While the American troops were engaged in a tough war – commonly referred to as the Vietnam War – the U.S. Military thought of making an interesting video to coach aspiring officers on “How to Succeed with Brunettes”
Apparently, the naval division of the U.S. Military was equally concerned about its officers “scoring” with the brunettes as it was of them defeating its enemies. Hence they made all sorts of extra-curricular instructional films for officers and seamen. Though the U.S. military conceptualized, sponsored, and even produced a huge stash of over 2,700 such instructional videos, most notable among them, was a 16-minute video (archived as 330.DVIC.25147) called “How to Succeed with Brunettes”. Though vintage and archaic by today’s liberal standards, the video is surprisingly relevant even today.
Essentially, the video doles out some pretty basic and rather salient advice on being a polite, upstanding gentleman on a night out with your lady. Ironically, the same video if released today would certainly ruffle a lot of political feathers. However, the video teaches men some much-needed etiquette about dealing with their date in four typical settings: picking her up to go to a restaurant, seeing a movie, attending a small gathering at a private home, and escorting her to a formal affair.
Some of the tips that are sure to bowl over any lady even today include treating her as an equal, sitting her down first before taking a seat yourself, offering your date a “helping hand” whenever possible, opening doors for her, and in general showing respect. Surprisingly, one of the simplest, but oft-forgotten precautions the video advices you take, is to ensure your date’s hair stays impeccable and that she gets the best view of the restaurant.
The video also includes some don’ts, like chewing your food loudly when your date is around, not introducing her to a senior officer, and acting like a classic jerk at a rather classy and formal affair.
Though all this sounds like solid advice, some of the pointers would certainly not go down well with today’s women. Some of the pieces of advice that would turn your date sour, but were perfectly acceptable back in the day, included ordering your date’s food, instead of letting her do it, and treat her a little “special.”
The video might seem a little out-of-date, but it essentially and continually stresses a single point: Be courteous and respectful to women. In other words, be a gentleman throughout the duration of your date. Now isn’t that good, solid and still valid advice?
[Image Credit | Swide ]
