December 7, 1954. America wins top prize at the Constitution Fair in Bangkok.

While the U.S. stood aside, the Soviet union has been using the world's trade fairs to peddle its politics with exhibits that are shrewd mixtures of commerce and propaganda. But, on December 7, 1954 the U.S. abandoned its snooty attitude and moved actively into combat in Bangkok.

Because the American entry in the fair, designed by Worthen Paxton, was a last-minute decision and had to be hastly organized, it came close to disaster. A lovely tower of balloons, major feature of the exhibit, blew down because of freak wind conditions. A steam fountain that was to have bravely billowed up in graceful clouds managed only to puff fitfully.

But the balloon tower was rebuilt, lower but lovely still, and the U.S. went on to take first prize for original design at the fair. Crowds came to gape at themselves shown on a television screen, at toy electric trains operating over a complicated track layout. The big show-stopper was Cinerama, which packed the 2,000-seat open-air theater twice nightly, scaring and delighting the audiences. 

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images and info provided by the LIFE Magazine / LIFE Magazine International / LIFE Magazine Atlantic ARCHIVE from the Zetu Harrys Collection