February 2019
February 23, 2019
Shorts-Pants Combo
The latest example of weird denim: these "Reworked Demi-Denims with Transparent Legs" from designer Ksenia Schnaider. Going for $395.I'm not even entirely sure what's going on with these things. It's like an attempt to combine shorts and pants into one garment. Shorts from the front, and pants from the back. But why?
Posted By: Alex - Sat Feb 23, 2019 -
Comments (4)
Category: Fashion, Denim
Pagan Island
The IMDB entry.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Feb 23, 2019 -
Comments (7)
Category: Ineptness, Crudity, Talentlessness, Kitsch, and Bad Art, Movies, Sexuality, Stereotypes and Cliches, Foreign Customs, 1960s, Love & Romance
February 22, 2019
Toast as a unit of power
Odd units of measurement: Back in 1975, Allan Clemow of Tufts University figured out how to translate power consumption into pieces of toast. By his estimate, one kilowatt hour was equivalent to toasting 60 slices of bread. Therefore:- Ironing for an hour = 68 slices of toast
- Watching TV for 4 hours = 100 slices of toast
- Blow-drying your hair for 10 minutes = 4 slices of toast
- Drying a large load of clothes = 270 slices of toast
These estimates may all now have changed thanks to more energy-efficient appliances.
Casper Star Tribune - Nov 20, 1975
Posted By: Alex - Fri Feb 22, 2019 -
Comments (1)
Category: Food, 1970s, Power Generation
Tom & Roy
I can tell you absolutely nothing about this.
Source.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Feb 22, 2019 -
Comments (7)
Category: Human Marvels, Music, Postal Services
February 21, 2019
New Vietnam
Back in 1975, Rev. Carl McIntire had the idea of bringing the Vietnam experience back to America by building a Vietnam theme park (to be called 'New Vietnam') in Florida, near Cape Canaveral. Needless to say, the idea didn't go over well. Some details:Adjacent to the village will be a rectangular special forces camp encircled by a moat and guarded by machine gun nests, punji stakes and fatigue-clad "soldiers" hired from the county. Inside will be a war museum of Viet Cong and American memorabilia.
Orlando Sentinel - Sep 11, 1975 (click to enlarge)
Philadelphia Daily News - Jun 12, 1975
Posted By: Alex - Thu Feb 21, 2019 -
Comments (0)
Category: Fairs, Amusement Parks, and Resorts, War, 1970s
Hostetter’s Bitters
Hostetter's "Celebrated" Bitters was a nostrum developed by Dr. Jacob Hostetter of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. His son, David Hostetter, put the formula into large scale production in 1853 and it soon became a national best-seller. During the Civil War, Dr. J. Hostetter's Stomach Bitters was sold to soldiers as "a positive protective against the fatal maladies of the Southern swamps, and the poisonous tendency of the impure rivers and bayous." The original formula was about 47% alcohol -- 94 Proof! The amount of alcohol was so high that it was served in Alaskan saloons by the glass. Hostetter sweetened the alcohol with sugar to which he added a few aromatic oils (anise, coriander, etc.) and vegetable bitters (cinchona, gentian, etc.) to give it a medicinal flavor. From 1954 to 1958, when it was no longer marketed, the product was known as Hostetter Tonic.
More info here.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Feb 21, 2019 -
Comments (3)
Category: Antiques, Anachronisms and Throwbacks, Advertising, Patent Medicines, Nostrums and Snake Oil, Nineteenth Century, Twentieth Century, Alcohol
February 20, 2019
Mystery VHS Pack
For $40, Urban Outfitters is offering a mystery 5-pack of VHS tapes, which means they send you 5 VHS tapes of their choosing. Though, at least, you get to choose the genre (horror, romance, etc.).I guess that's one way to get rid of their inventory of old VHS tapes that, evidently, people aren't otherwise buying.
Posted By: Alex - Wed Feb 20, 2019 -
Comments (5)
Category: Television, Retailing
Artwork Khrushchev Probably Would Not Have Liked 20
It seems many of the public sided with Khrushchev's tastes for old-fashioned stuff in this case.
Source for article.
More pix at this link.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Feb 20, 2019 -
Comments (1)
Category: Art, Avant Garde, Pop Art, Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Fairs, Amusement Parks, and Resorts, 1960s
February 19, 2019
The Art of Mammarism
Having recently posted about the art of knee reading, here's something along similar lines, though involving a different body part. Patrick Cullen claimed to be a "chest clairvoyant." By examining a woman's breasts, he claimed, he could predict her future. He called this the art of Mammarism. Some details:The technique — perfected, he boasted in the brothels of Shanghai during a 26-year career in the army — involving daubing the breasts in poster colours with a long camel-hair brush. The breast was then pressed against a sheet of paper to achieve a life-size imprint... After studying the prints — and sometimes the breasts themselves — Mr. Cullen would predict the future.
Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find a photo of Cullen at work — nor any photo of Cullen at all.
The Guardian - Dec 5, 1980
(click to enlarge)
Posted By: Alex - Tue Feb 19, 2019 -
Comments (1)
Category: Predictions
Killer Rat
Our beloved Chuck Shepherd had a category in NOTW that might even have been finally considered "no longer weird." DOG SHOOTS OWNER.
But so far as I know, he never had a rat pulling the trigger.
Original article here.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Feb 19, 2019 -
Comments (0)
Category: Animals, Death, Children, 1920s, Weapons
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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 |
