[One of the Silverback Davids (Arid Zone SBs) posted a video on Facebook, noting that it got weird around the 1:15 mark. “What could be interesting, funny, or weird about a song called “Solid Potato Salad?” Now I know, and I will add that “weird” is an understatement.
He also posted the following interesting factoid in the wake of Elon Musk becoming the planet’s first trillionaire.
MILLION / BILLION / TRILLION
A million seconds ago, it was June 1, 2026.
A billion seconds ago, it was September of 1994.
A trillion seconds ago, it was 30,000 BCE, at the peak of the last ice age, and humans were sharing the earth with Neanderthals, wooly mammoths, and saber-tooth cats.
SB SM]
Who needs AI when the real world has acts like this.
BTW, courtesy of Gemini, Google’s AI gremlin, here’s more on the ladies Ross:
The Ross Sisters were a trio of American entertainers—Aggie, Maggie, and Elmira Ross—best known for their jaw‑dropping acrobatic dance performances during the 1940s.
🌟 Who Were They?
- Born in Texas (Elmira 1923, Maggie 1925, Aggie 1927).
- Raised in a musically inclined family and trained from a young age.
- They combined tight vocal harmonies with extreme contortion, acrobatics, and ballet, creating a very unusual act for the era.
🎬 1944: Their Big Moment
Their most famous appearance came in the 1944 MGM musical film Broadway Rhythm.
They performed the number:
“Solid Potato Salad”
It starts like a fairly standard Andrews Sisters‑style harmony tune…
Then, about a minute in, things get progressively wilder.
What made it legendary:
- Seamless harmonizing while executing extreme splits and backbends.
- Walking down stairs in full splits.
- Rotating their torsos nearly 180 degrees.
- A finale involving synchronized back‑arching flips.
The performance is often described as:
- Mesmerizing
- Surreal
- Slightly unsettling
- Decades ahead of its time
For many modern viewers, it feels like something out of David Lynch or Cirque du Soleil—except it’s 1944 MGM.
🎭 Why They’re Not More Famous
Despite their talent:
- They didn’t get sustained major studio promotion.
- They toured extensively instead of becoming recurring film stars.
- They later transitioned into nightclub performance circuits.
- By the 1950s, the act faded from mainstream visibility.
In the internet era, their “Solid Potato Salad” clip went viral, bringing them cult status.
💡 Cultural Impact
Today, the Ross Sisters are:
- Considered pioneers of combining acrobatics and close harmony.
- Frequently cited as one of the most astonishing performances of classic Hollywood musicals.
- A recurring “Wait…what did I just watch?” discovery on YouTube and social media.
If you’d like, I can also give you:
- A short, punchy blog-ready summary
- A deeper dive into how MGM used specialty acts in wartime musicals
- Or context about 1940s harmony groups they were compared to (like the Andrews Sisters)