April 2022
April 10, 2022
The housewife who became pregnant after watching Uri Geller
March 1974: a Swedish housewife claimed that, after she watched Uri Geller on TV, her contraceptive coil got bent out of shape, thereby causing her to become pregnant.Given that the housewife was never named, I'm going to assume this story sprang from the overly fertile imagination of the "Sunday Mirror Reporter in Stockholm".
Uri Geller references the event in his biography, posted on his website, but gives no more details than are available in the Sunday Mirror story, which suggests that, at the very least, he was never sued by the Swedish housewife.
Sunday London Mirror - Mar 17, 1974
Posted By: Alex - Sun Apr 10, 2022 -
Comments (2)
Category: Paranormal, 1970s, Pregnancy
René Lavand, One-Armed Magician
His Wikipedia page.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Apr 10, 2022 -
Comments (2)
Category: Disabilities, Human Marvels, Magic and Illusions and Sleight of Hand, Television, 1960s
April 9, 2022
Angelo Faticoni, the Human Cork
We've previously posted about two people who claimed to be "human corks": Norris Kellam and Iver Johnson.Now I've found a third to add to the list: Angelo Faticoni.
The lives of Kellam and Faticoni overlapped, but I can't find any evidence that they ever met.
More info: wikipedia
Johnson City Chronicle - July 24, 1926
Hartford Courant - Aug 12, 1931
Posted By: Alex - Sat Apr 09, 2022 -
Comments (3)
Category: Human Marvels, Swimming, Snorkeling, and Diving
The Grape Day Queen of Escondido
The official page.Grape Day started in 1908 as a way to celebrate Escondido's grape harvest and promote the city. It flourished until 1950 and was revived by the Escondido History Center in 1996. Each year in October*, our community comes together to celebrate Grape Day.
An article from 2006.
The 1949 candidates, courtesy of the Weekly Times-Advocate (Escondido, California)19 Aug 1949, Fri Page 6
The 1913 winner.
Source: Times-Advocate (Escondido, California)18 Feb 1973, Sun Page 8
Posted By: Paul - Sat Apr 09, 2022 -
Comments (1)
Category: Agriculture, Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Regionalism, Twentieth Century, Twenty-first Century
April 8, 2022
Glurpo the Underwater Clown
According to Maggie Younger, 91, who helped develop the show with Rogers and her then-husband Don Russell, Glurpo was created because "it seemed like clowns would be an interesting and entertaining element to enhance the underwater ballets."
More info: Texas Monthly
Posted By: Alex - Fri Apr 08, 2022 -
Comments (2)
Category: Clowns
Burlap Interior Design
Much as the enthusiastic Mr. Namkin or the dapper corporate icon Mr. Deburco wished it, burlap was not fated to become the next hot interior design fabric. As we all know, burlap was too closely associated with beatniks to be wholly respectable.
Article source: The Record (Hackensack, New Jersey) 01 Oct 1954, Fri Page 24
Article source: The Monroe News-Star (Monroe, Louisiana) 06 Mar 1962, Tue Page 12
Article source: The Capital Times (Madison, Wisconsin) 30 Jan 1960, Sat Page 6
Posted By: Paul - Fri Apr 08, 2022 -
Comments (2)
Category: Fads, Interior Decorating, Bohemians, Beatniks, Hippies and Slackers, 1950s
April 7, 2022
Blind Soccer
The game, referenced in the news clipping below, was evidently an early example of blind soccer.
The Evening Sun - Dec 17, 1973
The game has now developed into an established Paralympic sport. From wikipedia:
- All players, except for the goalkeeper, are blindfolded.
- The ball has been modified to make a jingling or rattling sound.
- Players are required to say "voy", "go", or something similar when going for the ball; this alerts the other players about their position.
- A guide, positioned outside the field of play, provides instructions to the players.
Posted By: Alex - Thu Apr 07, 2022 -
Comments (1)
Category: Sports, Eyes and Vision
Follies of the Madmen #529
Synesthesia in advertising.
Source.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Apr 07, 2022 -
Comments (1)
Category: Business, Advertising, Fey, Twee, Whimsical, Naive and Sadsack, Children, Cereal, 1900s
April 6, 2022
Cutting a sheep in half with one stroke
Swordsmanship shows often used to include demonstrations of the ability to cut a dead sheep in half with one stroke.I've never been to a swordsmanship show, but I'm guessing that this particular display of ability is no longer a standard routine.
I'm also guessing that it must be pretty hard to do.
Birmingham Gazette - Apr 16, 1920
Ithaca Journal - Sep 23, 1922
Posted By: Alex - Wed Apr 06, 2022 -
Comments (6)
Category: Animals, Weapons
Senior Center King and Queen
A rather more-famous photo to join our legion of "Strange Beauty Queens."
Diane Arbus The King and Queen of a Senior Citizens Dance, N.Y.C., 1970
Posted By: Paul - Wed Apr 06, 2022 -
Comments (3)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Elderly and Seniors, 1970s
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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 |
