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  • Scut Farkus's Davy Crockett Hat Wasn't Popular Until The '50s on Random Inaccuracy In 'A Christmas Story’s Version Of '40s

    (#1) Scut Farkus's Davy Crockett Hat Wasn't Popular Until The '50s

    Davy Crockett's famous coonskin cap makes several appearances in the movie. It's first worn by Ralphie's father during a fantasy sequence in which Ralphie saves his frontier-era family from bad guys with his Red Ryder gun; its second appearance is atop the head of bully Scut Farkus. For a movie made in the 1980s, the hat symbolized boyhood from a bygone era and seemed an apt costuming detail. In 1940, however, someone wearing a faux raccoon pelt on their head would have been unusual.

    Davy Crockett was a real frontiersman and folk hero who lived during the late 1700s and early 1800s, but his famous hat - made out of a raccoon with an intact tail - didn't enter pop culture until the mid-1950s. Walt Disney was behind the trend thanks to a five-part television series about Crockett, which gave hundreds of young boys a sudden desire to dress like the hero. The hat mania continued into 1955 as Disney assembled the series into a feature movie called Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier. The hats were so popular, the National Museum of American History claimed people purchased around 5,000 hats a day during the 1950s.

  • The Parkers Listen To Bing Crosby’s ‘Merry Christmas,’ Which Was Released In 1945 on Random Inaccuracy In 'A Christmas Story’s Version Of '40s

    (#2) The Parkers Listen To Bing Crosby’s ‘Merry Christmas,’ Which Was Released In 1945

    On Christmas morning, the Parkers gather around their glittering tree to exchange presents while Bing Crosby softly croons Christmas music in the background. It's a classic and warm holiday scene - but not quite historically accurate, as Crosby didn't release the album in question until 1945.

    Merry Christmas compiled several of Crosby's holiday-themed hits into a single record, including "White Christmas," one of the most beloved songs ever recorded. The song was first broadcast to the public on Christmas Eve in 1941, just after the events of the movie presumptively occurred. After selling more than 15 million copies, Crosby's Merry Christmas remains the second-best selling Christmas album in history. A large part of its popularity comes from its inclusion of "White Christmas," which has kept its place as the best-selling single of all time despite the fact that people generally only listen to it one month out of the year.

  • Segregation Was Still Very Much A Part Of Public Schools During The Story's Time Period on Random Inaccuracy In 'A Christmas Story’s Version Of '40s

    (#3) Segregation Was Still Very Much A Part Of Public Schools During The Story's Time Period

    Throughout the movie, Ralphie's classmates prove to be a rambunctious bunch, annoying the teacher with novelty teeth and daring one another to lick frozen flag poles. The class includes a few African American children, and while this is commonplace today (and in 1983, when the movie was released), real-life classrooms from the film's time period would have looked much different because of segregation. Despite three post-Civil War amendments to the Constitution establishing rights for African Americans, the Supreme Court continued to pass laws limiting these freedoms.

    In 1896, Plessy v. Ferguson declared segregation constitutional and allowed the creation of "separate but equal" establishments. This ruling not only applied to schools, but also public transportation, churches, and even cemeteries. While laws supporting segregation came to be known as Jim Crow laws in Southern states, racial inequality was not limited to the South alone. Even Ralphie's state of Indiana would have been affected.

    A few court cases initiated by the NAACP in the 1930s and 1940s challenged segregation in schools, but it wasn't until Brown v. Board of Education in 1954 that the Supreme Court finally ruled school segregation unconstitutional. Subsequent court cases and protests led to the 1964 passage of the Civil Rights Act, which put a legal end to segregation.

  • Mrs. Parker's Permed Hairdo Is From The 1980s on Random Inaccuracy In 'A Christmas Story’s Version Of '40s

    (#4) Mrs. Parker's Permed Hairdo Is From The 1980s

    As a loving mother to two young boys and wife to a man whose idea of good taste includes fishnet-clad leg lamps, Mrs. Parker spends much of the film just as frazzled as her hair. In the late 1930s or early 1940s, however, her hair style would have looked entirely out of place. A period appropriate woman's hair style would have not featured bangs, and would have been carefully styled with every hair in place.

    Although curls were in, they were not the tight curls Mrs. Parker wears. They were rolled curls that were soft and sleek like those worn by Ralphie's teacher, Miss Shields. Most women at the time also wore their hair short and pinned back away from the face. Mrs. Parker's look is more appropriate for the 1980s, when the movie was made, as big hair was in and kinky permanent waves were all the rage.

  • Mrs. Shields's Prank Drawer Has A Pair Of Chattering Teeth, Which Weren’t Invented Until 1950 on Random Inaccuracy In 'A Christmas Story’s Version Of '40s

    (#5) Mrs. Shields's Prank Drawer Has A Pair Of Chattering Teeth, Which Weren’t Invented Until 1950

    After Ralphie's class greets their teacher in the morning by giggling and displaying novelty teeth, she demands they hand them over. Miss Shields pulls open a desk drawer to store them, revealing the many other confiscated gag items and toys she's collected. Viewers can clearly see a slingshot, a pair of Groucho Marx gag glasses, and a set of wind-up chattering teeth. While the classic toy seems a reasonable addition to a teacher's collection of banned items, they don't belong in the time period. In fact, in 1939, they wouldn't have even been invented yet.

    Originally known as Yakity-Yak chompers, the classic toy was a product made by H. Fishlove & Co. and made its debut in 1950. Marketed as a lowbrow gag, the box enticed buyers with "Look! They Walk! They Talk! They're Alive!" The teeth were a product of the quickly growing market for plastic following WWII and the new injection-molding devices that could form plastic into almost anything. The company installed a clockwork motor in the toy to make the teeth move and give them that memorable chattering noise.

  • Scut Farkus Sports A Type Of Braces That Weren’t Invented Until The '70s  on Random Inaccuracy In 'A Christmas Story’s Version Of '40s

    (#6) Scut Farkus Sports A Type Of Braces That Weren’t Invented Until The '70s

    School bully Scut Farkus terrorizes Ralphie and his friends throughout the movie. His prominently displayed braces make him comically menacing while simultaneously reminding us he's still just a kid - despite being feared by all the local children.

    Braces have been around since long before 1940, so their appearance in this particular period piece isn't unusual. However, the type of braces Scut wears are bonded to the teeth and were not around until the 1970s. If they were authentic to the time period, the wire would have been wrapped around each individual tooth and may not have been made of stainless steel.

    By bonding the mesh backside of the braces to the enamel of the teeth, dentists were able to give patients freedom from so much metal in their mouths. This technique is still used by orthodontists today, which is why Scut's menacing braces look so much like modern dental work.

  • Ralphie’s Glasses Were Not Invented Until The '80s  on Random Inaccuracy In 'A Christmas Story’s Version Of '40s

    (#7) Ralphie’s Glasses Were Not Invented Until The '80s

    Ralphie's round frames are a signature part of his bespectacled look. After being repeatedly told he'll shoot his eye out with the Red Ryder BB gun he covets so desperately, his glasses are knocked off his head after firing his dream Christmas present for the first time. Unable to see, Ralphie accidentally destroys his glasses, taking one wrong step and crunching them under his winter boots. He lies to his parents about how they broke and escapes punishment.

    While people in 1939 had access to a variety of eyeglasses, the style of hinge that appears on Ralphie's glasses was invented in the 1980s. A shot of Ralphie's broken glasses lying in the snow shows the frames have a three-barrel hinge with a screw - the type of hinge that operates like door hinges. According to one optician, the frames appear to be Liberty Legend frames, which were popular at the time the movie was filmed.

  • Mr. Parker Receives A Blue Bowling Ball For Christmas, But Bowling Balls Didn’t Have Color Until The '60s  on Random Inaccuracy In 'A Christmas Story’s Version Of '40s

    (#8) Mr. Parker Receives A Blue Bowling Ball For Christmas, But Bowling Balls Didn’t Have Color Until The '60s

    As the Parkers wrap up their gift-giving on Christmas morning, Mrs. Parker drops a round, wrapped object in her husband's lap. "From me to you," she says. He replies "Thanks a lot," in a high pitched voice, indicating the object is heavy enough to hurt his groin. Mr. Parker opens the package to find a bright blue bowling ball and exclaims, "Well... it's a blue ball!"

    Cleverly deployed adult jokes aside, this gift would not have been possible back in 1939. After using wood for many years, rubber became the material of choice for bowling ball manufacturing until the 1950s. Up to the 1960s, when polyester resin became more popular than rubber, bowling balls were the color of their materials - typically black or brown. By changing to polyester, however, manufacturers were able to create bowling balls in a variety of colors and patterns, just like Mr. Parker's historically inaccurate gift.

  • The Radio Flyer Wagons Displayed In The Higbee's Window Are From The 1970s on Random Inaccuracy In 'A Christmas Story’s Version Of '40s

    (#9) The Radio Flyer Wagons Displayed In The Higbee's Window Are From The 1970s

    The movie opens as a crowd gathers around the holiday window displays of Higbee's department store to marvel at the selection of toys. In addition to Ralphie's coveted Red Ryder, the display includes working train sets, wood sleds, and several Radio Flyer wagons.

    Radio Steel & Manufacturing introduced its first steel Radio Flyer wagon in 1930, so the classic toy would have been an era-appropriate toy for Ralphie and his friends. The specific models that appear in the movie, however, were manufactured during the 1970s. Radio Flyer wagons from the 1940s featured different branding on the side, with a classic-looking typeface and silver colored caps on the wheels. The 1970s models, like those seen in the movie, featured red caps on the wheels and more modern lettering.

    Not only are the wagons out of place, but the Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls appear to be more modern versions as well. Raggedy Ann has been around since 1915, but the ones included in the film appear to be those made by the Knickerbocker Toy Co., which manufactured the dolls between 1963 and 1982.

  • The Costumed Mickey Mouse Who Appears In The Christmas Parade Was Created Sometime After 1959 on Random Inaccuracy In 'A Christmas Story’s Version Of '40s

    (#10) The Costumed Mickey Mouse Who Appears In The Christmas Parade Was Created Sometime After 1959

    Like the holiday traditions of many families, the Parkers attend the town's Christmas parade to watch Santa arrive at Higbee's department store. There are floats, music, a variety of costumed Wizard of Oz characters, and an appearance from Mickey Mouse. Created in 1928, Mickey was certainly around by the time the film's story was set, but his costumed form would have been a much more primitive and creepy version than the one seen on screen.

    From their first red carpet appearance at the Snow White premiere in 1937 to the opening of Disneyland in 1955, the heads of Mickey and Minnie's character costumes were made of fabric that held its shape, and the sack worn over the head featured large eye holes so the person wearing the costume could see. After the costumes terrified enough children and many parents complained, Disney unveiled a new Mickey design at the opening of Disneyland's Tomorrowland in 1959. For the first time, Mickey and Minnie costume characters featured solid molded heads like the one seen in the movie. These costumes looked more like the actual cartoon characters and paved the way for those used by the theme parks today.

  • Mr. Parker’s 1938 Oldsmobile Uses Bolts - Not Nuts, As He Implies on Random Inaccuracy In 'A Christmas Story’s Version Of '40s

    (#11) Mr. Parker’s 1938 Oldsmobile Uses Bolts - Not Nuts, As He Implies

    As Ralphie and his family drive home after buying a Christmas tree, their car gets a flat tire. Mr. Parker gets out to swap the flat with the spare while Mrs. Parker suggests Ralphie help his father. There's a brief moment of bonding over this manly task, and Mr. Parker hands Ralphie the hubcap, telling him to hold it horizontally like a bowl so he can "put the nuts in it." As he does this, viewers can clearly see Ralphie holding four lug nuts inside the hubcap. Unfortunately, Mr. Parker almost immediately knocks the hubcap out of Ralphie's hand, causing the contents to go flying and Ralphie to drop his infamous F-bomb - subsequent punishment for which will be a mouth full of soap.

    A historical anachronism was revealed once viewers identified Mr. Parker's car as a 1938 Oldsmobile - which, contrary to what the old man said, used wheel bolts instead of lug nuts. Used by many older cars and German models for wheel attachment, wheel bolts feature a long threaded part that passes through the wheel and brake rotor hat. Lug nuts, on the other hand, are short and screw onto studs mounted in the hub.

    Although this may be a minor inaccuracy, the error becomes more obvious as Ralphie watches the hubcap and nuts flying out of his hands and the narrator describes the moment as if immortalized in his memory: "For one brief moment, I saw all the bolts silhouetted against the lights of the traffic, and then they were gone."

  • Mr. Parker Is Upset The White Sox Traded Bill Dietrich, But He Wasn’t Released From The Team Until 1946  on Random Inaccuracy In 'A Christmas Story’s Version Of '40s

    (#12) Mr. Parker Is Upset The White Sox Traded Bill Dietrich, But He Wasn’t Released From The Team Until 1946

    Viewers first meet Ralphie's parents as his mother makes the family breakfast and his father reads the paper in hopes of solving a puzzle to win a prize. As Mr. Parker enters the kitchen, he complains about a trade made by the Chicago White Sox in which they got rid of "Bullfrog, the only player they've got..." Distracted by her chores and indifferent to sports, Mrs. Parker tells him, "That's nice."

    Bullfrog, also known as Bill Dietrich, was a real pitcher who did play for the White Sox. He had an inconsistent career and suffered from a variety of ailments, with injuries to his elbow, thumb, and leg, forcing him to spend a lot of time on the shelf and in rehabilitation.

    In real life, however, his career with the White Sox didn't end until the team released him in 1946. Although the team considered trading him a year earlier, it was another broken thumb - and Dietrich's failure to travel to Chicago for treatment - that ended his White Sox career for good.

  • A Student Wears What Appears To Be A Digital Watch on Random Inaccuracy In 'A Christmas Story’s Version Of '40s

    (#13) A Student Wears What Appears To Be A Digital Watch

    After Ralphie's friend Flick accepts the "triple dog dare" to lick a flag pole, gets his tongue stuck on it, and gets abandoned by his classmates after the school bell rings, Ralphie's teacher asks the class why Flick hasn't returned. Shot-reverse shots between Miss Shields and Ralphie show a student sitting behind Ralphie wearing a long-sleeved shirt. As the camera cuts back to one brief shot of Ralphie, the student has elbows on his desk and his sleeves rolled down, revealing what appears to be a digital watch.

    Wristwatches in the 1940s were made with a strap usually made of brown or black leather with a metal case. The student's watch, however, appears to be similar to the chunky black watches made of cheap plastic materials that were introduced in the late 1970s and became popular in the 1980s.

  • A Female Army Member Is Among The Higbee's Window Crowd, But Her Uniform Wasn't Created Until At Least 1941 on Random Inaccuracy In 'A Christmas Story’s Version Of '40s

    (#14) A Female Army Member Is Among The Higbee's Window Crowd, But Her Uniform Wasn't Created Until At Least 1941

    As Ralphie and his friends push through the crowd outside Higbee's to get a better view of the store's toy display, they push in front of a couple dressed in military uniforms. If the events of the movie did take place in 1939 or 1940, uniformed members of the military on the street would not have been all that unusual, as WWII was just beginning in Europe at the time. The uniform the woman wears, however, wasn't created until at least 1941 - and her hat wasn't issued to women until around 1943.

    Although women have served as nurses since the American Revolution and worked in communication units during WWI, they were unable to actually enlist in the military until WWII. Because the army needed more recruits, it launched the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) in 1941 to help with shortages in military personnel - although women were still not allowed to join the combat. The WAAC became the Women's Army Corps (WAC) in 1943 when it became an official part of the Army. Although a woman may have been a part of the military in 1939, she would not have been wearing this uniform.

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A Christmas Story is a family comedy film directed by Bob Clark. It was released on the Christmas holiday in 1983 and was adapted from a semi-fiction anecdote published by Jean Shepherd in 1966, and some of the stories in the movie come from his book published in 1971. The movie tells the boy's perseverance and adult's absurd behavior, the audience will laugh in mild humor and pungent irony.

The random tool lists 14 inaccuracies in A Christmas Story that was a popular movie, although the era of the movie has never been explicitly mentioned, people infer that the movie set up in the 1940s based on many details and features in the movie.

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