January 2019
January 7, 2019
Follies of the Madmen #405
Ancient Romans drank vodka? Oh well, I suppose the ad is as authentic as the movie it references--which is actually one of my favorite comedies.
Ad source.
Posted By: Paul - Mon Jan 07, 2019 -
Comments (3)
Category: Business, Advertising, History, Unexplained Historical Enigmas, Alcohol
January 6, 2019
The Deaccelerator
Richard Schulman's solution to the problem of speeding: make it harder for motorists to step on the gas pedal. From the Chicago Tribune (Nov 20, 1986):Schulman invented it in the mid-1980s, and even started a company, the Deaccelerator Corporation, to market it. As of 2005, he was still publishing about it, but evidently the idea met with resistance (pun intended) since I'm not aware of any cars equipped with the device. The people who need it most would be exactly the ones who would refuse to buy a car that had one.
Posted By: Alex - Sun Jan 06, 2019 -
Comments (6)
Category: Inventions, 1980s, Cars
Cooking with Scraps
Good idea, or a kind of "stone soup" scheme? I add stones and water, you dump in all the veggies and meat. Now it tastes great!
Posted By: Paul - Sun Jan 06, 2019 -
Comments (2)
Category: Food, Frauds, Cons and Scams, Books
January 5, 2019
The religion of Onionhead
Created around 20 years ago in Syosset, New York. The figure of Onionhead is supposed to represent "peeling our feelings, as a way of healing our feelings." Onionhead's motto is: "peel it—feel it—heal it."
In 2014, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued a company for forcing its employees to participate in Onionhead-related religious activities. From businessinsurance.com:
The EEOC said the religious practices are part of a belief system that the defendants’ family members created called “Onionhead.” It said employees were told to wear Onionhead buttons, pull Onionhead cards to place near their work stations, and keep only dim lighting in the workplace, none of which was work-related. Employees who opposed taking part in these religious activities or did not participate fully were terminated, the agency said.
More info about Onionhead at the Harnessing Happiness Foundation.
Posted By: Alex - Sat Jan 05, 2019 -
Comments (3)
Category: Religion
Charles Fitzgerald, Daredevil
Bored with risking his life on Earth, Fitzgerald offered to become the first astronaut.
Source.
Source.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Jan 05, 2019 -
Comments (4)
Category: Daredevils, Stuntpeople and Thrillseekers, Spaceflight, Astronautics, and Astronomy, Twentieth Century
January 4, 2019
Pho Keene Great
For some reason, the city of Keene, New Hampshire is objecting to a Vietnamese restaurant's plan to call itself Pho Keene Great.More info: nhpr.org
Posted By: Alex - Fri Jan 04, 2019 -
Comments (8)
Category: Innuendo, Double Entendres, Symbolism, Nudge-Nudge-Wink-Wink and Subliminal Messages, Odd Names
Mary Worth, the Full Version
This is an experiment where the mise en scene of the comic strip is done directly to film. MADE BY: stephanie barber, peter barrickman, sara boland, tate bunker, theresa columbus, yasuhuhiro ikeguchi, anna johnson, annie killelea, didier leplae, xav leplae, doug schall, naomi wyoming.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Jan 04, 2019 -
Comments (1)
Category: Comics, Homages, Pastiches, Tributes and Borrowings, Performance Art, Surrealism
January 3, 2019
Cut Out Styles
The trendy new thing is to look like your clothes are falling apart. "Cut out" styles below are from Carmar Denim. They seem similar in spirit to the Thong Jeans we posted about back in 2017.
Posted By: Alex - Thu Jan 03, 2019 -
Comments (5)
Category: Fashion
Home for Incurables
As late as 1952, "homes for incurables" were a going concern. Contemporary medicine seems to have abandoned the term "incurable" in favor of others that are perhaps less of a downer.
Source.
Source.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Jan 03, 2019 -
Comments (2)
Category: Architecture, Charities and Philanthropy, History, Medicine, Nineteenth Century, Twentieth Century
January 2, 2019
Name That List, #54
What is this a list of? The answer is below in extended.- Rice
- Salad
- Pineapple
- Cigar
- Raisin
- Prairie
- Vulcan
- Ice
- Lily
- Refrigerator
- Glass
- Fruit
- Fish
- Grape
- Paper
- Oleander
- Spindletop
- Corn
- Pear
- Smoky Mountain
- Bean
- Oriental Rice
- Iodine
- Bamboo
- Rhumba
More in extended >>
Posted By: Alex - Wed Jan 02, 2019 -
Comments (2)
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 |
