It's difficult, when viewing this advertisement for the General Electric All-Steel Refrigerator, to avoid noticing what the mother and child have yet to see: their youngest daughter is lying dead on the floor. She obviously got trapped inside the fridge over night, and was only released when they removed the tiny red coat from storage.A gruesome mystery from the June 1, 1929 New Yorker.
2 comments:
G.E. – we bring good things to life???
I remember external-latching refrigerators with enough space to admit a small child. Even though latches have given way to magnetized seals, it’s the law in New York (and elsewhere, I’m sure) to remove the doors before discarding the appliance. Hide-and-go-seek, anyone?
There was a “King Of Queens” episode about being locked in a refrigerated truck with a load of penguins. Of course, since it’s a sitcom, everyone is okay in the end. But this kind of incident could happen, especially in large, commercial walk-in refrigerators.
I think the jealous sister did it. The ad gives new meaning to the phrase, “Put the kid on ice!” ;-)
Jealousy may have been the motive, or maybe the sister wanted a matching pair of shoes. I just love how splayed out the doll is...she really looks frozen!
PS: Note the fridge's "icebox" in the upper-right corner, which at the time was exclusively used for...ice. I assume that people didn't use freezers for anything else then...no frozen peas, no frozen TV dinners. Fresh meat.
PPS: I think that the "remove the door before discarding" law applies pretty much everywhere; it certainly does here.
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