BurmaShave Travel Games

Who knew the background of the old Burma Shave signs? Beginning in the mid-1920’s, a brushless shaving cream was advertised by jingles on a series of five or six small red road signs spaced about 200 feet apart, so they had to be read individually. The last sign was always the company name (see picture). The company did not use professional jingle writers; they got them through national contests, awarding $100 for each one used. Some years they would get 50,000 entries. By the time I was old enough to read them, the product was waning, but the signs were still entertaining on the way to Memphis. One I remember is: “WITHIN THIS VALE / OF TOIL / AND SIN / YOUR HEAD GROWS BALD / BUT NOT YOUR CHIN / Burma Shave. A group of signs with this jingle is preserved at the Smithsonian as a cultural icon. Source – The Verse by the Side of the Road, by Rowsome. Submitted by Ray Harding.