Say it with a smile. It's important - especially if you lived in Budapest after the first World War.
Although a top tourist attraction for visitors from all over world, Budapest suffered its own depression following the World War I, with local reports claiming there was an increase in suicides and mental health issues in the city:
'unpleasant publicity from the number of cases of self destruction occurring every year within its boundaries.'
So, how did the authorities think to solve the problem? By opening a smile club.
A report from the Sunday Times Perth 17th October 1937, wrote:
"Now, however, a “Smile Club” has been inaugurated to counteract the suicide craze. lt was originally begun more as a Joke by a Professor Jeno and a hypnotist named Binczo, but somehow it caught on. The organisers have now a regular school and guarantee to teach the Roosevelt smile, the Mona Lisa smile, the Clark Gable smile, the Dick Powell smile, the Loretta Young smile, and various other types, the rates vary.."
The school tasks included masks to wear, provided tutorials to pupils and took practice photographs for students to master the art of a perfect smile.
And we thought braces were bad...
Images via Retronaut
