This 1950s game show profited from the poverty of a new woman every day

(via Timeline) Queen for a Day, a 1950s television game show featuring female contestants pleading for badly needed items for their families. At the end of the show, whichever of the four or five women received the most audience applause was crowned “queen for a day” and showered with gifts. Critics argued Queen exploited people’s hardships for profit, but the show’s success gave NBC a foothold in daytime television, and raked in ad dollars.