MST3K - The Home Economics Story

From the episode Viking Women vs. the Sea Serpent.
Cast:
Crow - Trace Beaulieu
Joel Robinson - Joel Hodgson
Servo - Kevin Murphy
© 2008 Shout! Factory, LLC

[@crescentfreshbret]

Interestingly enough, Home Economics was Jim Henson’s major in college. He learned all the skills there that he used in puppet-making.

[@pittland44]

I did not know that. Thanks for sharing.

[@shadetreader]

Badass if true

[@jessicapatton2688]

That is interesting

[@crescentfreshbret]

@@shadetreader Oh it’s definitely true. It’s in his official biography by Brian Jay Jones from 10 years ago, which I would recommend to anyone. It’s so thorough and so good and shows just what a truly incredible guy Jim was. But I warn you: the part that talks about his last hours on Earth, in which what he thought was just a minor sickness that he could ignore, quickly grew very serious and basically destroyed him in just a matter of hours… well, it’s one of the saddest things I’ve ever read. So be prepared for that.

[@crescentfreshbret]

I think probably the most amazing thing about Jim Henson is that he never originally set out to be a puppeteer. It was something he just got into out of necessity- he was so desperate to get involved in television back in the 50’s, and the first opportunity he had to do that was when a local children’s TV show needed puppeteers, so it was just a means to an end. He was as ready as ever to give up on puppetry completely if an opportunity to work in television doing something else came up, but then he took a trip to Europe and saw how- unlike in America- puppetry was considered an art-form there and not just a thing for kids. It changed his whole perspective on it and showed him that he could have an artistically fulfilling and boundary-pushing career in that field. And thus, the man who originally had no interest in puppetry whatsoever- apart from a love of the early TV show, Kukla, Fran and Ollie, and legendary ventriloquist, Edgar Bergen- went on to revolutionize it and become the most famous and beloved puppeteer of all time.

[@BryonYoungblood]

Servo: Why does she have a picture of John Carradine on her nightstand? Oh, that's MOM!

[@optimusprime2008]

"LOOK-LOOK-LOOK AT MY CROTCH!!" And this is why I could never look at cheerleaders the same way ever again.

[@optimusprime2008]

CaptainLumpyDog Eh, just a vagina. Whoop de doo. Lol

[@CaptainLumpyDog]

+Shelby Lynne BOOORING!!! :P

[@jimmyjim170]

+Shelby Lynne Or the Rockettes, for that matter, with their high kicks....

[@paxhumana2015]

Why were you even looking at them in the first place, +Shelby Lynne?

[@optimusprime2008]

+Pax Humana Well...they were kind of there and it's a fatal attraction sometimes...

[@ladycplum]

Believe it or not, a five-pound party was a quaint tradition where a sort of bridal shower was held and the gifts were geared towards helping the bride set up her kitchen: five pounds of sugar, five pounds of flour, and so on. (I actually learned this from the Iowa State College website!)

[@angelmiller3331]

This has driven me crazy for years! Thank you!!

[@luisreyes1963]

Fascinating. 😪

[@ladycplum]

@@luisreyes1963 Shaddap and go eat your jelly babies

[@BryonYoungblood]

Whaddya know! I learned something from MST3K and the fans!

[@daughterofolaf]

I have never understood anything about that part. Thank you!

[@carsonheschle642]

“Who would be her blood enemies? What secret societies would she join? Would she smoke thin, black cigarettes and reject the triune God??” kills me EVERY. DAMN. TIME. 😂😂😂😂😂

[@shadetreader]

Will you ever accept my Marxist ways?

[@Dank455]

"What are you going to take, Jean?" "I'm going to take Bob for everything he's got!" :D

[@jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj178]

"How ya doin! We're gonna have a great toym! We're gonna be PAY-UHLS!"

[@littleyellowkite]

6:07 she got a real thrill from dropping that letter in the mail box Loved the outburst laughing!!

[@VitoIsPuffBunny]

Fun fact: Iowa State University doesn't have a copy of the original film and often shows the Mst3k version in some history classes to give some idea of the 50s.

[@aaronbrummet1272]

This is the best fun fact. Please tell me you know it through personal experience.

[@VitoIsPuffBunny]

This is personal experience,in a 200 level history class we watched this at Iowa state university.The professor had asked several times and couldn't find it in any of the university archives. That said he loved how they gave it such a comedic spin. People also forget how progressive the ideas in the vid were at the time. ISU doesn't get much credit as it deserves because agriculture isn't viewed in as high of regard as other endeavors which is the universities strong point. I might be a little subjective in that regard as i graduated with a agronomy degree from there.

[@Oliviagarry69420]

Mom I'm going to Iowa state

[@rklewis2]

Truth to tell, and I know this comes across as sexist, but it's not meant to be: Girls should take some of these courses, if only so that they know how to do this stuff when they're on their own. Considering that some of it involves cooking and what-not, guys might also want to look into it, as well. Now...back to the vid!

[@Mistardmuster]

what you mean I can't sustain myself on instant noodles and febreeze my clothes until I die?

[@monkeymouse]

"Then one day Kay fiddled with Accounts Payable, took a long drive into the country and got cabin A at the Bates Motel." "SKREE SKREE SKREE!" LOL

[@KaneRobot]

As a little kid I always laughed so hard at "it's here already!! Oh, I mailed it to myself..."

[@persephoneee]

yeah, see you in four years. don't call. a friend always, love, dad

[@ClaremyJarkson]

Remember kids, THIS was progressive in the fifties.

[@phylliselizahb1041]

& guys still see gals as service animals (decade after decade).

[@samuraimifune]

"Today I'd like to tell you about several girls I know VERY WELL..... And why I'm being fired..." This has to be one of my favorite quips!

[@brianhagerty9524]

LOL! 🤣

[@BryonYoungblood]

Oh yeah it’s a good riff and well timed 🤣

[@balkthor]

Ah, the Harvey Wenstein story

[@DrummerGrrrl]

​@@balkthor How do you know the joke was about a MAN?

[@balkthor]

@@DrummerGrrrl Ah, the Ghislaine Maxwell story. Works both ways!

[@NightridewithNikki]

"I'm gonna take Food and Nutrition, really Iam" Who are you trying to convince, Helen, me or yourself.

[@cavalierfan1995]

yeah right your going to be a truckstop waitress in four years

[@bwgary]

"College for Kay would mean sacrifices." "Human sacrifices."

[@yourmother7052]

+Bryan W Gary I saw this comment just as the video got to this point. Goddamn it.

[@typacsk]

Yeah, but you gotta admit Oberlin provides a quality education. (I'm teasing, no flames please)

[@MegaCrowdaddy]

"...so you all drove them down to the train to see them off..." Tom: "And re-enact the last scene from Anna Karenina" LMAO

[@robertlombardo8437]

I literally spit on my phone laughing at that. I was like "Wait didn't she-?" *ppfppfffffff!* 😂😂😂😂😂

[@hankt8720]

“This was the year the national guardsmen were on campus” I got that one instantly

[@juanelorriaga2840]

That one was so bad but yet so funny with crow making gunshot sounds lol

[@kirk1968]

"Your Period and Mine: A Lecture"

[@DrummerGrrrl]

"Who the hell has time for a bloody lecture? I gotta smoke some weed!" LOL. See what I did there?!

[@kellyweingart3692]

5 pound potty 😂

[@kellyweingart3692]

“She had a big breakfast”

[@ctthorste7662]

Getting a job right after graduation?....what bizarre otherworldly dimension does this take place in

[@maouprier]

And the adviser that actually helps you GET said job?? Where can I get one of those?? (true story- my adviser in college didn't know he was assigned as an adviser to anyone)

[@TanzDerSchatten]

maouprier My brother's adviser told him he had enough credits to graduate when he actually didn't, which ended up costing him a job.

[@AJF786]

They also left out the part where she flips burgers at McDonald's for ten years to pay off student loan debt...

[@biffyqueen]

The 60s Remember this next time Baby Boomers complain about how easy we have it.

[@biffyqueen]

***** D'oh!

[@Jencifer13]

"kegs will be tapped; men will be used."

[@BryonYoungblood]

Joel's riff of "WHAT?! We have to be subjugated to men?!" is pretty funny, and fits the times XD

[@shadetreader]

Sadly, not that much has truly changed...

[@robertlombardo8437]

​@@shadetreader Oh, plenty has changed. Women are discovering it's pretty nice to have a man who loves and provides for them instead of a job that can easily replace them and a cat that can't stand them. But hey. Keep seeing it as subjugation. That'll really sneak up on you in your old age when there's nobody to take care of you.

[@christopheroliver2465]

A funny tribute to my late mom, the best Home Economics teacher in the world. Miss you mom.

[@daughterofolaf]

❤️

[@christopheroliver2465]

@@daughterofolaf Thank you so much! As serious as she was, Mom would have found the comments by the MST crew humorous.

[@daughterofolaf]

@@christopheroliver2465That’s awesome. Frankly, there should be a bigger focus on Home Ec! I can’t cook or do much of anything domestic and I wish there had been more of that in school. 😊

[@adiraiju9336]

I remember watching this with my dad a few years ago. About halfway through, he turned to me, and said "and this is where the sixties came from."

[@Laceykat66]

+Adiraiju Was he a writer for the show? That was a great comment.

[@adiraiju9336]

Nope, just a snarky real estate salesman.I'll pass it along, though!

[@AceAttorny]

+Adiraiju The PSA or the MST3K short?

[@adiraiju9336]

AceAttorny The latter.

[@suzycreamcheesez4371]

+Adiraiju not sure there really is an explanation for the sixties!

[@AJF786]

"What is Home Economics?" Jeez, you'd think they would have told us by now...

[@tomservo56954]

"You lost the draw...you'll be rooming with the Ice Queen"

[@KyleKreiger]

Iowa State College, the high school AFTER high school.

[@SNESdrunk]

It's funny because it's true

[@BriGuyIL1980]

So many great things about this short: the "real thrill" hysterical laughter, "Oh, shoot! I mailed it to myself.", Crow's roommate "We're gonna be PALS", "these are the problems you want to have", "five pound potty". and, of course, the "look at my crotch" cheerleaders. So nice.

[@MacTechG4]

Brian Moore How do Pop-Tarts work?

[@Tubie1111]

Brian Moore I lost it when he did that laugh

[@BryonYoungblood]

I also love “WHAT?! We have to be subjugated to men!?” by Joel, just from the delivery

[@Evertide05]

"Oh, these are the kind of problems you WANT to have." I still find myself saying that when someone gripes about things that aren't important while I have actual things to worry about.

[@communistjesus]

"Oh, these are the kind of problems you WANT to have." I still find myself saying that when someone gripes about things that aren't important while I have actual things to worry about. <

[@daughterofolaf]

I use that line in real life all the time.

[@matthewkoch6937]

Me too, or the classic Crow snark, "Boo-hoo, we all have problems!"

[@thatwiseoldbitchchannel]

Same! 🙋🏽‍♀️

[@theonetruefingal3046]

"Physics in the home"? Sounds like a women's magazine in the Fallout universe.

[@rachel_sj]

"Here she designs pants for Chuckles the Clown!" :D

[@palmspringsmarythomson6354]

Whoa this is cool - Iowa State in 1884 was the first college to give credit on the subject. HE is now called Family and Consumer Sciences and is still taught worldwide as a degree program

[@DrummerGrrrl]

Sings, "I look at you and I go out of focuuuuus!" LOL.

[@brianhagerty9524]

I don’t know what I loved more: “That’s right... I said a case of vodka” or “I’m going to take Bob for all he’s got!” LOL

[@lindaeasley4336]

" I took several heavy blows to the cheeks with a lead pipe ". 😂😂😂 Crow was in top form in this .Reminds me of Using Your Speech short

[@DLM-ys5ui]

"I'm so alooone I don't know what to dooooo....I look at you and I go out of focus..." Priceless.

[@Sv-vb2fe]

“Shut up, Grandma! You’re lucky to have a job!”

[@ergoslum]

One of my favorite MST3K shorts. Anyone else wanna see a short film on Alice, the girl who could barely pay attention to this home economics stuff and just wanted to get back to killing it in physics? I bet that's a way better story.

[@yeboscrebo4451]

That sounds boring. Men are far superior in physics. Sorry.

[@julieporter7805]

She's the awesome career woman/future feminist.

[@shadetreader]

I'd watch a feature film about Alice!

[@robertlombardo8437]

Alice, who will die alone and childless, having wasted her youth chasing money and partying. Realizing too late that everything fades away eventually. Her lifelong string of deceased cats should have been a clue.

[@brettbewley5798]

12:19 "I'm going to teach" "cause I can't do" Yes! I've been looking for this. 🤣

[@Jencifer13]

"would she smoke thin black cigarettes and reject the triune god..?"

[@spentipede]

ScarlettCrimson whenever people ask a series of questions, I silently quote this line to myself.

[@luisreyes1963]

What the Hell did that meant? 🤨

[@Jencifer13]

@@luisreyes1963 It's a line they say when Kay is getting her room assignment in the film.

[@KingoftheJuice18]

Fun fact: "economics" actually *means* home management. "Home economics" is kind of like saying "fire firefighting."

[@tomservo56954]

I learned economics was defined as the reconciliation of infinite wants and finite resources...

[@KingoftheJuice18]

@@tomservo56954 That could be one modern definition of the subject. I was talking about the origins of the term in classical Greek.

[@SisterRayVU68]

Best Trace Crow line ever: "She makes tar heroin."

[@Rammstein45]

Your period and mine! A lecture~

[@palmspringsmarythomson6354]

"I'm going to take Bob for everything he's got ... " Also "Watson, come in here, I need you" -- awesome

[@Jnvlv247]

"You'll be emptying bed pans soon" LOL so true though "listen to the flowers" LOL one of the best shorts

[@ajh-lb2nw]

Despite the condescending nature of some portions this short film, it's still surprisingly progressive considering its promotion of women obtaining an education and taking their places in the professional world, albeit stereotypical "women's" careers. Plus it never explicitly states that women can't have a career and have a family.

[@aenjgeal]

Thank you! I see people keep making comments about it being sexist but they have to remember the time period it was made, considering this was what looks to be the 1950s this was incredibly progressive. Women to have an education and have jobs? That was still a new idea at this time

[@KCH55]

aenjgeal agree with guys on this

[@paxhumana2015]

I do not disagree with women having jobs outside of the home, but can we keep the SJW/feminist/chauvinist rants the fuck off of this page and appreciate the humorous awesomeness that is MST3K, please?

[@fucknasakillelonmusk6213]

WHY DO MOMS NEED CAREERS?? THEIR MOST IMPORTANT JOB, IS TO NATURE AND NUTURE THEIR OFFSPRING. THE ASSHOLE NWO HAS BRAINWASHED WOMEN TO THINK BEING A GOOD MOTHER ISNT A FULLFILLING ENOUGH LIFE. WHICH IS BULLSHIT, MOMS ARE NEEDED MORE THAN ANY OTHER SPOUSE, AS A ROLE MODEL, NO T.V. WOMEN ARE NOT ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY FOR THE FUNCTION AND PROSPERITY OF ANY NATION. THEY ARE MUCH MORE IMPORTANT AS A WHOLE, TO BE MOTHERS, IF THEY HAPPEN TO CREATE CHILDREN. CHILDREN RAISED IMPROPERLY AND WITHOUT A MOTHERLY PRESENCE, IS MUCH MORE DETROMENTAL TO A NATION, AS A WHOLE.

[@julieporter7805]

Also, there are no implications that they would have to quit those jobs once they were married. It's better than some shorts at the time and as you said under the circumstances progressive.

[@johnjamele]

"Carol who is now Mrs Bill Johnson.....prepared for her career as Mrs Bill Johnson...." Booooo is right.

[@mikezylstra7514]

Nothing wrong with that job. Sure beats building your life around a cat.

[@starmanda88]

@@mikezylstra7514 speak for yourself. Cats rule.

[@robertlombardo8437]

Honestly I pity your dear mother and those with children like you. Mine became a stay at home mom after an initial career as an RN and never regretted it for a minute. She went back to work eventually, but only when we were older and she had to, because WE were her greatest priority. Her family. And we love her for it to this day.

[@rebeccah.4983]

"Today I would like to tell you about several girls I know & why I'm being fired." "I don't want my wife working -- get me a beer." I love it when the narrator says "she got a real thrill" when mailing the letter & the bots laugh hysterically. "Kegs will be tapped, men will be used." "And you really got slammed & apologized all day Monday." "Let's face it, Jean would do anything for a buck." And the always memorable cheerleaders & crotch pointing!

[@billsmith6884]

Did anyone else notice that KAY was written on the lampshade in blood?

[@tomservo56954]

I thought it was red yarn...

[@RIXRADvidz]

it's obvious, whomever decorated the sets of this film did NOT get a degree in the Applied Arts of Home Economics...very obvious.

[@GrixieKong]

"Five pound potty?! She must have had a big breakfast!" I still don't understand what the narrator was saying there!!

[@brpierce]

GrixieKong Yeah, there's really nothing else that would make sense there. "Five pound party?"

[@GrixieKong]

I have the idea that they're talking about a five pound box of chocolates, but my comprehension stops there.

[@brpierce]

GrixieKong ...which would probably lead to a five pound potty, come to think of it. ;)

[@kensynder2276]

He said, "Phi Pau Party". I assume that it's a sorority for home economics majors.

[@TanzDerSchatten]

GrixieKong There's a review on imdb for this film that mentions this. Apparently it was a tradition for a bride-to-be to have a party in which each guest gave her five pounds of some household staple (flour, sugar, etc.) to help her get started.

[@theoldar]

This is my favorite MST3K segment.

[@manicpixiefangirl4189]

To be honest, I’d have loved to have taken a few of these type of classes. Sure would’ve been more useful than the years I wasted trying to learn Spanish or algebra.

[@Lisa-di1wi]

Most women who worked back then were either teachers, nurses, secretaries and other office workers, and store clerks. Nowadays, we have women doctors, lawyers, engineers, and so forth. Whether it be back in the 1950's or today in the 21st Century, you need a good education in order to get a good-paying job.

[@Cowboy24679]

"I'm gonna take Bob for everything he's got!" Yeah, baby!

[@julieporter7805]

I suppose Kay got with the guy in Why Study Industrial Arts...that is if he ever got past his power tool obsession. But one which fitted her for that important career, being Mrs. Bill Johnson......BOOO!!! "Let's see Our Bodies, Ourselves, The Bell Jar, oh there it is Ghetto-Ghetto Freaks. There it is." "I'm a Q-Tip! What are you?" "WHAT??!! We have to be subjugated to men??!!"

[@PBRStreetgang]

At the end, I thought, "Wow, how did I ever get here?" I haven't seen MST3K since it went off the air. Thanks for posting, totally going to catch up!

[@BloodylocksBathory]

A major for girls in college?? Next thing you know they'll wanna vote!

[@mikezylstra7514]

God forbid when that day comes!

[@tomservo56954]

"Would she smoke thin black cigarettes and reject the triune God?"

[@MrObvious333]

"Human sacrifices" LOL, all hail Crowe!!

[@ljacone]

"All she remembers is, that she was sitting in the study hall..." "With a loaded gun." 0:35 "Early October, headed for an 8 o'clock class in Home Ec Hall..." "Tragedy struck, a lone gunman" "*Psshw* *Psshw*" 9:35 "At the beginning of your Junior Year, things seem pretty much the same. But this is the year--" "That the National Guardmen on campus." "*Psshw* *Psshw*" 13:17 Yikes... just yikes! LOL!

[@chelseab3049]

+ljacone I know! So funny, yet soooo bad lol

[@mr.bobcyndaquil4214]

To be fair, the one about the Guardsmen is probably a reference to the Kent State shooting. Still rather dark.

[@yrobtsvt]

The "lone gunman" joke is probably a reference to University of Texas shooting since that was the main incident at the time, and 30 years in the past at that point. This joke got soooo dark in a post-Columbine world lol.

[@balkthor]

19:41 The joke that you're all looking for.

[@porntipsgazardo]

Its incredible watching this not just because it shows the 1950's took place in an entirely different universe, but also how many of the jokes MST3K added you could never get away with today in 2016.

[@targaghjj]

Like what??

[@pronkb000]

At least two jokes about mass shootings (the first one could be interpreted as a suicide).

[@teresas8173]

pronkb000 ...and there’s about 50 jokes here. So......

[@teresas8173]

Which ones? You are exaggerating greatly.

[@yulenapern6191]

I tried sitting my mom down to watch this because she was around the same age as these girls - she begged me to turn it off, in disgust. She graduated with a BA in Poli Sci and didn't have kids until her 30s. 'Very important job of being Mrs. ...' my hiney.

[@EAG46]

Yulena Pern Your mom sounds like a very sensible woman. Maybe she was "Alice" too busy reading her physics textbook to bother with this nonsense.

[@jameswatts2003]

+Yulena Pern that's probably why they were making these ridiculous shorts before movies, because empowered women like your mom weren't about to sit around and resign themselves to antiquated gender roles. Good for her.

[@jimmyjim170]

+James Watts I have no problem with women going into home economics, it's not demeaning for women or men to learn these skills. I wish they still taught it in high school. I just don't like the way this video implies that home economics are all the extent of education a woman needs. And of course like most 50's PSA's it's hokey as hell and perfect for Joel and the bots to crack wise at!

[@snakes3425]

The point is they emphized the "Home" part more the being able to support your family if the unexpected happens.

[@adalbertobelgardo6708]

"She consulted Robert McNamara.... and Ayn Rand." =)

[@wftjet]

"I gotta feeling Mom majored in home economics at Iowa State..."

[@marquis911]

How do pop tarts work? (Seriously how?)

[@luisreyes1963]

It's a mystery. Gnomes may be somehow involved.

[@MutantSentry]

"would it be the business world with its glamour commercial jobs...?" Is this a prequel to Mad Men?

[@silvereagle2061]

"Your period, and mine"

[@natalieb6193]

Okay, the cheerleaders scene made me tinkle.

[@gonzaleo]

"I'm a Q-Tip, what are you!?!?"

[@daveryder9617]

I find it kind of endearing when Tom says "poor kid"...

[@shawnaburns5158]

Five pound potty she had a big breakfast LMFAO 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@DrGregoryHouseIT]

Listen to the flowers, they will tell you sweet secrets!

[@MarshalHopalop]

I have to watch this short at the beginning of every new school year. High school, college, or even graduate school. It helps me to know that school could have always been much MUCH worse.

[@nicksfree79]

I prolly watched this at least a handful of times in the 90s and it's still funny as hell!

[@theblackrosedaughter]

Nick Anderson same here....my sides still hurt xD even more so because i'm older and i get most of the jokes xD

[@Marty43936]

The High School after High School!

[@CaptainLumpyDog]

1:23 YOUR PERIOD AND MINE, A LECTURE

[@tripdefect87]

Probably one of my favorite Joel era shorts next to the "The Truck Farmer" from "I Accuse My Parents"

[@ClayLoomis1958]

This is all VERY subjective, but in "Joel time", my favorites were definitely Mr. B Natural and Circus on Ice. The Mr. B episode is absolutely stellar. Mr. B Natural: "You've got to inspect your horn, boy...." Crow: "....And wash it every day."

[@menslady125eif2590]

Here she designs trousers for Chuckles the Clown.

[@chaotic_one3758]

It's here already! Oh shoot I mailed it to myself! Ffs I love this entire short

[@docerkenbrecher]

Kegs will be tapped. Men will be used.

[@DaWhiteWolffie]

This was back when college was affordable...and actually taught useful and understandable things.

[@collinsnider4179]

Yeah right

[@shadetreader]

You should've stopped typing after "affordable".

[@jimmyjim170]

11:50 sadly that's probably the career path the hopeful dietitian ended up on.

[@TanzDerSchatten]

This is from Cracked.com's article, "The 6 Cruelest Science Experiments Ever (Were Done on Kids)": #2. Using Orphans as Practice Babies Back in the days when young women were only expected to go to school to learn how to roast a chicken in between pregnancies, domestic economy (or home economics) was a thriving program at institutions like Cornell, the University of Minnesota and Eastern Illinois State. And these institutions figured that there was no better way to test out the latest child-rearing theories of the day than on actual living babies. Starting around 1920, these colleges and others "borrowed" hundreds of babies from orphanages for young female students to practice on. The babies stayed in practice apartments, where they were cared for by revolving groups of eight to 12 female students, a process we are convinced would lead a developing infant to believe that its mother was a shape-shifting demon. Peek-a-boo is a lot more disturbing when the face keeps changing. The babies' real identities were kept secret, so the girls took to giving them names like Denny Domecon (for domestic economy), as detailed in this Cornell publication that literally contains the sentence "Each of Cornell's two practice apartments is equipped with a real baby." After a year or two of serving as the doll in this real-life dollhouse, the babies would go on to homes in adoptive families, presumably frustrated over downgrading to just a personal assistant after having an entire staff. In their defense, the Illinois State Child Welfare Division tried to shut down Eastern Illinois State's practice-babies program in the mid-1950s to protect a child known as "David North," who at the time was being raised by 12 different student mothers. Ultimately it was decided that the state had no jurisdiction, since David's real mother had given consent, and programs like this continued on up until the 1960s, when people finally realized that the only practice baby you should really get is your own.

[@Casey5693]

Is that true?

[@paxhumana2015]

That is some messed up bullshit, +TanzDerSchatten!

[@luisreyes1963]

TanzDerSchatten Those were dark times for higher education.

[@giovannirastrelli9821]

That’s like something out of Handmaid’s Tale.

[@shuttittuppitt9355]

Despite your PESSIMISTIC opinion of that, it sounds like (drum roll) the babies were TAKEN CARE OF. Plus, it sounds as much like baby sitting training as it does parenting training. Finally, all parent wannabes SHOULD get some practice at raising babies BEFORE they have their OWN babies. Unlike some of you, I see NOTHING but BENEFITS for the girls, the babies, & all of society!

[@bewareofzealots]

"Titles by Fredericks of Hollywood." 😂

[@Donteatacowman]

At first I thought the eating-out line was part of the commentary...

[@TitanTed]

While they were talking, two of the ripest tomatos in town strolled in!

[@kathyh4610]

I could swear there was an mst3k short about practice babies but i cant find it anywhere

[@dirtydave2691]

These 3 are me and my friends watching similar educational movies in junior high in the 70's! "Oh man that's so fake you can see the string"!

[@jessicacomorre6711]

I've been watching this for 30 years and it's will always be equally fascinating and hilarious. It's just so good. Amazing writers, characters and material.

[@cord2250]

"Well just leave then! Forget you, I never loved you!"

[@whereisevan]

One of my favs. So happy this is here.

[@jessicajayes8326]

This assembly was for the girls only (the guys had to go to that "other" class in the gym).

[@marquis911]

"Industrial Arts"

[@jamesremington8056]

Seeing this kind of makes me understand why the 60's happened.

[@rem2267]

Oh, look, it's here already! Shoot, I mailed it to myself.

[@holbrooke7]

When Jean enters the dorm and Crow does that voice...

[@dndboy13]

this isnt directly related to this short, but its interesting to me that from the immediate post-war period to roughly somewhere round the late 70s-80s, computer science/engineering was considered a legitimate career for women, as opposed to now. Sure, I'm aware that more than a fair share of the reason is because, as men were in active service during the war, they couldnt really be needy; and many of these women worked on top-secret projects at the time, the first real computers (the first compiler was written by a former naval officer after the war, Rear Admiral Grace Hoppe, and my personal choice for kinda wish she were my grandma). Its still, i dunno, its still interesting to me, i guess; in a sort of poignant sad way?

[@pauls3604]

Computer science/engineering was considered a legitimate vocation for women as opposed to now? What planet are you on? Sure if you live in Saudi Arabia maybe?

[@KarlBaron]

Or the Soviet Union...

[@JHATDRUMMER1976]

OH HI HOW YA DOING WERE GOING TO HAVE GREAT TIME WERE GOING TO BE PAAAALS!

[@HylianFox3]

You lost the draw, you'll be rooming with the ice queen...

[@patldennis]

5:40 The resemblance to Kennedy's and Johnson's Sec Def is uncanny