Weird Universe Archive
August 2021
August 21, 2021
International Banana Museum
The International Banana Museum, in Mecca, CA, boasts that it's the home of "25,000 banana-related items and pictures."
I think the location of the museum is odder than the idea of the museum itself. Mecca is just a tiny desert community located at the northern tip of the Salton Sea. No bananas grow anywhere near it.
The California Curiosities site explains how the museum ended up being there: because the owner of the museum, Fred Garbutt, saw a collection of banana memorabilia for sale on eBay and figured that a banana museum might generate some publicity for his struggling liquor store.
Posted By: Alex - Sat Aug 21, 2021 -
Comments (5)
Category: Museums, Bananas
The Reid Flying Submarine
More pix and article here.
It wasn't a high-tech machine, despite its abilities. In the air it was powered by a 65 horsepower four-cylinder Lycoming engine. While underwater a 1-horsepower electric motor provided propulsion. Conversion from aircraft to submarine was a clumsy affair. The pilot first had to remove the propeller, and then cover the engine pylon with a rubber diving bell to keep the engine dry. The pilot used an aqualung to breathe. Maximum depth was roughly 10 to 12 ft (3.5 metres).
From THE SATURDAY EVENING POST for January 1, 1966.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Aug 21, 2021 -
Comments (1)
Category: Death, Disasters, Inventions, Oceans and Maritime Pursuits, Air Travel and Airlines, 1960s
August 20, 2021
Mask for smokers
Back in 1919, Edward T. Duncan solved the problem of how to smoke and wear a mask at the same time.Smoke if you want to, even though you wear an influenza mask. Corn plasters fitted to the mask, inside and out, supply the necessary hole.
Popular Science Monthly - May 1919
The only modern near-equivalent I can find is a mask that jokes about having a "smoke hole," without actually having one.
Posted By: Alex - Fri Aug 20, 2021 -
Comments (1)
Category: Health, Smoking and Tobacco, 1910s
As In a Looking Glass
Posted By: Paul - Fri Aug 20, 2021 -
Comments (0)
Category: 1900s, Pranks
August 19, 2021
Bosco’s Collapsible Rubber Driver
Never worry again about your car being stolen. Bosco's inflatable rubber driver will make it appear as if your car is occupied, thereby deterring thieves.
I haven't been able to find an original source for this ad, but it appears in a number of books about automobile oddities (such as Motor touring in old California). However, the dates given for it vary from 1905 to the 1920s.
A Dec 1985 article in Popular Mechanics offers the most details about it, but I have no idea where they got their info from:
Lemuel Bosco of Akron, Ohio, spent $5 for an antitheft device that was supposed to lock the Splitdorf ignition switch of his car, but it didn't stop a thief. He broke it off and took Bosco's Mercer for a joyride. The cops found the car undamaged, but Bosco was mad and vowed it wouldn't happen again. Thus was born the Bosco Collapsible Driver. When inflated and propped behind a steering wheel, it looked like Charlie Chaplin, right down to moustache and derby. When the mannequin wasn't needed, it was deflated and stored under the seat. Standing a foot away from a car, no theif could tell that the rubber dummy wasn't a real man — or so ads in auto accessory manuals of 1910 would have you believe.
The Bosco Collapsible Driver Co. collapsed in two years, because it didn't take even the dumbest thief long to realize that the guy who was sitting behind the wheel never even twitched, which meant he was either dead, in a coma or not for real.
The Bosco Collapsible Driver Co. collapsed in two years, because it didn't take even the dumbest thief long to realize that the guy who was sitting behind the wheel never even twitched, which meant he was either dead, in a coma or not for real.
Posted By: Alex - Thu Aug 19, 2021 -
Comments (4)
Category: Crime, Cars
Unlikely Reasons for Murder No. 5
Suicide is self-murder, and offing oneself because your murderous insurance scam has come unraveled seems a bit more unlikely than accepting the punishment. Extra points given for swallowing poison in front of the cops. How did he have it so handy?
Source: The Daily Journal (Commerce, Texas) 09 Nov 1956, Fri Page 1
Posted By: Paul - Thu Aug 19, 2021 -
Comments (5)
Category: Death, Suicide, Scams, Cons, Rip-offs, and General Larceny, Stupid Criminals, 1950s
August 18, 2021
Effective Emulation
A simple, psychological trick maximizes church giving:The ushers, with contribution plates, started on their rounds. The evangelist said she had instructed them to say "Amen" whenever 25 cents was dropped into the plate; when 50 cents the usher was to say "Hallelujah!" and when $1 the usher was to say "Glory hallelujah!" in a loud tone. The collection amounted to $1,100...
the evangelist knew that no person with money to give would be content with an "Amen" when a neighbor, sitting in the next pew, was acclaimed with a "Glory hallelujah!"
the evangelist knew that no person with money to give would be content with an "Amen" when a neighbor, sitting in the next pew, was acclaimed with a "Glory hallelujah!"
New York Times - May 18, 1919
Posted By: Alex - Wed Aug 18, 2021 -
Comments (3)
Category: Money, Religion, Psychology
Chamborama
Nothing like indoctrinating kids at play to prefer your product.The cartoon Mom is plainly soused.
Source, with more pics.
This “Jeu de Familles” from the 1960s promotes Chambord glassware. The object of the game is to complete family sets of the same item (wine glasses, small dishes, larger dishes, sugar bowls, etc) by asking opponents for a particular card, for example: “avez-vous l'assiette à desert de Grand-Père?"
Posted By: Paul - Wed Aug 18, 2021 -
Comments (1)
Category: Games, 1960s, Europe
August 17, 2021
Sylvia Ester, World-Record Swimmer
East German swimmer Sylvia Ester seems to have made one brief contribution to sports trivia before disappearing back into anonymity. Her contribution: having her world-record time disallowed due to the fact that she wasn't wearing a swimsuit.I can't find any other references to her. Nor any explanation about why she was swimming nude.
The current record for the women's 100-meter freestyle is below 52 seconds.
Hobbs Daily News-Sun - Feb 19, 1967
Posted By: Alex - Tue Aug 17, 2021 -
Comments (5)
Category: Sports, World Records
Fruit Cake Queen of 1968
No further info available!
Posted By: Paul - Tue Aug 17, 2021 -
Comments (4)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Food, 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 |
