SheWalksSoftly

On any given day, I’m guilty of countless curiosity tangents. After seeing one word or image that strikes me, I’m liable to spend (too much) time in search of related images, information and anecdotes.

Today? VINTAGE STRONGMEN, inspired by these bandages seen on Swissmiss:

Outlets for the general fascination with physical strength shape-shift through generations, but the fascination itself appears to be a constant of the human experience.

Since images like the ones above are easy enough to search out (if you’re so inclined…which you’re probably not), I’m going to focus on a few of the things that surprised me in my strongman odyssey.

I came across many more dolls and toys than I expected. Particularly modern ones. There’s a strongman revival in the works, folks. Believe it.

Perhaps the toy trend comes from the recent hipster adoption and pop culture resurrection of the handlebar moustache.

They just kept popping up!

Inherently contradictory paper strongman:

Awww…

There are a variety of vintage toys as well.

No idea about this one…

I really wonder what this old “Rover” LP sounds like:

For those who wanted to measure their own “strongmanity” (my adjective describing one’s degree of strongman attributes):

Lou has Muscles and Might (though surprisingly weak ankles):

Mildly uncomfortable…

More uncomfortable…

Best left unexplored, really…

Yearning to know more? Try a Composite Guide.

There were indeed comic representations too, but that’s a whole other story.

I’ll wrap it up here with a classic poster.

You’ll find the greatest wealth of images on Oldtime Strongman (I didn’t take images from the site for this post because I found the logos distracting to look at, but much effort clearly went into this site).

This post is dedicated to the mighty Buff Jenkins, who has helped me loosen many a jar lid. May your tankinis always be striped and well-fitted!