Bizarre Beauty Pageants From The Past That Will Make You Cringe

Beauty contests have been around for centuries, and thousands of contests are held annually, including the Big Four international beauty pageants. However, several beauty pageants were slightly bizarre and sometimes ridiculous in the past. The idea of women being judged by their beauty and physical aspect instead of their wisdom and personality is pretty odd.

For example, “Miss Beautiful Legs,” where the contestants’ bodies were hidden behind the curtains to ensure that they were judged solely by the beauty and shape of their legs. The judges examined the legs and ankles of the participants by touching and measuring them. In the “Miss Lovely Eyes” pageants, women covered their faces with yashmaks, and only their eyes were naked, so the judges could only see the eyes.

Some of these contests were hilarious and absurd because they were different from regular beauty contests in which the models were covered with fruits, vegetables, pizza, and donuts. They were far less popular than ordinary beauty pageants. Have a look at some of the most bizarre beauty contests from the past.

#1 Entrants participate in a Miss Lovely Legs competition in Cliftonville, England

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#2 Judges and competitors at a prettiest ankle contest. Cliftonville, Kent, England, 1933.

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#3 Contestants in the Miss Lovely Eyes beauty pageant in Florida wear masks to obscure the rest of their faces, Circa 1930.

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#4 A perfect figure contest. Competitors wore facial masks so that the judges could see only the contestants’ bodies, 1947.

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#5 Participants in the Beautiful Leg Contest wear pillow cases over their heads so that the judges can see only their legs. Palisades Amusement Park, New Jersey, 1951.

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#6 The legs of contestants being judged in a Miss World beauty pageant dangle over the side of a plane while staff stands below, England, 1953.

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#7 Miss Fabulous Frankfurter Lorraine Cole is crowned Frankfurter Queen by Hebrew National at the Hotel Wellington in New York, 1956.

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#8 Donut Queen Kris Nodland, wearing high heels and a bikini, poses with donuts and the Gingerbread Donut Boy at the Governor Clinton Hotel in New York, 1951.

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#9 Miss Donut Queen Pat Marlowe wears a paper crown, a one-piece swimsuit, and platform shoes as she holds donuts in each hand, 1947

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#10 A policeman judges an ankle competition in Hounslow, London, 1930

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#11 Actor Geene Courtney models a scarf, skirt, bracelets, and a crown made from hot dogs, frankfurters, and kielbasa in her role as Queen of National Hot Dog Week, as selected by the Zion Meat Products Company, 1955

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#12 Gail Hooper, 18, from Memphis, Tennessee, selected as Miss National Catfish Queen, holds a 56-pound catfish at the Hotel New Yorker, 1954.

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#13 Ruth Hurschler, a contestant in a Perfect Back contest, is examined and X-rayed by a chiropractor in the final stage of the competition, Los Angeles, Circa 1930.

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#14 The winner of the Neatest Figure competition at the Lido in Margate, England wears a hood so that the judges could not be influenced by her face and instead only judge her body, 1946

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#15 At a chiropractic beauty contest, a chiropractor shows a spine replica to model Lois Conway, one of three winners at the contest, 1956.

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#16 A pair of female judges examine the legs of women who are holding up their skirts during an unspecified beauty contest in New York

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#17 A contestant participates in a knobbly knees competition at Butlin’s Holiday Camp in Filey, 1953.

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#18 National Posture Queen Diane Stopky of St. Louis, poses next to an X-ray of her spine, New York, 1957.

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#19 Women at Butlin’s holiday camp wear Marilyn Monroe face masks. Clacton-on-Sea, England, 1952.

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#20 Participants line up during the Miss War Worker Beauty Contest in Toronto, Canada, 1942

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#21 Patti Sharon Jones, a 17-year-old high school senior chosen as Miss Posture Queen by the Michigan Academy of Chiropractors, Inc.

The unique judging was based upon spinal x-rays submitted by the contestants, 1956

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#22 Beauty contestants are judged solely on their figures, thanks to the introduction of papier mache masks, at Butlin’s holiday camp in Clacton-on-Sea, England, 1952

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#23 Contest for the most beautiful legs, Paris, 1946.

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#24 Miss Lemon, 1920

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#25 Orange Queen, 1930s

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#26 Miss Idaho Potato, 1935

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#27 Donut Week Queen, 1948

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#28 Donut Queen, 1948

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#29 Donut Queen, 1951

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#30 Donut Queen, c.1950s

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#31 Miss Food Industry Bettie Page, c.1951

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#32 Frankfurter Queen, 1952

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#33 Citrus Queen, 1955

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#34 Blueberry Queen, 1955

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#35 Donut Queen, 1957

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#36 Donut Queen, 1958

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#37 Natural Pork Queen, 1961-62

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#38 Queen of Candy, 1964

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#39 Queen of Cuisine, 1964

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#40 Wine Queen, 1965

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#41 Nebraska Beef Queen, 1968

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#42 Miss Xmas

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#43 Lipstick Queen

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#44 Miss Autorama

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#45 Miss Tacoma Home Show

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#46 Miss Pierce County

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#47 Texas Pirate Queen

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#48 Miss Cam–…. Camaro?

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#49 Miss Tacoma

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#50 Miss Putt Putt

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#51 Miss Redondo Beach

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#52 Miss Nationals

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#53 Miss Speed Weeks

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#54 Miss Tall International

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#55 Miss Largo

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#56 Miss Northglenn

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#57 Miss Spirit of America

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#58 Miss Welder

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#59 Bicycle Queen

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#60 Miss Bomarc Missile

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#61 Potato Queen

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