The history of fuzzy dice

[Watchdog]

Most of us classic car owners have them hanging off the rear view mirror and I one day as I was driving home, I wondered why. Where did this practice originate?
It wasn't too hard to find a few theory's and this is what I found:

During WWII, pilots, who are somewhat superstitious, often carried and hung dice in their cockpits with sevens showing in order to bring them luck. This practiced carried over from the war when pilots came home and hung those dice in their civilian cockpits (their cars) but often in the hotter climates the plastic dice melted so they replaced them with a flock material and from that, fuzzy dice were born. It is said that they are the first items sold to be specifically hung from the rear view mirror and it is said that this practice dates back to the 40's and was at its height in the 70's and 80's. Today, about 75% of any 50's car you see at a meet or car show have them. Another version is that they were an emblem of danger rather than a talisman against it. It is said that the same pilots that hung them in their cockpits came home and gave birth to the hot rod and motorcycle culture (this much we know is true) and many engaged in illegal street racing and it was this "dicing with death" that spawned dash board dice and from that...fuzzy dice.

However, after speaking with several people who grew up in that era, all denied it being a fad or a customary practice in those days.
So, any of or seasoned car enthusiasts want to chime in? Or, even better, do we have any pilots from the war, sons or grandsons that can back this up?

[r66ss]

Most of us classic car owners have them hanging off the rear view mirror and I one day as I was driving home, I wondered why. Where did this practice originate?
It wasn't too hard to find a few theory's and this is what I found:

During WWII, pilots, who are somewhat superstitious, often carried and hung dice in their cockpits with sevens showing in order to bring them luck. This practiced carried over from the war when pilots came home and hung those dice in their civilian cockpits (their cars) but often in the hotter climates the plastic dice melted so they replaced them with a flock material and from that, fuzzy dice were born. It is said that they are the first items sold to be specifically hung from the rear view mirror and it is said that this practice dates back to the 40's and was at its height in the 70's and 80's. Today, about 75% of any 50's car you see at a meet or car show have them. Another version is that they were an emblem of danger rather than a talisman against it. It is said that the same pilots that hung them in their cockpits came home and gave birth to the hot rod and motorcycle culture (this much we know is true) and many engaged in illegal street racing and it was this "dicing with death" that spawned dash board dice and from that...fuzzy dice.

However, after speaking with several people who grew up in that era, all denied it being a fad or a customary practice in those days.
So, any of or seasoned car enthusiasts want to chime in? Or, even better, do we have any pilots from the war, sons or grandsons that can back this up?

Thanks for posting and sharing this :party0031:

[chevman57]

Neat story, either way. I never give the beginning much thought. I just thought they looked neat.
Terry

[557B210]

Started driving in the mid sixties....Some guys had dice, some skulls, some graduation tassles....I had a shrunken head. :eek:

http://www.salangome.com/images/shrunken_head/shrunken_head_med_best_dark_2.jpg

[55mike]

When I was in high school in the early 70's, it was pretty kewl to put a garter (fancy-lacy) on the tachometer..

[chevman57]

it was pretty kewl to put a garter (fancy-lacy) on the tachometer..

I had the garter from our wedding hung on my Chevelle mirror for years after our wedding, which was 30yrs ago today.
Terry

[craig32]

I had the garter from our wedding hung on my Chevelle mirror for years after our wedding, which was 30yrs ago today.
Terry

Congrats Terry, I'm 5 years behind ya - silver anniversary in Sept. :happy0030:

[Jedi_CGB]

My great uncle was a mechanic for a squadron of P-40 Warhawks in WWII.
I've studied his pictures quite a bit (aviation enthusiest) & some of the shots of the cockpits back this theory up.
I don't have any of the photos, not sure where they ended up after my great aunt passed.

[MightyMouse57]

This is interesting, I never gave it much thought before.

[petes83usa]

This is interesting, I never gave it much thought before.

Same here ......:cool:

[mickeywestsr]

Had the dice in my 55 back in 1959-60. Now I have a shrunken head. When asked what it for.....I reply that its the head of the last person caught touching the 55.

[carls 56]

cool story wdog. have them in all my old cars. just think they are cool.:party0031: .........................congrats terry! :five:

[petes83usa]

I had the garter from our wedding hung on my Chevelle mirror for years after our wedding, which was 30yrs ago today.
Terry

Congratulations Terry, Wife and I hit 30th. March 8th. this year....Guess we must be doing something right !...:party0031: :sign0020: :party0031:

[Redbird]

You could win your girlfriend a pair of dice at the local carnivals back in the early 60's, and where else would you hang them?

[petes83usa]

You could win your girlfriend a pair of dice at the local carnivals back in the early 60's, and where else would you hang them?

Good point..........:tu

[belairdave]

Started driving in the mid sixties....Some guys had dice, some skulls, some graduation tassles....I had a shrunken head. :eek:

http://www.salangome.com/images/shrunken_head/shrunken_head_med_best_dark_2.jpg

Yup, I've got the shrunken head on my mirror too... Got dice on my license plate frame, radio knobs, valves stems, turn signal and shift lever... Was gonna get "NO DICE" for my license plate but didn't because they wanted to put a Casino here and a group called No Dice campaigned against it and I didn't want people thinking that was me... Later, Dave

[auggie56]

S
http://www.salangome.com/images/shrunken_head/shrunken_head_med_best_dark_2.jpg

Hey, where did you get my wife's ex boyfriends head from ? I thought no one would ever find it. :sign0020:

[belairdave]

When I was in high school in the early 70's, it was pretty kewl to put a garter (fancy-lacy) on the tachometer..

Great minds think alike as I have one on my tach too... Later, Dave

[belairdave]

I had the garter from our wedding hung on my Chevelle mirror for years after our wedding, which was 30yrs ago today.
Terry

Congratulations Terry, on the 19th we will celebrate our 30th too... We got married on her birthday... Later, Dave

[belairdave]

Had the dice in my 55 back in 1959-60. Now I have a shrunken head. When asked what it for.....I reply that its the head of the last person caught touching the 55.

Same answer here Mickey... Mine has a name, "Shorty":cool: Later, Dave

[Booty]

Had the dice in my 55 back in 1959-60. Now I have a shrunken head. When asked what it for.....I reply that its the head of the last person caught touching the 55.

Kinda reminds me of a License Plate Frame I saw at a local Car show that read: "You Hit Me and We Go To The Dirt!!"

[petealan]

I've been married 30 years too...just to different women.

[petes83usa]

I've been married 30 years too...just to different women.

........:happy0030::happy0030::happy0030:

[jeffs55]

I know this is an old thread, but I googled the history of fuzzy dice and found this thread.
I don't care for the fuzzy dice, personally. I guess because they are so prevalent. Lots of puts TT2 wheels out there, I have Centerline Warriors.
Lots of billet, I take it off or paint it.
Green cars, mine's deep purple.
You get the idea...
I thought about a shrunken head or a Tiki head. I wanted something "different".
Ended up with this. It's actually an antenna topper that I repurposed.

http://pic100.picturetrail.com:80/VOL1135/4322794/9103947/353817376.jpg

Back when my older siblings were graduating high school (mid/late 60s early 70s) they would put their graduation tassel on the rear view.
I did mine in the mid/late seventies for a few years.
The sun was starting to kill it, so I put it away.
I remember seeing garters, alligator clips with feathers and/or beads :smokin:, etc hanging too.

[mountain_motor]

I had my graduation tassle on my mirror. Finally got up the nerve to ask a hot girl in my class to go out that Summer. She said it looked nerdy, so I took it off and threw it in the back seat. She felt bad and immediately turned, and partially crawled over the seat to retrieve it
That view ...and memory ...is burned into my brain still today :) :)

[jeffs55]

What kind of car was it?
Listen to me....girl's crawling over the back of the seat and I'm thikning about the car...
:rolleyes:
I seem to be like that though. My brother and I would be driving along and he'd say:
"WOW! DID YOU SEE THAT GIRL?"
I was looking the other way...at a car....:sign0020:

[angs1957]

I remember the shruken head, garter belt and now I too have the dices :tu

[Malkinn]

I had my grad tassel in my 1972 Chevelle Malibu. God I loved that car. Had it until a kid in a brand new F**d F150 rearended it while I was at a stoplight and he was doing 35 braking from 60. Amazingly I was able to drive away but he wasn't since he snapped his drivetrain! :sign0020: Still want to smack that kid to this day and that was back in '94 when he did it. :blowtiedb:

[mickeywestsr]

Used to have the dice. Now I have a shrunken head.....when asked about it I tell everyone its the head of the last person that got in the 55 un-invited...:tu
:gba:
bowtie-trifive

[craig32]

When I get my 55 finished, I'll have to hang a parking pass for work from my mirror, my 56 pickup already has one. . . :rolleyes:

[jeffs55]

Yeah, I've got a work parking pass on mine as well.
I like to drive it to work now and then. When the weather is nice.
But I don't count parking passes as decoration.
I actually scanned my parking pass and printed out several for all my cars and trucks.
Depending on which one I drive, I've got one in there already.
They may not like it (if they knew) but the number leads them to me, which is the whole reason for the thing in the first place.

[55 210 HT Sydney]

Cool Post:tu

[RAD57]

String bikini top.:)

[chevy5557]

Funny, I found my graduation tassel in a box I had stored 4 years ago when we moved to Florida, got a bigger house and moved again, nice to have 2 garages! My tassel was missing the Liberty Bell that used to be attached to it, since I graduated in 1976, Bicentennial. Had dice in my old 55, was kind of annoying how they swung around.

[Georgia 56]

I've been married 30 years too...just to different women.

10 roger on this Pete,an I "Test Drove " a few of em,too!!lol.Love the fuzzy dice,I have a set my daughter got me in late 80s,been on I dont know how many cars,fixed the cord several times,they are now on Sherman,my 70 Catalina 4dr ht.Gonna go on Belle if I ever get that far.Dave:bowtier:

[jblack55]

This is interesting, I never gave it much thought before.





Thanks for the Info:flag6::flag6:

[57-Z06]

I have no idea where the idea came from, but I've had fuzzy dice hanging from my mirror both as a kid, and now.

[belle1957]

Check out Belle'sdice - first I had black & white then white with black dots then orange which I like the best with her Sierra Gold ex

[BelAirLugosi]

Id never really thought about their origin either. Interesting stories whether they are right or not.

I have a small bottle of 85% proof, black, Absinth hanging off my rear view mirror.

[jeffs55]

I have a small bottle of 85% proof, black, Absinth hanging off my rear view mirror.

Absinthe (i/ˈæbsɪnθ/ AB-sinth or /ˈæbsænθ/ AB-santh; French: [absɛ̃t] ) is historically described as a distilled, highly alcoholic (45–74% ABV / 90-148 proof) beverage.
It is an anise-flavoured spirit derived from botanicals, including the flowers and leaves of Artemisia absinthium (a.k.a. "grande wormwood"), together with green anise, sweet fennel, and other medicinal and culinary herbs.

Anus-flavored? :scared0005:

[Rick's Tropical Delight]

someone asked me the other day about the history of the fuzzy dice so i looked it up on wiki...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuzzy_dice

can anyone confirm this part?:
"Modern usage of the dice has emerged in youth circles to indicate that the vehicle has been used for relations and to indicate a commissioning of the vehicle to ones peers."

[enigma57]

Never heard of that one. When I was a young fellow, having a couple of small pillows in your package tray meant you were 'on the prowl'.

A pair of panties hanging from your rear view mirror meant that you'd scored that evening...... If you were indiscreet. A gentleman never tells.

Happy Motoring,

Harry

[Moon Rocket]

I think it’s cute to hear you guys talking about having your tassels hanging from the mirror of your first cars.

Obviously none of you guys was in the fifth grade when you got your driver’s licenses like me!
:sign0020:

[hamsman]

:) About four years ago I decided to make my own version of 'fuzzy dice'.
I've attached a photo of them hanging in my "56 post, always get comments on them.

Don, aka.....the hamsman

[max46]

I use to have Brody knob,or suicide knob on my steering wheel during my teen years. The ones that had a scanty clad girl in the knob were my favorites. What a suprise huh??

72461 72463

:sign0020:

[Lloyd's 55]

I use to have Brody knob,or suicide knob on my steering wheel during my teen years. The ones that had a scanty clad girl in the knob were my favorites. What a suprise huh??

72461 72463

:sign0020:

Seems you would have grown up like most of us did. Apparently not. I cut out my girlfriends pic of her head and glued it on mine. Thought it was cute when I was a stupid kid, not now.

[Snappy]

I can verify that military pilots tend to be superstitious, whether it is just adherence to tradition or actual belief depends on the person. It isn’t a stretch to say that carrying a pair of dice was standard for members of a particular squadron or base. Finding dice references from WWII is easy, and since the Air Force was born in 1947 that is the era that most of the traditions came from.

http://www.pacificwrecks.com/aircraft/b-24/42-40505/1943/noseart5x5.jpg

http://www.nose-art.net/315th-III/Loaded.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/87/90_FS.jpg/561px-90_FS.jpg

I asked an old Air Force hot rod friend this question and he shrugged and said it sounded reasonable. That fuzzy dice are an advertisement of promiscuity is laughable. I've never heard someone say such a thing - undergarments, on the other hand, do signify such activities. When I was in high school I had a garter belt I caught at a cousin’s wedding on my mirror (which I don’t think I understood the innuendo) as well as a tassel. I’ve seen Hawaiian lays and stuffed animals hanging from mirrors, as well as CDs which are kind of annoying. Oddly enough, the legality of hanging something from your mirror made it to Connecticut’s Supreme Court (link (http://articles.courant.com/2010-08-10/news/hc-supreme-court-crucifix-0810-20100809_1_drunken-driver-state-police-trooper)).

[Rick's Tropical Delight]

'to indicate that the vehicle has been used for relations'

:sheep: :party0024: :innocent0006:

[57 4dr]

Where I grew up as a young teen, (Early 60's) everyone had fuzzy dice in thier car, but the color was the indicator to the girls as to your intentions or could indicate your "reputation". White dice said you were a good guy, black dice said your were a bad boy, and red dice said you had a little bit of the devil in you! Some chicks of the day would consider what kind of guy you were by the color of your dice!!! :sign0020: