Friday photo(s): Male nudity, the WW2 army, and advertising

Last week, Buzzfeed's copyranter posted a few rather "steamy" and - from today's viewpoint - "homoerotic" towel advertisements from the 1940s. The interesting thing about these towel ads (see more at Copyranter's page), is that the image was based on stories from soldiers themselves - which served as the inspiration for the rather uninspired copy (by today's standards). In the below ad, the story accompanying the drawing of sixteen men in various states of undress is:

TRUE TOWEL TALES: No. 1. TOLD TO US BY A DOCTOR IN THE MEDICAL CORPS

ARMY DAY - CROCODILES KEEP OUT!

Did you ever have to put a net across your bathtub - and share it with a crocodile? Sometimes, according to this med corps captain, you have to do that for a path - in the South Pacific Islands. Since "crocks" have finicky palates, with a partiality for legs, the kids put two nets across a stream an weight them down. Thereafter the "crocks" are on the outside, looking in!

You might not enjoy the bathing facilities of our boys in the service, but you'd heartily approve of their towels. For in many of their service packs are those same husky, durable Cannons you're so proud to use in your own home.... You know how welcome a bath and a good towel are after a trying day. You can imagine how welcome to our men after long stints of marching or combat!

They need them more than we do. That's why there are fewer towels for us. That's why, too, it's important that we take good care of those we have.

When did we get SOOO prudish?