Cambodacious

July 10 1970

Twenty five years and two days ago, LIFE magazine was published with two headlines: One about a an unpopular conflict in a far away place, and another about ass cheeks... They could have at least made the chick in the bikini a lil oriental! The inside is coloured with foreign car adverts, touting their newest technology to counter the gas crisis, american car ads, unapologetically flexing their size and muscle, letters from the middle of the country chastising the "dope-sodden, nutty, bearded misfits" - specifically hollywood stars and college students - whom were destroying the values of our fine nation, and a hint of uncertainty in the president in every paragraph of every article... In thirty five years the only noticeable difference is that we've replaced the word negro with urban. But I love ephemera, and this is a classic specimen. As you read the description below that accompanied the cover article, remember that LIFE magazine was enormously popular in 1970, and there's a very decent chance your father rubbed one out to Katie o'Pace of Ventura, Californa...

Scientists aren't sure what makes California Girls look the way they do. Some say it's the sunshine, others all that orange juice. A few even claim that living near the San Andreas fault somehow firms up the muscles and tightens the skin. However it happens, California Girls have an undeniably healthy look about them, and when summer's heat drives them out of the hills and onto the beaches, the look is very nearly Total. Although it is estimated that each California Girl owns 2.5 bathing suits, it is difficult these days to find anyone wearing mroe than .5 of an outfit. This benefits everyone. Girls get a well-nigh allover tan, bikini makers get $25 an issue for a bandanna's worth of material, and spectators get a heartening view of one of California's most remarkable natural resources: youthful exuberance.