Dates
- Cover date
- October 1959
- On sale
- 1959
- Pages
- 52
Editions and covers
- Original editionSource ↗
Creators
Stories
- The Most Important ¼ Inch in Smoking Today · Parliamatch · 1 pages
Parody of ad for Parliament cigarettes.
- Spot That Plug! · Dishonorable Mention Dept. · 3 pages
Analyzes how television show scripts have subtle product plugs and predicts that in the future we will see shows consisting of nothing but a recitation of brand names.
- How to Fight the Small Car Threat · Fix Their Volkswagen Dept. · 2 pages
Traces the history of how small cars became long cars, and what automakers should do to satisfy the public's new demand for small cars.
- NBC Plays CBS in the TV Baseball League · Afoul off the Screen Dept. · 4 pages
A wacky look at a baseball game played by television stars playing in character.
- The Mad Time Capsule · Let's We Forget Dept. · 1 pages
Stuff that Mad would put in a time capsule... to be left buried.
- The Nearsighted Man and the Telephone · 2 pages
A man mistakes another man for a pay phone, and another man retrieves the dime from the "phone" man's mouth.
- Where Song-Writers Get Their Inspiration · No Muse Is Good Muse Dept. · 3 pages
Everyday inspirations that may have occurred for famous songs, from advertisements, news articles, letters, etc.
- Women in Whiskey Ads · Ladies of Distinction Dept. · 4 pages
Parodies of ads for Old Crow; White Horse; Canadian Club; Seagram's 7 Crown; Four Roses; and Old Grand-Dad whiskeys. Shows subtle ways women are being introduced into ads, where that trend will go, and predicts that children will be next to be included.
- Scenes We'd Like to See: The Big Break · 1 pages
A chorus girl gets a chance to fill in for the star singer on a play's opening night... and she stinks.
- Mad Playgrounds That Prepare Kids for Adult Life · 3 pages
Dave explores ideas for playgrounds that will make kids just as miserable as they will become as adults.
- Changing Meanings for Fun & Profit · Out-of-Context Dept. · 3 pages
A look at how people in various businesses could use the Hollywood and Broadway practice of excerpting from bad reviews to create more favorable reviews.
- What Our Teenagers Really Think About · Don't Beat This Generation Dept. · 2 pages
It really is true that all teenagers think about is the opposite sex.
- TV Ads We'd Like to See · 1 pages
Parody of Allstate Insurance commercial, featuring Ill-State Insurance.
- Blue Confessions · Bleating Hearts Dept. · 3 pages
Parody of True Confessions type of magazine, showing how the stories are not as spectacular as the misleading headlines.
- Practical Greeting Cards · Maybe Happy Returns Dept. · 2 pages
Greeting cards that might be sent by typical greeting card recipients before an event, to inform people of the upcoming event and need to send a gift.
- On the Beach · 1 pages
The skinny guy at the beach does some instant exercise and has a surprise for the bully.
- The Night Peter Gone Cracked · Cops and Throbbers Dept. · 4 pages
Parody of Peter Gunn TV show, showing how the character would react if not his usual cool, suave self.
- The Big House Beacon · Rock 'N Parole Dept. · 5 pages
What if a prison published a high-school yearbook type of publication? A look at the class of '59.
- The New Chair · 1 pages
A nervous, shaky man gets a new vibrating chair.
- Marvin Talks about Secret Ingredients · Marginal Marvin Dept. · 0 pages
Marvin's theory is that the secret ingredient to one product is really its competitor's product.
- Nothing Stops It - Not Even Power Brakes · Body by Fishey · 1 pages
Parody of General Motors Body by Fisher ads. Cars mentioned are Severolet, Pontiarc, Upsmobile, Buckit, and Cadiljac.
Characters
Reprinted in
The Worst from MAD (1958), Greasy Mad Stuff (1963), The Completely Mad Don Martin (1974), More Trash from Mad (1958), Mad Special [Mad Super Special] (1970), Mad Follies (1963), Dave Berg's Mad Trash (1977), Dave Berg's Mad Trash (1981), Mad about the Fifties (1997), Mad for Decades (2007), Mad's Greatest Artists: Don Martin (2014), Mad (2018)