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Rawhide

One of CBC Radio's most popular characters, Rawhide was invented on the spot after Max Ferguson's boss told him he had to host After-Breakfast Breakdown, a cowboy music show. The character proved so popular that Rawhide was spun out to its own show of political satire and commentary lasting 17 years. Audience approval trumped critics labelling the character blasphemous, sacrilege and a boring sort of nincompoop. Beginning in 1946, Rawhide ran six days a week at 8:30 a.m., moving to 6:40 p.m. in 1951 until its end.

Cold War: 'Nuclear warfare can be fun'

Broadcast Date: Nov. 9, 1961

Stuff cotton wadding into your ears, hide under the kitchen chair, throw yourself under a pile of leaves — that's CBC humorist Max Ferguson's advice in the event of nuclear war. Ferguson pokes fun at the Tocsin B exercise, the Emergency Measures Organization evacuation test. Don't worry, he advises in this radio broadcast, nuclear warfare can be fun.

Cold War: 'Nuclear warfare can be fun'

• The fallout shelter symbol of a black circle with three yellow triangles positioned in a pinwheel formation was designed at the University of California at Berkeley's Radiation Lab in 1946. The symbol deviates slightly from the radiation icon of three propellers spinning from an atomic centre.

Cold War: 'Nuclear warfare can be fun'

Medium: Radio

Program: Rawhide

Broadcast Date: Nov. 9, 1961

Guest(s):


Host: Max Ferguson

Duration: 14:05

Photo: National Archives PA-111381

Last updated:
Nov. 10, 2010


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All clips from this program

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7 results available  

MediaTitle and dateDescription
Radio
14:05 		Nov. 9, 1961
Cold War: 'Nuclear warfare can be fun' 		Hide under your kitchen chair, pull the covers over your head - Max Ferguson has some fun ideas for coping with the nuclear threat.
Radio
6:45 		May 19, 1961
Humour: Diefenbaker wins fish and chips for apartheid stand 		Max Ferguson makes fun of Canada's role in the South African apartheid.
Radio
14:37 		March 24, 1961
Easter Bunny hopping mad! 		The Easter Bunny divulges his secrets about how he makes chocolate eggs, his rivalry with Santa Claus and holiday copyright law.
Radio
14:33 		Feb. 24, 1961
Max Ferguson's spoof on fluoride 		CBC's Rawhide talks to "Canadians" about the fluoride debate in Toronto.
Radio
14:07 		July 22, 1960
Cold War: The Three Little Fallout Shelters 		Max Ferguson pokes fun at the do-it-yourself fallout shelters.
Radio
19:48 		Feb. 26, 1960
RCI: Rawhide salutes the shortwave service 		Max Ferguson takes a comical look at the "voice of Canada" on its 15th anniversary.
Radio
14:33
Max Ferguson's spoof on fluoride 		CBC's Rawhide talks to "Canadians" about the fluoride debate in Toronto.
7 results available