April 2023
April 5, 2023
Zoom!
Before it was videotelephone software, Zoom was a bustline enhancer.
Cosmopolitan - Feb 1957
Posted By: Alex - Wed Apr 05, 2023 -
Comments (2)
Category: Body Modifications, Patent Medicines, Nostrums and Snake Oil, 1950s
Smokey Pleacher
His entry at Hillbilly Music Dot Com.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Apr 05, 2023 -
Comments (1)
Category: Hillbillies, Country Bumpkins, Ruralism and Flyover Country, Humor, Ineptness, Crudity, Talentlessness, Kitsch, and Bad Art, Music, Twentieth Century
April 4, 2023
ESP Girl
In November 1964, 5-year-old Kenneth Mason went missing. The police searched the river where he was last seen, but failed to find him.Then 15-year-old Linda Anderson came forward and offered to use her psychic powers to help the police find Kenneth. Her father put her in a hypnotic trance, to activate her powers, and she declared, "The boy is not in the river, but is in a house." So the police began searching houses in the area.
Charlotte Observer - Nov 14, 1964
Linda Anderson, ESP Girl
In addition to being able to locate missing children, Linda also claimed to have the power of "dermal optical perception." She could read through her skin (as opposed to through her eyes). The media dubbed her "ESP Girl."
Lewiston Daily Sun - Nov 14, 1964
A skeptical physics professor, James A. Coleman, doubted that she could see through her skin and challenged her to prove it.
Bangor Daily News - Feb 11, 1965
She lost the challenge.
Nashua Telegraph - Feb 15, 1965
And then Kenneth Mason was found. Sadly he was dead and in the river after all. So much for the powers of ESP Girl.
Daily Kennebec Journal - Mar 12, 1965
Posted By: Alex - Tue Apr 04, 2023 -
Comments (2)
Category: Crime, Paranormal, Predictions, 1960s
Glenda Lawrence, “America’s First Space Housekeeper”
Now that NASA has selected a new crew for the Moon mission, I hope they have not neglected to fill this role.
Glenda Lawrence America's First Space Housekeeper. She Will Be Preparing Food For The Apollo 11 Astronauts Armstrong Aldrin And Collins Whilst They Are In Quarantine.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Apr 04, 2023 -
Comments (1)
Category: Domestic, Food, Spaceflight, Astronautics, and Astronomy, 1960s
April 3, 2023
Egg Blowing
According to Life magazine (Dec 15, 1952), in the early 1950s the sport of egg blowing (Eieren Blazen) was all the rage in Holland.
The rules of the game:
I can't find any references to the game beyond this one article in Life.
I can see why it would be an amusing game at parties. But probably not appropriate for the age of Covid.
"Players and spectators go into convulsions of laughter as a woman blows so hard at egg that she blows out her false teeth on the table"
Posted By: Alex - Mon Apr 03, 2023 -
Comments (1)
Category: Sports, Eggs, 1950s
Wailing-Activated Rocking Cradle
Mister Muzzey had a good idea way back in 1962 and was actually ahead of his time--his patent also references a baby monitor to transmit the cries to the parents' room--but I wonder if his device ever went into production? As you can see below, there are modern versions today.
Amazon link.
Posted By: Paul - Mon Apr 03, 2023 -
Comments (0)
Category: Babies, Domestic, Inventions, Patents, Parents, 1960s, Cacophony, Dissonance, White Noise and Other Sonic Assaults
April 2, 2023
The automobile of the future
From the Washington Times - Jan 6, 1918:
Compare this to the Zoox, the self-driving robotaxi that Amazon is developing. Not an exact match, but similar enough that I'm going to call the 1918 prediction a success.
Though note that the 1918 car still had a driver. So the future managed to outdo what the futurists of 1918 imagined.
Posted By: Alex - Sun Apr 02, 2023 -
Comments (5)
Category: Predictions, Yesterday’s Tomorrows, 1910s, Cars
Peter Gunn Theme—With Lyrics
A very famous song, in one of its lesser known, more wild-eyed versions.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Apr 02, 2023 -
Comments (1)
Category: Music, Television, Adaptations, Reworkings, Recastings and New Versions, 1950s, 1960s
April 1, 2023
Sparkie Williams, famous budgie
Sparkie Williams is apparently one of the most famous birds of all time, but I just found out about him.
Sparkie Williams (stuffed)
Some details about him from Animal Facts and Feats by Gerald Wood:
More details from Wikipedia:
The BBC's archive on Facebook has a video of an interview with Sparkie's owner, with stuffied Sparkie beside her.
Posted By: Alex - Sat Apr 01, 2023 -
Comments (1)
Category: Animals
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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 |
