December 2018
December 7, 2018
Follies of the Madmen #399
Of course the sole of one's foot resembles a snooty toff with monocle--after your LSD trip!
Original ad here.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Dec 07, 2018 -
Comments (0)
Category: Business, Advertising, Drugs, Shoes, 1940s, Feet
December 6, 2018
When Yogi Rao walked on water
Lakshmanasandra Srikanta Rao was an Indian yogi who claimed to have such total control over his body that he could eat glass, swallow poison, eat live vipers, walk on fire, and even survive an atomic bomb. But basically he was just a stage magician who knew a few tricks and put on a good act.He made headlines in the 1950s when he moved to America and gained heiress Doris Duke as a follower, but he returned to India after only a few months, apparently recognizing that he had gotten in over his head and promised his followers more than he could deliver.
He laid low until 1966 when he returned to headlines with his claim that he was going to publicly walk on water. Over 600 paid to see him do this, including some of the most famous people in India. But Rao took one step and plunged right to the bottom of the pool he was supposed to walk across.
What had he been thinking? Had he somehow convinced himself that he really could walk on water? Maybe. He was later quoted as expressing regret at his failure, saying, “I am so angry that I feel like drowning myself even if I have to tie a stone round my neck to do so.”
Two years later he offered to try again, to prove he was for real, but the performance never happened.
You can read more about Rao's colorful career in this interesting article by Philip Deslippe.
Tampa Tribune - June 13, 1966
La Crosse Tribune - Mar 14, 1965
Posted By: Alex - Thu Dec 06, 2018 -
Comments (4)
Category: Frauds, Cons and Scams, 1960s
The Touchables
The IMDB entry.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Dec 06, 2018 -
Comments (1)
Category: Ineptness, Crudity, Talentlessness, Kitsch, and Bad Art, Movies, Bohemians, Beatniks, Hippies and Slackers, 1960s
December 5, 2018
Meats for Babies
Back in the late 1940s and early 50s, Swift's urged mothers to start feeding their babies canned, processed meat at 6 weeks because "Results of actual test feedings with six-weeks-old infants show meat gives baby a better start in life!”I'm no expert, but six weeks seems awful early to start feeding your kid meat, even if it has been pureed into meat mush. Aren't most kids still on breast milk or formula at six weeks?
Boston Globe - Apr 4, 1948
Posted By: Alex - Wed Dec 05, 2018 -
Comments (2)
Category: Babies, Food, 1950s
Arthur Godfrey Sings MARIAN THE LIBRARIAN
An absolutely horrible version of a great song.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Dec 05, 2018 -
Comments (0)
Category: Ineptness, Crudity, Talentlessness, Kitsch, and Bad Art, Music, Libraries, 1950s
December 4, 2018
Shoe-Swapping Fad
The hot high-school fad of 1947, according to Life magazine:Couldn't have been comfortable walking around all day with mismatched shoes. Fashion over comfort, I guess.
Life - Nov 17, 1947
Posted By: Alex - Tue Dec 04, 2018 -
Comments (2)
Category: Fads, Shoes, 1940s
Ostrich Carts
Why these never caught on, I couldn't imagine.
Source.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Dec 04, 2018 -
Comments (0)
Category: Animals, Travel, 1910s
December 3, 2018
The Tractor Fender Will of Cecil George Harris
June 8, 1948: Cecil George Harris got pinned under his tractor. Fearing he wouldn't survive, he scratched the following message onto the fender of the tractor: "In case I die in this mess I leave all to the wife. Cecil Geo Harris."He did end up dying, but his scratched message was accepted as a valid will by the courts, and has served as a precedent ever since for cases of holographic or handwritten wills. The fender is preserved to this day at the University of Saskatchewan College of Law.
More info: Global News
Posted By: Alex - Mon Dec 03, 2018 -
Comments (0)
Category: Death, Inheritance and Wills, Law
Mystery Gadget 69
What's it for? There's a clue in its surroundings.
The answer is here.
Or after the jump.
More in extended >>
Posted By: Paul - Mon Dec 03, 2018 -
Comments (5)
Category: Technology, 1950s
December 2, 2018
Name That List, #51
What is this a list of? The answer is below in extended.- Bamboo Harvester
- Bart
- Buddy
- Crystal
- Jimmy
- Moose
- Orangey
- Pal
- Skippy
- Tai
- Terry
More in extended >>
Posted By: Alex - Sun Dec 02, 2018 -
Comments (6)
Category: Name That List
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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 |
