October 2022
October 16, 2022
Script-Analyzer, the game
1957: Ideal Toy Co. came out with "Script-Analyzer," the game that promised to let kids psychoanalyze their parents through the magic of handwriting analysis.
NY Daily News - Mar 4, 1957
Vancouver Sun - Apr 2, 1957
"A handwriting game being analysed by members of the Ideal Toy panel on Inventor's Day at the Ideal Toy Company in Hollis, New York."
NY Daily News - Mar 5, 1956
Posted By: Alex - Sun Oct 16, 2022 -
Comments (0)
Category: Games, 1950s
Miss Esperanto
I have three references to this contest, from 1929, 1963 and 1967. No firm idea of how long it lasted, if it's still going on, or if it was held faithfully every year.
Puccini's opera 'La 66Bohème' was performed as a special performance for the Esperantists. Finally, Miss Maria Wenczel from Hungary was chosen as 'Miss Esperanto 1963'. Diethilde Magori from Germany and Helen Salmos from Sweden took second and third place in this competition. After the end of the congress, the young people drove to Sofija in a special caravan, where they were expected by the 48th Esperanto World Congress.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Oct 16, 2022 -
Comments (0)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Languages, 1920s, 1950s, 1960s
October 15, 2022
Hagi Pipe
From 1960. A foot-long cigarette filter that supposedly would "prevent lung cancer from smoking."
Source: Science Photo Library
Text from 1961 Congressional hearings:
Posted By: Alex - Sat Oct 15, 2022 -
Comments (2)
Category: Smoking and Tobacco, 1960s
Stealing a Dinner
Posted By: Paul - Sat Oct 15, 2022 -
Comments (2)
Category: Death, Food, Cats, Dogs, 1900s, Weapons
October 14, 2022
Symphony of the Birds
Jim Fassett, musical director at CBS Radio in the 1950s, took pre-recorded bird songs and arranged them into a three-movement "Symphony of the Birds." After its release in 1957, the record gradually acquired a following, largely due to being an early example of experimental music, but also because it was such an oddity. It was eventually reissued in 2006.Note: Discogs.org (and every other site I can find that discusses the album) says it was released in 1960, but newspapers and magazines were discussing its release in 1957.
More info: soundohm.com
Tampa Bay Times - Apr 28, 1957
Posted By: Alex - Fri Oct 14, 2022 -
Comments (2)
Category: Music, 1950s
The Cures of Albert Abrams
As his Wikipedia page tells us:Albert Abrams (December 8, 1863 – January 13, 1924) was a controversial American physician, well known during his life for inventing machines, such as the "Oscilloclast" and the "Radioclast", which he falsely claimed could diagnose and cure almost any disease.[1] These claims were challenged from the outset. Towards the end of his life, and again shortly after his death, many of his machines and conclusions were demonstrated to be intentionally deceptive or false.[2]
He actually published a whole periodical devoted to his theories. Read an issue here.
Hugo Gernsback, the father of modern science fiction, was having none of this, running the expose below in a 1923 issue of his magazine SCIENCE AND INVENTION.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Oct 14, 2022 -
Comments (3)
Category: Frauds, Cons and Scams, Hoaxes and Imposters and Imitators, Medicine, Patent Medicines, Nostrums and Snake Oil, 1920s
October 13, 2022
The power of insulation
I'm imagining her agent the day before: "I've got a hot new job for you!"
Mansfield News-Journal - Sep 20, 1964
Posted By: Alex - Thu Oct 13, 2022 -
Comments (0)
Category: Advertising, 1960s
Third Ear Band
Let us know when you bail.Their Wikipedia page.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Oct 13, 2022 -
Comments (0)
Category: Music, 1970s, Cacophony, Dissonance, White Noise and Other Sonic Assaults
October 12, 2022
Cheese Problems Solved
If you've got cheese problems, this is the book you need.More info: Science Direct
Posted By: Alex - Wed Oct 12, 2022 -
Comments (5)
Category: Food, Books
Failed Suicide Champion
Posted By: Paul - Wed Oct 12, 2022 -
Comments (0)
Category: Success & Failure, Suicide, 1910s
| Get WU Posts by Email | |
|---|---|
| Who We Are |
|---|
| 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 |
