August 2021
August 31, 2021
What happens when a fly lands on your food
1970 ad for the UK Health Education Council. The text is credited to Charles Saatchi, who was then a young advertising executive (and is now a wealthy art collector).More info: The Guardian
Posted By: Alex - Tue Aug 31, 2021 -
Comments (1)
Category: Food, Insects and Spiders, Advertising, 1970s
Portrait With Hydrogen Peroxide Strips
More photos here.
As you can see, Mister Wilson uses a variety of other objects as well in his art.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Aug 31, 2021 -
Comments (1)
Category: Art, Fey, Twee, Whimsical, Naive and Sadsack, Ineptness, Crudity, Talentlessness, Kitsch, and Bad Art, Sticky, Messy, Sloppy, Drippy, Treacly Things
August 30, 2021
New Trends in Table Settings
By Lucy Staley from Hearthside Press. 1968.This is the book to get you up to speed on the exciting art of table setting. From the review in The Bradenton Herald (Dec 22, 1968):
You can get it on loan from archive.org.
"Table for a Hawaiian luau"
"Easter dessert table"
"Strutting cocks from Spain frame an arangement in a basket"
Posted By: Alex - Mon Aug 30, 2021 -
Comments (0)
Category: Boredom, Kitsch and Collectibles, Books
Follies of the Madmen #514
A face to inspire confidence?The source.
Posted By: Paul - Mon Aug 30, 2021 -
Comments (1)
Category: Business, Advertising, Intelligence, Motor Vehicles, 1900s
August 29, 2021
Channel Surfing in the 1950s
How did people channel surf in the 1950s, before the invention of remote controls?Mrs. Cooper's solution was to own a different TV set for every channel. To change channels she just had to move to a different room.
Medford Mail Tribune - Mar 28, 1957
Posted By: Alex - Sun Aug 29, 2021 -
Comments (4)
Category: Television, 1950s
The Odd Downfall of Mary Carolyn Davies
From pulp writer and poet to Skid Row: writing has never been an easy career.
Read the whole arc of her life here.
Read some of her fiction at the Internet Archive.
Newspaper clip from The News Journal (Wilmington, Delaware) 08 Feb 1940, Thu Page 20
Posted By: Paul - Sun Aug 29, 2021 -
Comments (0)
Category: Eccentrics, Literature, Money, Twentieth Century
August 28, 2021
Who’s Nobody in America
Back in 1979, when being in Who's Who still had some kind of cultural cachet, Derek Evans and Dave Fulwiler decided to create an anti-Who's-Who, which they called "Who's Nobody in America." To acquire entries, they placed the following ad in newspapers:Will your name be omitted from the 1980 edition of Who's Who?
Nobody Press is currently compiling the 1980 edition of Who's Nobody in America. This handsomely bound and widely distributed reference work will, for the first time, provide a comprehensive list of American nobodies.
If you think you might be a nobody, or know of one, at no cost or obligation, complete the attached request for applications."
Applicants included:
- A woman who complained she had been seeing her psychiatrist monthly for eight years and he often called her Evelyn. Her name was Mildred.
- An entire American Legion post in Newport, Ky.
More info: Washington Post
Posted By: Alex - Sat Aug 28, 2021 -
Comments (1)
Category: Clubs, Fraternities and Other Self-selecting Organizations, Success & Failure, Books, Satire
Artificial Girls of 1940
Posted By: Paul - Sat Aug 28, 2021 -
Comments (2)
Category: Fairs, Amusement Parks, and Resorts, Puppets and Automatons, 1940s, Women
August 27, 2021
Always Elvis Wine
Always Elvis wine was released in 1979, two years after Elvis's death. The front label had a picture of Elvis, while the back label featured a poem by Col. Tom Parker.Parker reportedly said that Always Elvis was the kind of wine Elvis "would have drunk if he'd liked the stuff."
At the time it sold for $4 a bottle. Now an unopened bottle of it will cost you upwards of $150.
However, there are other, newer Elvis Presley wines on the market, such as 'The King' wine, available at ElvisPresleyWines.com.
Chicago Tribune - Nov 4, 1979
Posted By: Alex - Fri Aug 27, 2021 -
Comments (4)
Category: Celebrities, Inebriation and Intoxicants, Music
Carl Casper’s Phone Booth Car
Visit this page to see a modern version.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Aug 27, 2021 -
Comments (0)
Category: Eccentrics, Toys, 1960s, Cars
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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 |
