February 2017
February 6, 2017
Fallout Filly
"Nobody likes my baby, cuz she shoots out gamma rays."
Posted By: Paul - Mon Feb 06, 2017 -
Comments (4)
Category: Armageddon and Apocalypses, Body Modifications, Music, 1960s, Parody
February 5, 2017
Home Radiation Detector
If the crystals are glowing, it's time to get going.
The Opelousas Daily World - Sep 6, 1957
Posted By: Alex - Sun Feb 05, 2017 -
Comments (3)
Category: Atomic Power and Other Nuclear Matters, 1950s
1960s Marx Presidents Set
Gee, I wonder why they quit adding new presidents after LBJ?
More info here.
Original ad here.
ADDENDUM: WU-vie GES seems to have found a Nixon figure from the final incarnations of this set.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Feb 05, 2017 -
Comments (3)
Category: Politics, Toys, 1960s
February 4, 2017
Cry of ecstasy or yell of pain?
November 1949: Mrs. Valerie Humphries accused artist Rodney Roth of biting her bare midriff during a Halloween party — so hard that she yelled out in pain. Roth didn't dispute the bite but insisted that the sound she made was actually a "cry of ecstasy." The judge ruled in favor of Mrs. Humphries.
Arizona Republic - Nov 26, 1949
Posted By: Alex - Sat Feb 04, 2017 -
Comments (3)
Category: Noises and Other Public Disturbances of the Peace, Lawsuits, 1940s
Mystery Illustration 38
These three performers had a stage act. They even appeared on Milton Berle's TV show. What was their shtick?
Answer after the jump.
More in extended >>
Posted By: Paul - Sat Feb 04, 2017 -
Comments (3)
Category: Entertainment, 1940s
February 3, 2017
Have you installed a thermidor in your automobile?
In 1975, the Federal Energy Administration (FEA) conducted a telephone survey about energy conservation and included the question, "Have you installed a thermidor in your automobile?"Five percent of the people who took the survey stated that they had. Therefore, the FEA concluded that 5 percent of the survey takers were lying in their responses, because Thermidor is a month in the French revolutionary calendar.
Though, to be fair, Thermidor does sound like it could be some kind of heating device.
The Minneapolis Star - Sep 11, 1975
Posted By: Alex - Fri Feb 03, 2017 -
Comments (6)
Category: 1970s, Cars
The Dobson Air Dart
I wonder if any plans still exist, to allow someone to build this craft today.
Original ad here.
Original article here.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Feb 03, 2017 -
Comments (4)
Category: Eccentrics, Motor Vehicles, Technology, 1960s
February 2, 2017
Long Chess Game
Munro MacLennan and Lawrence Grant began a game of chess in 1926, while students at Aberdeen University in Scotland. However, it was an unusual game because they agreed to make only one move a year. Whoever's turn it was would write their move on a postcard and send it to their opponent at Christmas.In 1961, 35 years later, they were still playing the game, which got them a bit of media attention. They predicted they would be done with the game around 1975. However, I've haven't been able to find any report about whether they actually did finish and, if so, who won.
The Melbourne Age - Aug 8, 1961
The Melbourne Age - Jun 26, 1963
Posted By: Alex - Thu Feb 02, 2017 -
Comments (3)
Category: Games
Eunoia II by Lisa Park
Mana Spotlight: Lisa Park & Eunoia II from Mana Contemporary on Vimeo.
Article here.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Feb 02, 2017 -
Comments (2)
Category:
February 1, 2017
Upside-Down Flag
Nebraska state senator Burke Harr has sponsored a resolution to change his state's flag, noting that the current design is so nondescript and unremarkable that the flag once flew for 10 days upside-down above the State Capitol and no one noticed.This brings to mind a recurring weird news theme that we've discussed before: art accidentally hung upside-down and no one notices. See here, for instance.
The North American Vexillological Association has also ranked Nebraska's flag among the five worst flags of the 50 states.
More info: Omaha World-Herald
Posted By: Alex - Wed Feb 01, 2017 -
Comments (6)
Category: Flags
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| Alex Boese Alex is the creator and curator of the Museum of Hoaxes. He's also the author of various weird, non-fiction books such as Elephants on Acid. Paul Di Filippo Paul has been paid to put weird ideas into fictional form for over thirty years, in his career as a noted science fiction writer. He has recently begun blogging on many curious topics with three fellow writers at The Inferior 4+1. Chuck Shepherd Chuck is the purveyor of News of the Weird, the syndicated column which for decades has set the gold-standard for reporting on oddities and the bizarre. Our banner was drawn by the legendary underground cartoonist Rick Altergott. Contact Us |
