Better Baby Contests were popular in the early 19th century and were picked up by eugenicists who wanted to create a better human by weeding out undesirable traits.
For the full story listen to episode 1 of the Yes, That Actually Happened podcast.
Allen, Garland E. "The Eugenics Record Office at Cold Spring Harbor, 1910-1940: An Essay in
Institutional History." Osiris (Bruges) 2, (1986): 225-264.
Amy, Jean-Jacques and Sam Rowlands. "Legalised Non-Consensual Sterilisation-Eugenics Put
into Practice before 1945, and the Aftermath. Part 1: USA, Japan, Canada and
Mexico." The European Journal of Contraception & Reproductive Health Care 23, no. 2
(2018): 121-129.
Bender, Daniel E. and ProQuest (Firm). American Abyss: Savagery and Civilization in the Age of
Industry. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2009.
Frost, Daniel. "Protection Against Eugenics: A Comparison of Two Jurisprudences." Journal of
Supreme Court History 42, no. 3 (2017): 275-294.
Jarvenpa, Robert. Declared Defective: Native Americans, Eugenics, and the Myth of Nam
Hollow. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2018.
Ladd-Taylor, Molly. Fixing the Poor: Eugenic Sterilization and Child Welfare in the Twentieth
Century. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2017.
Markel, Howard. The Kelloggs: The Battling Brothers of Battle Creek. First ed. New York:
Pantheon Books, 2017.
Model Babies Win Prizes: Final Examination Made in Contest at University Settlement." New
York Times (1857-1922), May 14, 1914. http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.gvsu.edu/docview/97624220?accountid=39473.
"Photo Standalone 13 -- no Title." New York Times (1923-Current File), Jul 03, 1927.
http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.gvsu.edu/docview/104118762?accountid=39473.
Stern, Alexandra Minna. "Making Better Babies: Public Health and Race Betterment in Indiana,
1920-1935." American Journal of Public Health 92, no. 5 (2002): 742-752.