Thought you guys might get a little kick out of this This is just small, but it made me think of all of you! I've been re-reading (after years), CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN and BELLES ON THEIR TOES, the two books written by Ernestine Gilbreth Carey and Frank Gilbreth, Jr., about growing up in a family of a dozen children with an eccentric father who became famous for his studies on efficiency/work making factories etc. more efficient. They're really cute, sweet books, especially the first; the father was a fat but (although described in the book as being very fat, when you see a picture of him he's clearly just a regular fat, not the obeast you're led to believe by the description) both books are full of shitlording; lots of mentions of how their father's weight affected his health (he died at only 55) and general comments throughout about how their mother's figure never even hinted that she'd had so many children and kids telling each other to quit eating so much lest they gain weight etc., and fat people universally portrayed as miserable and unattractive. Anyway. This is from the second book, BELLES ON THEIR TOES. The mother has just discovered that the two oldest girls have taken up smoking. She says (emphasis mine): "It's bad for your health. That's open to debate. Not as bad as overeating..." There is also a fine description later of a horrible fat woman who comes to visit them, with lots of commentary about her quavering jowls and piggy eyes. Just a little thing, but it made me smile wistfully. There was a time when people were aware that fat and overeating was bad for you and it was seriously frowned upon, sigh. The books were written in the late 40s/early 50s, and describe the period from about the turn of the century through to the early 30s. They really are sweet, fun little books, with some good funny moments; I highly recommend them if anyone is looking for a quick, light read. But that line in particular brought all the books's shitlording to the forefront for me, and I thought you might enjoy it (as well as being a little sad; imagine if you wrote a line like that today!).