hard to find American kids named Damien these days. > [@Dewey Finn](#): > > How about black trenchcoats or dusters? Having been a member of the middle-school geek/outcast/anti-jock society at the time, I saw an explosion of black trenchcoats in geek fashion. Especially since The Matrix was released that year. Black trenchcoats have a couple new niche markets since Columbine, if anything; they represent the alienation the killers felt from their own peer group. I don’t think it’s consciously intended to glorify the Columbine killers (anymore), but it certainly carries the same connotation of feeling misunderstood by society that plays so heavily into modern hacker culture’s persecution complex. And in 1999 it was great for shock value, which means it fit into the goth attire lineup nicely. BTW, a Trenchcoat Mafia sprung up at my school immediately after the shootings. It was somewhat tongue-in-cheek and I don’t know if any of the members even had trenchcoats, but that’s what they called themselves. > [@TV time](#): > > But after McGovern’s running-mate Missouri Senator Thomas Eagleton was piloried for it and forced to drop out of the race, I am told that the proceedure is virtually non-esistent. In a psych class I took a couple of semesters ago I was made to understand that ECT is way, way, _way_ less common now but that it’s still considered a last-ditch option pretty much everywhere. Actually, a psychiatrist considered using ECT on me as recently as 1998. (Decided not to, in the end.) The thing is, even though its origins must have been guesswork or shabby logic, it works better than it should. > [@AskNott](#): > > You might be wearing shoes named for one the company’s founders, Adolph “ADI” DASchler. I may have misspelled Adi’s last name. And adidas got its start when Adolph’s new kicks–the first that allowed their wearers to switch the cleats on the bottom–helped West Germany win a World Cup on a rainy field. As clear an example of “Deutschland uber alles” as any, right? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-went-out-of-style-due-to-negative-connotations-ex-the-hitler-stache/395067.md?page=4)