June 2018
June 5, 2018
Dentists smell fear
Recent research reveals that dentists can not only smell fear, but that when they do their job performance significantly declines. From New Scientist:Next, examiners graded the dental students as they carried out treatments on mannequins dressed in the donated T-shirts. The students scored significantly worse when the mannequins were wearing T-shirts from stressful contexts. Mistakes included being more likely to damage teeth next to the ones they were working on.
So, if your fear causes your dentist to start making more mistakes, I assume that will only increase your fear, causing your dentist to make even more mistakes, leading to a downward-spiraling cycle of terror.
The academic study is here.
Posted By: Alex - Tue Jun 05, 2018 -
Comments (4)
Category: Experiments, Psychology, Teeth
Tinguely’s Metamatics
His Wikipedia page.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Jun 05, 2018 -
Comments (2)
Category: Art, Avant Garde, Technology, Twentieth Century
June 4, 2018
Wedding with lie detector
A lie detector used at the 1932 wedding of Harriet Berger and Vaclav Rund determined that their love was true.Vaclav and Harriet were still together in 1940, according to the census. So, score one for the lie detector. I haven't been able to trace their marriage any later than that. Though a V.R. Rund of the correct location and birth year died in 1989.
(Some media sources listed the bridegroom's name as Vaclaw Hund, but I think 'Rund' was his correct name, given the census data.)
Albuquerque Journal - June 14, 1932
Sioux Falls Argus-Leader - June 1, 1932
Posted By: Alex - Mon Jun 04, 2018 -
Comments (0)
Category: Psychology, 1930s, Weddings
Follies of the Madmen #367
Godzilla-sized soap bar terrorizes city.
Original ad here (page 258).
Posted By: Paul - Mon Jun 04, 2018 -
Comments (7)
Category: Business, Advertising, Hygiene, 1910s
June 3, 2018
Personalized Luggage
DesignASuitcase.com allows you to customize your luggage with a photo of your choice. If you want, you could even use a photo of your own face.
via Reddit
Posted By: Alex - Sun Jun 03, 2018 -
Comments (4)
Category: Ineptness, Crudity, Talentlessness, Kitsch, and Bad Art
Sky Riders
Probably the apex of the hang-glider craze.
Robert Culp plays Bracken, whose life seems perfect until his wife Ellen and their children are kidnapped by terrorists one day. After failed attempts to capture them back by the police, Ellen's ex husband enters the fray and plans his own rescue attempt. James Coburn plays McCabe, Ellen's ex-husband who hires a crew of professional hang gliders to help him rescue her and the kids from the terrorist's mountain top lair.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Jun 03, 2018 -
Comments (1)
Category: Bicycles and Other Human-powered Vehicles, Crime, Daredevils, Stuntpeople and Thrillseekers, Movies, 1970s
June 2, 2018
Exploding Fish
When South Korean artist Lee Bul's work Majestic Splendor, which features sequin-covered rotting fish in plastic baggies, was displayed in 1997 at New York's MoMA, the smell made visitors feel so sick that the artwork eventually had to be removed.So when the piece was going to be shown recently at London's Hayward Gallery, Lee put the fish in a blend of chemicals to suppress the smell. The result: this time around the fish spontaneously combusted and once again had to be removed.
More info: The Art Newspaper, Frieze.com
Posted By: Alex - Sat Jun 02, 2018 -
Comments (2)
Category: Art
The Palace of Depression
Article here.
Wikipedia page here.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Jun 02, 2018 -
Comments (0)
Category: Architecture, Eccentrics, Outsider Art, 1930s
June 1, 2018
Inflatable Coffin
Patented by Clifford Malbon of Daytona Beach, Florida in 1977. Patent # US4050125A. From the patent abstract:
Naples Daily News - Dec 11, 1977
Posted By: Alex - Fri Jun 01, 2018 -
Comments (5)
Category: Death, Inventions, Patents, 1970s
The Pirate Queen of the Orange County Fair
Yet another in our oddball beauty contest category.
Velda Boyd, 18, Miss Santa Ana, chosen as Pirate Queen of Orange County Fair. Princesses to reign with her are: Karen Foster, 18, Miss Newport Harbor, and Garland L. Grimsley, 18, Miss La Habra.
Original foto here.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Jun 01, 2018 -
Comments (3)
Category: Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Contests, Races and Other Competitions, Pirates, Regionalism, 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 |
