May 2023
May 6, 2023
Armpitin
Dec 1965: The Canadian Medical Association Journal published a "very original article" detailing the discovery of a new contraceptive called "Armpitin." When women applied it under their armpit, it had the simultaneous effect of increasing female libido and temporarily making men who smelled it sterile.Most readers recognized the article as a joke (even though the journal wasn't known for its humor). However, the author, Julius Greenstein, later reported that he received an inquiry from a French pharmaceutical firm seeking to acquire the patent rights to Armpitin.
You can read Greenstein's full article ("Studies on a New, Peerless Contraceptive Agent: A Preliminary Final Report") here.
Minneapolis Star - Mar 10, 1966
Click to enlarge
Posted By: Alex - Sat May 06, 2023 -
Comments (3)
Category: Medicine, 1960s, Satire
The Mad Martian Pinstriper
Posted By: Paul - Sat May 06, 2023 -
Comments (4)
Category: Aliens, Music, 1950s, Cars
May 5, 2023
How to clean your ears
Composer and acoustic expert R. Murray Schafer came up with the idea of "ear cleaning." It had nothing to do with physically cleaning the ear. Instead, it was about wiping clean the acoustical palette in order to be able to better listen to and play music.Here's an example of an ear-cleaning exercise (via Trevor Cox's book Sonic Wonderland):
For more info, Schafer's short book, Ear Cleaning, is available as a free download.
Posted By: Alex - Fri May 05, 2023 -
Comments (0)
Category: Noises and Other Public Disturbances of the Peace, Cacophony, Dissonance, White Noise and Other Sonic Assaults
Mystery Illustration 110
Why is this lad soaking his feet?The answer is here.
Or after the jump.
More in extended >>
Posted By: Paul - Fri May 05, 2023 -
Comments (2)
Category: Sports, 1950s
May 4, 2023
Can your scalp pass the F-N test?
The F-N test = "famous fingernail test."
Posted By: Alex - Thu May 04, 2023 -
Comments (1)
Category: Innuendo, Double Entendres, Symbolism, Nudge-Nudge-Wink-Wink and Subliminal Messages, Advertising, 1940s
Unauthorized Dwellings 30
We surveyed this community earlier in this series, but I thought it deserved a followup chronicling its demise.The whole saga of Maplewood Mudflats is told in an article here.
Source: The Province (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada) 05 Sep 1972, Tue Page 25
Posted By: Paul - Thu May 04, 2023 -
Comments (0)
Category: Oceans and Maritime Pursuits, Unauthorized Dwellings, Bohemians, Beatniks, Hippies and Slackers, 1960s, 1970s, North America
May 3, 2023
Model of the year
I'm sure some psychologist must have conducted a study to see how much pain people would suffer in order to avoid embarrassment. If not, the case of Marcy Kwapil, chosen as "1975 model of the year" in Racine, Wisconsin, would offer an example. Rather than risk the embarrassment of disrupting a parade to get off the burning hot hood of a car, she suffered through to the end, incurring third-degree burns.
Roanoke Times - Aug 19, 1975
Below is the only picture I could find of Marcy Kwapil. She's the second from the right.
Racine Journal Times - Oct 25, 1973
Posted By: Alex - Wed May 03, 2023 -
Comments (2)
Category: Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Psychology, 1970s
“Chicken Sam” to “Kill the Jap”
An arcade game where one tried to shoot a chicken thief was repurposed, after Pearl Harbor, to a game where one sought to nail a Japanese soldier.
Posted By: Paul - Wed May 03, 2023 -
Comments (1)
Category: Ethnic Groupings, Games, Stereotypes and Cliches, War, 1940s
May 2, 2023
Murder by dynamite
1975: John Wesley Reese wanted to kill his ex-wife and her new partner, so he put a stick of dynamite beneath their bed and blew it up while they were in it. She died, but her partner survived because her body shielded him from the blast.The fact that he survived, shielded by her body, somehow makes the case even more gruesome, because it's hard to imagine the psychological effect an experience like that would have.
Berkshire Eagle - Aug 25, 1975
Posted By: Alex - Tue May 02, 2023 -
Comments (4)
Category:
Dwile Flonking
Posted By: Paul - Tue May 02, 2023 -
Comments (3)
Category: Games, Ridiculousness, Foolishness, Public Ridicule, Silliness, Goofiness and Dumb-looking, United Kingdom, Alcohol
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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 |
