Today we have pageants like Miss Universe and Miss America. We’ve come a long way since the first modern day pageant took place in Scotland in 1859. Along the way though, some quite strange pageants popped up.
Miss Slide Rule 1958
Miss Real Cool and Miss Plumbing 1958
Miss Los Angeles County Fireman's Ball 1958
Miss Out Of This World 1960 Flying Saucers Convention Los Angeles
Miss Atomic Energy gets a traffic ticket 1951
Atomic-Themed 1950s Beauty Queens
Hat Tip Atomic Samba
Miss Muscle Beach 1954
Miss T-Square 1952 (Los Angeles convention of architects and engineers)
Queen of the New York Press Photographers Association, 1951
Catfish Queen, 1954
Blueberry Queen, 1955
Miss Magic Marker - 1954
Frankfurter Queen, 1956
(Sausage queen would be a really awkward title)
Hebrew National, the brand featured in the first picture, still exists
International Posture Queen, 1957
NYC Donut Queen, 1957
"Mmmm, donut queen." - Homer Simpson.
Laugh Queen, 1961
Queen of Anti-Triskaidekaphobia, 1963
Triskaidekaphobia is fear of the number thirteen
Queen of the Pet Festival, 1964
Queen of Candy, 1964
Hat Tip Vintage Everyday
Outdoor Health Queen, 1967
Miss Pussycat 1965