Miss America Pageant

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Do you ever watch the Miss America Pageant? I found out some interesting things about the pageant down through the years. I thought I would share some of those things. One thing I found was that the pageant began as a gimmick, at the end of the summer season, to attract tourists to Atlantic City, New Jersey, in the year 1921. The very first winner was Margaret Gorman, who was only sixteen years old. At first, the contestants represented cities instead of states. It wasn’t until 1959, that each state had one contestant to represent their state. Just a swimsuit contest was all that was involved and later a talent contest was added and then interviews with the contestants. The swimsuits covered up most of the body. Nothing like the bikinis worn today. I couldn't find a photo of the old-fashioned swim suits. I do have some of my aunts, but not sure how to upload them. One thing I found out was that the use of live animals in the talent competition was banned in 1949 because Miss Montana and her horse almost fell off the stage. In 1954, the pageant was televised for the first time and after that, became more popular. In spite of a lot of criticism over the years, the pageant remains a part of American culture. What do you think about the Miss America Pageant and other similar contests?