{Editor’s Note: We are pleased to be joined by our buddy Lee from Disney Nouns today! Lee is excellent at discovering little known tidbits of Disney History, and today he writes about the connection between Monsanto and Disney. Please give him a hearty welcome!}
So who remembers Monsanto? You may better remember the attraction at Disneyland that they sponsored, The House of the Future, that was open from 1957 to 1967. The attraction offered a tour of a home of the future, set in the year 1986, and featured such futuristic household appliances as the microwave oven!
The attraction hosted over 20 million visitors before it closed after Monsanto shifted their sponsorship to a different attraction, Adventure Thru Inner Space. But just who was Monsanto back then? What else did they do? I have the answer!
I was watching a special edition DVD of the musical Camelot the other day and it had a feature showing the movie premiere. The cool thing was that this feature also showed the original commercials that played on the TV the night the premiere aired. One of the commercials was for a line of garments designed after the medieval costumes from the film.
Yup, ladies could wear a dress inspired by Guinevere herself! Horse not included.
These dresses were designed and produced out of Stevetex fabric by Stevens of Monsanto Blue ‘C’ Nylon.
The line was called ‘The Then Look of Camelot’. Yeah, I don’t get it either.
So Monsanto was into making fabrics at the time they sponsored the House of the Future. So likely if you had the chance to tour this marvel, all of the interior fabrics, whether on furniture or window treatments, would have come from Monsanto. How about a vintage Monsanto commercial for nylon:
Today Monsanto is at the center of controversy over its genetic manipulation of seeds for food production. But back in the day, it was all about futuristic houses, medieval fashion, and dangerous transportation of textiles. Good times!
I hope you enjoyed learning a bit more about this company and its place in Disney history.
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