PHILEBRITY

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All Hail And Fear The Litterbug Of Philly's 1950's Clean Streets Campaign

In the late-1950's, the city embarked on an ambitious anti-littering crusade aimed to halt the then-rising amounts of garbage on the streets. To do so, they employed the use of a person dressed as a litterbug, who was subsequently photographed being manhandled by Philly cops -- foreshadowing! -- placed in garbage cans and trucks, and overall demonstrating why those who carelessly throw their refuse on the ground should be punished for doing so. I imagine the trash problem of the era is downright quaint compared to that of 2016, yet the thought remains that perhaps what the efforts of Keep Philadelphia Beautiful, Axis Philly, Sweep, et al really need to yield everlasting results are a lovable mascot who vaguely remembers one of the characters from Mad's Spy vs. Spy feature. I'm open to suggestions so long as you keep the "Filthadelphia" grandstanding to a minimum.