May 2018
May 31, 2018
Brain fluid leak
In the news recently, Kendra Jackson who had long been suffering from chronic sneezing and a runny nose, was diagnosed as actually having a brain fluid leak — after doctors had been telling her for years that she just suffered from allergies. A surgical procedure managed to fix the problem.(more info: ketv.com)
Reminded me of the 1936 case of "sneeze girl" that I posted about 2 weeks ago. Perhaps Sneeze Girl was also suffering from some kind of brain fluid leak.
Kendra Jackson
Posted By: Alex - Thu May 31, 2018 -
Comments (0)
Category: Health
The Encyclopedia of World Problems
Do you not have enough problems in your life? Do the internet and other media fail to bring world problems to your attention? If this is your dilemma, rest easy! A solution is at hand! Simply visit THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF WORLD PROBLEMS. There, you can choose from thousands of problems to worry about. Maybe you want something concrete, such as VIOLENT CRIME. Or maybe you'd like to focus on something more numinous, like UNMEANINGFUL RELATIONSHIPS TO PLACE. Whatever your worrying needs, you can rely on THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF WORLD PROBLEMS to provide grist for your anxieties.Here is a picture and review of the first (print) edition from 1976.
Source of article.
Posted By: Paul - Thu May 31, 2018 -
Comments (2)
Category: Addictions, Annoying Things, Armageddon and Apocalypses, Destruction, Disasters, Emotions, Moral Panics and Public Hysteria, Excess, Overkill, Hyperbole and Too Much Is Not Enough, 1970s
May 30, 2018
Lota Cheek
Apparently Lota Cheek was her real name.She was the daughter of Georgia farmer Leon Cheek. After winning a beauty contest in 1921, in which she was declared America's prettiest girl, she became a successful actress in New York City. In 1922, she was involved in a scandalous divorce case (her husband was simultaneously married to another woman). By 1925, she had remarried and took the name of her new husband, Sanders. The last record I can find of her is from 1927, when she was featured in an ad for Colgate toothpaste.
Wilmington Morning News - Jun 15, 1922
Baltimore Sun - Dec 8, 1927
Posted By: Alex - Wed May 30, 2018 -
Comments (2)
Category: Odd Names, 1920s, Actors
Unauthorized Dwellings 5
Keeping one's lover in the attic, hidden from the resident husband, has to require some chutzpah.
Full story here.
Dolly Oesterreich, 33 at the time, first became friendly with 17-year-old Otto Sanhuber (Jul 16, 1888 - ?)around 1913 and described him as her "vagabond half-brother." The two quickly became lovers and met clandestinely at Sanhuber's boarding room or at a nearby hotel. They also arranged trysts at Dolly's home but, when neighbors began noting Otto's increasingly frequent comings and goings and alerted her husband, Dolly suggested to Otto that he quit his job and secretly move into the Oesterreichs' upstairs attic to allay any further suspicions. He readily agreed to the arrangement. Not only would this put him in closer proximity to his lover but it would also give him time to pursue his dream of writing pulp fiction stories. Sanhuber would later describe himself as Dolly's "sex slave".
Posted By: Paul - Wed May 30, 2018 -
Comments (3)
Category: Crime, Unauthorized Dwellings, Death, Sexuality, Twentieth Century
May 29, 2018
The Cry Closet
Installed last month at the University of Utah's J. Willard Marriott Library. A sign hanging on it explained: "A Safe Place for Stressed Out Students. Otherwise known as The Cry Closet. This space is meant to provide a place for students studying for finals to take a short 10-minute break."An art project, of course. Created by graduating senior Nemo Miller. (More info).
It obviously struck a nerve because this thing got a huge amount of media attention.
Posted By: Alex - Tue May 29, 2018 -
Comments (4)
Category: Art
The Pigkeeper’s Daughter
Generally SFW.
Posted By: Paul - Tue May 29, 2018 -
Comments (3)
Category: Agriculture, Animals, Exploitation and Grindhouse, 1970s
May 28, 2018
Promoting God via Margarine
Had to be one of the least enthusiastic product endorsements ever.The Rev. Mr. Stephens said he took the job only on condition he could write his own script. He starts by saying he is not really a margarine man because it reminds him of his years in the army. Then he adds: "However, we ate it. Our system probably needed it. The body needs fat like the soul needs God."
The commercial was filmed in his study.
Rev. Ronald Stephens
Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer - Nov 12, 1970
Posted By: Alex - Mon May 28, 2018 -
Comments (2)
Category: Food, Religion, Advertising, 1970s
Electro-Sonic Memory Trainer and Dormiphone
Source of image.
Source.
A little history of the company, from THE NEW YORK TIMES for 10/24/49.
Posted By: Paul - Mon May 28, 2018 -
Comments (3)
Category: Frauds, Cons and Scams, Technology, 1950s, Brain
May 27, 2018
Hair Clothing
From 1969, a product that mysteriously failed to catch on: Jerome Alexander's line of human-hair clothing.He actually created a human-hair pants suit, skirt, and vest. (The pants suits, which is the only thing I could find a picture of, seems to have been only trimmed with human hair). But on the drawing board were a human-hair coat, bikini, tie, boots, and hat.
Esquire - Jan 1970
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle - Feb 12, 1969
Posted By: Alex - Sun May 27, 2018 -
Comments (4)
Category: Fashion, 1960s
THE THING, by Phil Harris
The sound is much better on the first video.
Posted By: Paul - Sun May 27, 2018 -
Comments (1)
Category: Annoying Things, Music, Surrealism, 1950s
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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 |
