April 2023
April 20, 2023
Death by metric system
1976: Leonard Dodge "hung himself — because he could not cope with the change-over to metrication, it was suggested at the inquest on him."
Devon Herald Express - Oct 9, 1976
Posted By: Alex - Thu Apr 20, 2023 -
Comments (1)
Category: Death, Suicide, 1970s
Follies of the Madmen #562
New kind of carpet is immune to elephant manure. Don't ask where that elephant's trunk goes in the final scene.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Apr 20, 2023 -
Comments (0)
Category: Animals, Domestic, Advertising, Public Indecency
April 19, 2023
Lifesavers
If I'm reading this correctly, she really likes a guy who's short and scrawny, but feels that she's not supposed to. Lifesavers will help her conform to social expectations and find a more conventional partner.
The Old Line Magazine (University of Maryland) - Dec 1937
Posted By: Alex - Wed Apr 19, 2023 -
Comments (2)
Category: Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Advertising, 1930s
Oklahoma’s Square Dance Queen
Fifty-one ladies representing 51 towns competed. I wish I had a better picture of the winner.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Apr 19, 2023 -
Comments (0)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Charities and Philanthropy, Regionalism, 1950s, Dance
April 18, 2023
America’s Fascist Dime
In 1916, the U.S. Mint introduced a dime that had, on one side, an image of the Fasces — a bundle of sticks that served as a symbol of authority in ancient Rome. The Fasces were also the source of the term 'fascism.' So as fascism emerged in Europe, it became increasingly awkward that the U.S. had a fascist symbol on its money. Finally, in 1945, the "fascist dime" was retired.
There have long been rumors that fascist supporters somehow managed to get the symbol on the dime. But mainstream opinion is that the presence of the symbol on the dime was just a weird accident. GovMint.com notes that Adolph Weinman had designed the dime in 1916, "three years BEFORE the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini adopted this symbol for his cruel regime."
Of course, it could have been worse. At least they didn't put a swastika on the dime.
More info: Numismatic News, Wikipedia
Posted By: Alex - Tue Apr 18, 2023 -
Comments (8)
Category: Money
The Films of Jean Rollin
I confess to never having heard of this director until recently. But his legacy certainly seems one of High Weirdness. A new documentary (first clip) chronicles his career.His Wikipedia page.
Caution: Mild nudity in the clips.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Apr 18, 2023 -
Comments (3)
Category: Horror, Movies, Outsider Art, Fantasy, Europe, Twentieth Century
April 17, 2023
Miss Idaho Petroleum
Joanne Hopkins had the honor of being named Miss Idaho Petroleum of 1951. As far as I can tell, 1951 was the only year in which this title was awarded.
Idaho Daily Statesman - Oct 14, 1951
Idaho Daily Statesman - Jan 8, 1952
Three other states awarded Miss Petroleum titles in 1951. The University of Southern California library has some photos of the four petroleum beauty queens together. From left to right, there's Miss Idaho Petroleum, Miss Montana Petroleum, Miss Wyoming Petroleum, and Miss Colorado Petroleum.
In this photo it looks like they're about to throw Miss Colorado Petroleum in the pool:
I hadn't realized that Idaho was a petroleum-producing state. Some google searching produced this list of all the petroleum states in order of how much they produce. Texas is the top, by a wide margin. Idaho is third from bottom. Maybe Idaho produced more in 1951. I don't know.
Posted By: Alex - Mon Apr 17, 2023 -
Comments (2)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Fossil Fuels, Carbon Footprint, and Climate Change, 1950s
Will Rogers Nominates Henry Ford for President
The election season heats up!
Posted By: Paul - Mon Apr 17, 2023 -
Comments (0)
Category: Politics, Historical Figure, 1920s, Comedians, Cars
April 16, 2023
Spiked Jeans
I've posted many examples of weird jeans, and I always think it'll be my last post on the subject because how many weird things can one do with jeans? But inevitably I come across a new example.These "spiked jeans" are from "Done by Doug."
Posted By: Alex - Sun Apr 16, 2023 -
Comments (0)
Category: Denim
Vintage Trophy Girl Photos
Hot rod/dragstrip racing has always featured beautiful women to hand out trophies or generally add allure to the scene. The folks at Jalopy Journal have assembled nearly 300 pages depicting same.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Apr 16, 2023 -
Comments (1)
Category: Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Contest, Bohemians, Beatniks, Hippies and Slackers, Women, Cars
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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 |
