Hilarious advice from 1958 tells women how to get a husband

We all remember how different dating was in the 1950s and ’60s.

There was an entire courting process for men to follow closely that included opening the door for women and waiting the appropriate number of dates seal the deal with a kiss. They had to fork out enough money to cover the whole bill and sometimes, even ask a father’s permission before taking his daughter on a date.

But in many ways, women had it even harder. Ladies always had to be aware of what they were wearing, how they were acting and what they were talking about, however none of this mattered if the woman didn’t have a man to go out with in the first place.

The risk of not ending up with a clean-cut husband was too great for many girls back in the ’50s and ’60s and so American magazine, McCall’s, took it upon themselves to give women the best advice on how to meet men. Photos of the hilarious advice were uploaded to Facebook showing the ridiculous things women were told to do to catch a man’s eye.

While the list of 129 ways to find a husband had some fairly reasonable suggestions like “Ask your friends’ husbands who the eligible men are in their offices” or “Tell him he’s handsome”, it also shared some absolute howlers like, “Read the obituaries to find eligible widows”, “Rent a billboard and post your picture and telephone number on it” or even “Stand in a corner and cry softy. Chances are good that he’ll come over to find out what’s wrong”.

But if you’re not someone who can easily cry on cue, don’t worry! You could also, “Have your car break down at strategic places” or even “Learn to paint. Set up easel outside engineering school”.

The magazine also let eager daters know what not to do including, “Don’t tell him about your allergies” and “Don’t take a job in a company run largely by women”.

Some of the suggestions were slightly contradicting with the magazine telling women to “Wear a Band-Aid. People always ask what happened” however also reminding them to stay healthy because of course, “Men don’t like girls who are ill”.

The  more confusing items on the list included, “Get a sunburn”, “‘Accidentally’ have your purse fly open, scattering its contents all over the street”, “Take a bicycle trip through Europe” and of course the always successful tip for picking up men, “Volunteer for jury duty”.

Sometimes the man of your dreams isn’t conveniently close, so, as the magazine suggests, why not travel to find him? McCall’s suggested women “Look in the census reports for places with the most single men. Nevada has 125 males for every 100 females” or if you’re willing to go the extra mile, “Stow away on a battleship”.

And if your prospective husband is having second thoughts about settling down, simply “Point out to him that the death rate of single men is twice that of married men”. Or, even worse, if he’s having second thoughts about you as a person then the magazine suggests, “If you’re mother is fat, tell him you take after your father. If he’s fat too, tell him you’re adopted”!

For those women who are really having a difficult time meeting men the magazine suggests they “Buy a convertible”,  “Get a government job overseas” or “Stand on a busy street corner with a lasso”.

And of course for those who were feeling despondent about their chances of settling down there was an easy rhyme they could recite to lift their spirits: “Don’t whine – girls who whine stay on the vine.”

Do you remember any ridiculous tips you heard when you first started dating? What was your favourite suggestion from this list?