Still images captured from video below.
An institution, to be sure, the All-American Soap Box Derby in 1936 constituted “the greatest amateur sporting event in the world,” according to the narrator. An impressive accomplishment, given that it was established only two years earlier. That may explain how it rated early 1930s WTAM and Cleveland Indians announcer Tom Manning and Graham McNamee, pioneering sportscaster, to cover the event.
Boys will be boys: Nothing builds strength of character like escalating levels of competition, from marbles to footraces, wrestling, boxing, football, tug-of-war, and building anything that requires wood, nails, hammers and saws. And yes, it was not until 1971 that were girls allowed to compete. Oh boy!
Two points here: clearly, some dads lent more of a hand in construction than others, and that nasty LZ 129 Hindenburg situation didn’t occur until the next spring.
Established in Dayton, Ohio, 1936 was the second year for Akron, Ohio, to host the event, and the first for it to be staged at the WPA-built Derby Downs, in continuous use (except during WWII) ever since.
Engineers: Yo, what factors are in play here? Weight was controlled, so that’s out. Body shape and surface finish, certainly. Wheel size? Maybe. Body movement works for rocking horses, but here? Possibly. Have Jamie and Adam from Mythbusters tested these variables?
Despite goofy adults in the background, the winners seem genuinely pleased with their trophies and the three top prizes: two new (we’ll assume Chevrolet) cars of their choosing, and a four-year scholarship to any state university.
In 1936, the derby was sponsored by local newspapers in each of 116 regions, as well as the Chevrolet division of GM. Chevrolet withdrew its national sponsorship in 1972.
Public domain archival footage courtesy of the Internet Moving Images Archive, in association with Prelinger Archives.
More gadget review in www.mamaktalk.com
