Miss America Fired from Miss Universe!

Yep, that was the headline from back in 1952.

Did you even know Miss America used to compete at Miss Universe?

The Miss Universe Pageant was founded in 1952 by California clothing company Pacific Mills. The pageant became part of Kayser-Roth and then Gulf and Western Industries, before being acquired by Donald Trump back in 1996.

The winner of the "Miss America 1951" pageant, Yolande Betbeze, refused to pose in a swimsuit from major sponsor, Catalina swimwear a division of Pacific Mills. As a result, the brand's manufacturer Pacific Mills withdrew Miss America and its support of the Miss America system and instead set up the rival Miss USA system.

Yes, you can thank the Miss America system and its decision makers for being the ones responsible for creating its biggest competitor!

The Miss Universe crown used from 2002-2007 was designed by Mikimoto, the official jewelery sponsor of the Miss Universe Organization, and depicted the phoenix rising, signifying status, power and beauty. The crown has 500 diamonds of almost 30 carats, 120 South Sea and Akoya pearls, ranging in size from 3 to 18mm diameter and is valued at $250,000. The Crown was designed specifically for the pageant on Mikimoto Pearl Island in Japan with the Mikimoto crown and tiara being first used for Miss Universe 2002.

For Miss Universe 2008 a new crown was unveiled. Valued at $120 thousand dollars, it is made of 18K white and yellow gold. It is comprised of over 1,000 precious stones; including 555 white diamonds (30 carats), 375 cognac diamonds (14 carats), 10 smoky quartz crystals (20 carats) and 19 morganite gemstones (60 carats). The colors of the jewels chosen for the crown have great significance. The yellow luster of the gold represents the prosperous thriving economy in Vietnam. White, light pink and cognac are the main hues in the crown which represent inspiration and feeling. Each piece of the crown was designed to represent an important attribute of the Miss Universe Pageant. The curves of inlaid precious stones represent the strong development and potential of each country. The image of the crane (Lac Bird) symbolizes Vietnamese spirit and culture. The image of the heart represents unified breath, rhythm and vision, which are powerful internal forces that stress faith, hope and unity. But this Vietnamese crown will use in the 57th edition only and the Mikimoto crown will return in 2009.