May 2018
May 16, 2018
Monsieur Mangetout
Info from wikipedia:His performances involved the consumption of metal, glass, rubber and other materials. He disassembled, cut up, and consumed bicycles, shopping carts, televisions, and a Cessna 150, among other items. The Cessna 150 took roughly two years to be "eaten", from 1978 to 1980...
He was awarded a brass plaque by the Guinness Book to commemorate his abilities. He consumed it as well.
Posted By: Alex - Wed May 16, 2018 -
Comments (2)
Category: Food, Human Marvels
Spiral Road Tower
Original page here.
Posted By: Paul - Wed May 16, 2018 -
Comments (4)
Category: Architecture, Excess, Overkill, Hyperbole and Too Much Is Not Enough, Motor Vehicles, 1930s
May 15, 2018
Jim Purol, world-record smoker
One of comedian Jim Purol's recurring gags was to stuff record-setting amounts of things in his mouth, especially cigarettes and cigars. For instance, he set a Guinness world record for smoking seven packs of cigarettes simultaneously. Ironically, he was a non-smoker. From the LA Times (July 18, 1987):Paradoxically, Purol is a nonsmoker. It gets better. His world cigar smoking record was a charity performance benefiting the American Lung Assn.
"I hate smoking," he explained. "I perform the stunts as a statement against smoking. Lookit this picture of me with cigarettes stuffed in my face. This is glamorous? It's disgusting."
Jim Purol (left) and Mike Papa each smoking 135 cigarettes in five minutes - October 1978
Weekly World News - Jan 1, 1985
Philadelphia Daily News - Apr 22, 1983
Back in 1976, he also set the world's duration drumming record by drumming for 320 hours.
Jasper Herald - June 30, 1976
Posted By: Alex - Tue May 15, 2018 -
Comments (3)
Category: World Records, Smoking and Tobacco
Western Electric Design Line Phones
Introduced in 1974, these phones were intended to spice up the boring old device that had been around for decades.I would have gone for the Chestphone, because then I would have felt like I was a member of U.N.C.L.E. or SMERSH.
Full set of pics and other info here.
Posted By: Paul - Tue May 15, 2018 -
Comments (8)
Category: Business, Advertising, Telephones, 1970s
May 14, 2018
First black Klan member
In 1981, Louis Proctor became the first black member of the KKK. Apparently this was a more liberal, Canadian chapter of the Klan that had announced they would accept black members (to prove they weren't white supremacists). So Proctor took them up on their offer. He explained, "I figure if we can get all the Jews and blacks to join the Klan, we can put a stop to the racial trouble in Canada."The only follow-up story I can find about Proctor is from 1985, by which time he was in prison and suing the state because he hadn't been protected from being beaten up and losing sight in one eye.
I wonder if he remains the only black Klan member.
Calgary Sun - Aug 14, 1981
Orlando Sentinel - Apr 17, 1985
Posted By: Alex - Mon May 14, 2018 -
Comments (4)
Category:
Naughty Dallas
Jada the Stripper famous for something other than this film.
Posted By: Paul - Mon May 14, 2018 -
Comments (0)
Category: Death, Movies, Sex Symbols, Historical Figure, 1960s
May 13, 2018
Giant terrorizes mechanic
It's been a while since I've added anything to my occasional series about giant people in ads. But here's an example from 1982 that ran in the New Yorker.
This ad was evidently part of an extended campaign Ford ran in the early 80s featuring giant men in garages. Back in 2012, I posted another example from the same campaign.
Posted By: Alex - Sun May 13, 2018 -
Comments (3)
Category: Giant People in Ads
Fearless Fagan
The reality:Hollywood version:
Wikipedia article on the film.
The LIFE magazine article.
Posted By: Paul - Sun May 13, 2018 -
Comments (0)
Category: Animals, Eccentrics, Movies, Pets, 1950s, Armed Forces
May 12, 2018
Rock ‘n’ Roll Underwear
From Omni magazine (Aug 1981): "The latest discotechnological breakthrough is an item called Rock and Roll Hot Pants. By wiring your shorts or panties to a stereo speaker with a 15-foot cord, which relays the music to a two inch disc on your waistband,”you get an incredible tingle all over your body,” claims inventor David Lloyd."
Santa Rosa Press Democrat - Jan 27, 1981
Omni magazine - August 1981
Posted By: Alex - Sat May 12, 2018 -
Comments (6)
Category: Inventions, Music, Underwear, 1980s
Follies of the Madmen #365
Posted By: Paul - Sat May 12, 2018 -
Comments (2)
Category: Business, Advertising, Tobacco and Smoking, Telephones, 1960s
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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 |
