January 2022
January 31, 2022
Wine Bottle Dust
A gag gift sold to wine lovers back in 1979.Given how many wineries, with attached gift shops, have sprung up in the past twenty years, I think this would sell even better today. An opportunity awaits for an entrepreneur.
Alexandria Town Talk - Apr 19, 1979
Posted By: Alex - Mon Jan 31, 2022 -
Comments (3)
Category: Imitations, Forgeries, Rip-offs and Faux, Inebriation and Intoxicants, 1970s
The Thingies: “Rainy Sunday Morning”
Read about this obscure psychedelic band here.
Posted By: Paul - Mon Jan 31, 2022 -
Comments (0)
Category: Music, Regionalism, Psychedelic, 1960s, Weather
January 30, 2022
Care Bear Abuse
Feb 1987: Wanting to do something special for her son, Jeania Denny wore a Care Bear costume to his school on Valentine's Day. However, she soon found herself being violently attacked by a crowd of sixth-graders. Said Denny, "I kept yelling at them to stop, that they were hurting me, but the more I yelled the more they attacked."I've heard reports of children (and adults) at Disney theme parks hitting the costumed characters, which seems similar to what happened to Jeania Denny. In the minds of the children, the costume must dehumanize the wearer, which then makes it seem okay to hit them.
Tampa Bay Times - Feb 17, 1987
I'm guessing this was the type of costume that Denny was wearing:
Posted By: Alex - Sun Jan 30, 2022 -
Comments (6)
Category: Violence, Psychology, 1980s
The Golden Age of Patents
Alex is a master at finding oddball inventions that received a patent. Surely one of his spiritual ancestors must have been Wallace Peck, who did a humorous book that imagined such inventions.You can read the whole text here.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Jan 30, 2022 -
Comments (0)
Category: Humor, Inventions, Patents, Books, Nineteenth Century
January 29, 2022
First Pig To Fly
In 1909, a pig (subsequently named Icarus) became the first pig to fly in an airplane.However, as far as I know a pig has never gone beyond the atmosphere into space. I know this because I once briefly had the idea of writing a book titled Pigs in Space about the history of animals in space. But I abandoned the idea when I couldn't find any record of pigs in space. The closest I found was when, in 2005, the Chinese sent some pig sperm into space. I didn't think Pig Sperm in Space would work as a title.
More info about the flying pig: londonist.com
image source: waymarking.com
Saskatoon Star-Phoenix - Nov 25, 1909
Posted By: Alex - Sat Jan 29, 2022 -
Comments (5)
Category: Animals, Air Travel and Airlines, 1900s
Bob Hermines’s Midgets Band
At this link, you will find several digitized pages from their official handbook.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Jan 29, 2022 -
Comments (2)
Category: Human Marvels, Music, Twentieth Century, Differently Abled, Handicapped, Challenged, and Otherwise Atypical
January 28, 2022
The Comparative Grossness of Snot-Eating
In her 2007 article "Eating Snot - Socially Unacceptable but Common: Why?", Spanish researcher Maria Jesus Portalatin posed the question of why french kissing is considered less gross than eating one's own snot:She seems to imply that french kissing is actually grosser than snot-eating.
Later, in the same article, she explains the appeal of snot-eating:
Her article can be found in the book Consuming the Inedible: Neglected Dimensions of Food Choice, which you can read on loan from archive.org.
Posted By: Alex - Fri Jan 28, 2022 -
Comments (4)
Category: Body Fluids, Nausea, Revulsion and Disgust
The Unisphere Hairdo
Rival strippers with the same "unique" hairdo! I predict a catfight!
Stylist John Fonda finishes up the stripper Ecstasy's new look -- "The Unisphere Hairdo" -- inspired by the official symbol of the New York World's Fair of 1964.
Ann Corio, star of "This Was Burlesque", watches in the mirror as stylist John Fonda puts the finishing touches on "The Unisphere Hairdo", inspired by the official symbol of the 1964 NY World's Fair.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Jan 28, 2022 -
Comments (0)
Category: Burlesque, Exotic Dancing, Stripping and Other Forms of Staged Nakedness, 1960s, Hair and Hairstyling
January 27, 2022
Sheep-Face Pizza
Worst pizza ever?It was on the menu of an Icelandic pizzeria in honor of "farmer's day" (Jan 21). More info: grapevine.is
Posted By: Alex - Thu Jan 27, 2022 -
Comments (2)
Category: Food, Junk Food
Follies of the Madmen #524
Posted By: Paul - Thu Jan 27, 2022 -
Comments (0)
Category: Robots, Technology, Advertising, Cats, Asia, Pregnancy
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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 |
