Let’s get personal

Before social media, before dating apps, there were personal ads, a department of newspapers’ classified advertising sections that spiced up endless gray columns selling rooms for rent, babysitting services, and “slide rules, new and used.”

A vogue for “personals” rose in the Michigan Daily in the late 1950s and receded in the early ’70s. Ironic and offbeat, sophomoric and silly, romantic and racy, inappropriate and occasionally even intellectual, they offer tiny windows into those fast-changing times.

If any trend persisted, it was insecure guys seeking unattainable girls, often in the wake of a chance encounter that lit a flame in a guy’s romantic imagination. Another perennial: Guys apologizing for dumb things they did the night before. And sometimes the girls replied.

Enjoy this slideshow, which features 40 of the most captivating personals we could find. Most of the ads “speak” for themselves. Others feature captions that provide a little context.

(Click on the arrows in the bottom right corner to view at full screen.)

My back pages

We’d love to hear from anyone who placed or, better yet, answered any of these personal ads! Did anyone find love? Do tell.