Teen Scene: 1001 Groovy Hints and Tips (1970)

Editors of New Ideas for Teens

Pyramid Books

Typical advice book for young girls on how to be popular, fashionable, and generally groovy (although a brief chapter advises boys on things that will attract a girl's attention).  Most notable, however, are the insights provided into the vaguely occult courting rituals practiced by teenage girls in the late '60s.  For example:

Want to make sure whether or not he loves you?  The following is as good a method as any.  Place side by side a glowing ember and an ice cube.  If the ice puts out the ember, then his heart is cold.  But if the ember melts the ice, you've won him!

To keep him always true to you, secretly dig up some earth from his footsteps and put it into a pot.  Plant in it yellow marigold seeds--the symbol of faithfulness.

To learn if he's true to you, gather two acorns.  Scratch his initials on one, yours on the other.  Toss them into a pond, river or lake.  If they float close together--yes, he is; if they float apart--sorry 'bout that.

To dream of the man you'll marry: On a Friday night invite one or more of your closest friends to bake a "Dumb Cake."  It should be made of flour, water, eggs, and salt, and is so named because complete and absolute silence must be maintained during the entire making!  When the cake is done, divide it equally among you, and walk backward to bed, eating the cake.  During the night--providing no word has been spoken from beginning to end--you will see your future husband's face in a dream.

No doubt the "dumb cake" was invented by parents searching for a way to keep a slumber party of teenage girls quiet for a couple of hours.

Who out there is going to step up and write the definitive history of teenage girls and the occult?