Behind the T-shirt: Tillie the All Time Teller

Florida National Banks' Tillie says, "I'll make your life easier."

Who is Tillie?

She's the ATM.

photo via Wells Fargo

(via Wells Fargo History Blog: Tillie the All Time Teller)

First National Bank of Atlanta  was concerned that the relatively new automated teller machine (ATM) it introduced in 1974 would appear cold and difficult to use.

In those days, customers were accustomed to walking inside a bank and chatting with a pleasant teller. So First National named their ATM “Tillie the All Time Teller,” and put the face of a smiling blonde girl on the front of the machine. “Tillie” looked inviting to customers and suggested that the machine was highly user-friendly.

 Did it work? In a word, yes. Tillie launched one of the most successful ATM systems in the banking industry.

This particular shirt says "GO GATORS" on the back. Yay unnecessary punctuation!

Available here from Etsy.  Here from Defunkd for a few dollars less!

I YAG for Contact Laser

YAG is a synthetic gemstone, and an acronym for yttrium-aluminum-garnet.

via medterms.com

YAG laser surgery: The use of a YAG (yttrium-aluminum-garnet) laser to do surgery.

One use for a YAG laser in surgery is to punch a hole in the iris to relieve increased pressure within the eye from acute angle-closure glaucoma. In this type of glaucoma, there is a sudden (acute) increase in pressure in the anterior (front) chamber of the eye due to abrupt blockage of the normal circulation of fluid within the eye.

There are other kinds of YAG laser surgery for the eye (e.g., for cataracts) and other areas of the body including the skin (e.g., to remove birth marks).

YAG laser surgery is an office procedure. It is also used in some hospital procedures including laparoscopy for endometriosis.

Find the shirt on etsy here: I Yag for Contact Laser

Miracle Whip - the Bread Spread

Do you like Miracle Whip?

Do you love Miracle Whip?

Do you consider Miracle Whip to be salad dressing?

When making a sandwich, do you compare Miracle Whip to a bed spread?

Big roomy drawstring cylindrical tote bag made to look like a jar of Miracle Whip.

May be found on Etsy here: Miracle Whip bag.

Behind the T-shirt: Lindy's Gertie's Chicago

(via lindyschili.com)

In 1974, businessman Joseph Yesutis fulfilled a life-long dream by purchasing the Lindy's Chili Company and the Gertie's Ice Cream Company. This dream, however, did not include putting the two concepts together. Only after analyzing the unique qualities of each business did he conceive of his remarkable innovation. 

Lindy's Chili was drawing huge lunch and dinner crowds, but slowed in the evenings. On the other hand, Gertie's Ice Cream did great business in the evenings when customers crowded in. 

Additionally, there was seasonal factors that effected business. Cold Chicago winters bolstered chili sales, while ice cream sales declined. And, of course, in the summer, ice cream soared past chili sales.

A Brilliant Flash Of The Obvious

Combining the two companies into a single specialty food business initially drew many puzzled looks.

Chili and ice cream? Some people questioned Joe's judgment. But it really made remarkable business sense. The two specialties in fact, kept business steady throughout the day and throughout the year. 

Even more remarkable, chili and ice cream proved to be a delicious combination! 

The new Lindy Gertie's customers discovered that a bowl of the hot and spicy chili followed by a cool, refreshing ice cream was indeed a unusually satisfying experience.

Unusually satisfying, indeed! I have never been to one of these but it sounds interesting.

Find the t-shirt on Etsy here.

Behind the T-shirt: Meteor Crater Arizona

In February 2005, I drove cross-country with my brother and a Green Giant Little Sprout telephone. We took the mid-southern route along Interstate 40, which is the old fabled Route 66.

Not far off I-40 in Winslow, Arizona is a landmark called Meteor Crater.

(from meteorcrater.com) -

Meteor Crater is the breath-taking result of a collision between a piece of an asteroid traveling at 26,000 miles per hour and planet Earth approximately 50,000 years ago. Today, Meteor Crater is nearly one mile across, 2.4 miles in circumference and more than 550 feet deep.

Here is a 70's or early 80's souvenir t-shirt from this very place. It is soft and thin and silky and lovely. It may have been touched by aliens or alien dust.

T-shirt available on Etsy here.

More photos with Scout the Sprout here.

Bob's Big Boy Evolution

bobs big boy, originally uploaded by Skippy Haha Vintage.

All he does between 1981 and 1988 is put his arm down?

Link to t-shirt on Etsy here.