Weird Universe Archive

February 2023

February 28, 2023

Amorous Dietitian

Published in 1961. It's got an intriguing title. However, a review on Goodreads reveals that "The title and the cover text have nothing to do with anything in the book."

More info: Pop Sensation

Posted By: Alex - Tue Feb 28, 2023 - Comments (5)
Category: Books, 1960s, Dieting and Weight Loss

February 27, 2023

Zip Code Music

Appearing in a post office film didn't seem to do much for the musical career of the Swingin' Six.

Indianapolis Star - Nov 4, 1966





via Postal Museum (Smithsonian)

Posted By: Alex - Mon Feb 27, 2023 - Comments (2)
Category: Music, 1960s, Postal Services

United Airlines’ “Snowbird Flights”

It's still skiing season! Grab one of these package deals!

"Our Snowbird Toddy makes him feel at home, as it warms the cockles of his heart."



Posted By: Paul - Mon Feb 27, 2023 - Comments (0)
Category: Skating, Sledding, Skiing and Other Wintertime Pursuits, Advertising, Air Travel and Airlines, 1970s

February 26, 2023

Means of protection for feminine wear

Thanks to Natalie Teeple's invention, women riding public transportation in the 1910s had the means to give a sharply pointed response if "mashers" pressed up against them.

It is well known that rude and flirtatious youths and men, "mashers," frequently avail themselves of the crowded condition of cars and other means of transportation to annoy and insult ladies next whom they may happen to be seated by pressing a knee or thigh against the adjacent knee or thigh of their feminine neighbor, who, as often happens is too timid or modest to create a disturbance by calling attention to the fact.

It is the object of my invention to guard against undue familiarity of the character designated by the provision of means whereby the offender is automatically warned, punished, and deterred from persistent offense; and to this end my invention consists primarily of an elastic resilient spring arranged in conjunction with a spur or prick and adapted to be attached to an under-skirt in such manner that when subjected to extraneous pressure the sharp point will protrude;

Compare this with the "defense shoes" of the 1950s.


Posted By: Alex - Sun Feb 26, 2023 - Comments (1)
Category: Patents, 1910s, Women

Easy Lessons in Psychometry

With enough practice, in a mere 56 pages you too can become an occult master.






"I sense a bill...an unpaid bill. It has to do with flames, heating... Yes, it's my utility bill!"

Posted By: Paul - Sun Feb 26, 2023 - Comments (2)
Category: Hobbies and DIY, Supernatural, Occult, Paranormal, 1900s

February 25, 2023

To laugh at Percy isn’t fair

I wouldn't laugh at Percy, but I would wonder why he looks like a mannequin. See the uncanny valley effect.

Hearst's International-Cosmopolitan - Aug 1936

Posted By: Alex - Sat Feb 25, 2023 - Comments (2)
Category: Advertising, 1930s, Hair and Hairstyling

Be Fair

The tribulations of a blind lover.

The group's Wikipedia page.



Posted By: Paul - Sat Feb 25, 2023 - Comments (0)
Category: Disabilities, Music, 1960s, Love & Romance

February 24, 2023

Rubber Balloon Storage

The woman is wrapped in a rubber balloon because they're getting her ready for storage.

Popular Mechanics - July 1939

Posted By: Alex - Fri Feb 24, 2023 - Comments (3)
Category: Packaging, Wrapping, and other Protective Measures, 1930s

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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.

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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.

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