June 2023
June 15, 2023
The Doomsday Will of Maurice Dekobra
According to Wikipedia, during the 1920s and 30s Maurice Dekobra was probably the best-known French writer in the world. His most famous book was La Madone des Sleepings (The Madonna of the Sleeping Cars), which according to its Amazon blurb is "one of the first and most influential spy novels of the twentieth century."I hadn't heard of it. This is probably because (again according to Wikipedia) by the 21st Century Dekobra had become a "total unknown."
In 1945, while Dekobra was still near the height of his fame, he drew up an unusual will. He left his entire library of 17,000 books as well as his art collection to the town of Papeete in Tahiti. He did this because he figured that big cities such as Paris and London would probably soon be destroyed by nuclear bombs. But Papeete might survive. Therefore, so might his books.
Dekobra ended up living until 1973. I haven't been able to find out if, by that time, he had changed his will, or if Papeete ever got his books.
Los Angeles Times - Oct 3, 1945
Dekobra in 1965 holding some of his books
Posted By: Alex - Thu Jun 15, 2023 -
Comments (3)
Category: Death, Inheritance and Wills, Books
Follies of the Madmen #568
Posted By: Paul - Thu Jun 15, 2023 -
Comments (0)
Category: Stupid Criminals, Advertising, Candy, 1970s
June 14, 2023
What does this measure?
This is obviously a measuring device of some kind. But what exactly does it measure? The answer is below in extended.
More in extended >>
Posted By: Alex - Wed Jun 14, 2023 -
Comments (3)
Category: Inventions, Patents, Instruments and Measuring Devices
Bevo
Perhaps Anheuser-Busch could reintroduce this beverage to bolster their flagging sales."Bevo" was the name of a non-alcoholic "near beer" produced by the Anheuser-Busch brewery in Saint Louis. Introduced in 1916 as the national debate over Prohibition threatened the company's welfare, the drink was extremely popular through the 1920s. Over 50 million cases were sold annually in fifty countries. Anheuser-Busch named the new drink "Bevo" as a play on the term "pivo," the Bohemian word for beer.
The Wikipedia page.
An article about a Bevo incident in Texas.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Jun 14, 2023 -
Comments (6)
Category: Replacements, Substitutes, Alternatives and Knock-offs, Advertising, Twentieth Century, Alcohol
June 13, 2023
Meet Mr. Frib
Mr. Frib, the friendly corporate mascot for asbestos insulation.
Personnel Management and Methods - Mar 1958
Posted By: Alex - Tue Jun 13, 2023 -
Comments (0)
Category: Corporate Mascots, Icons and Spokesbeings, 1950s
Miss Sportsorama
I find newspaper references to this beauty title from 1955 to 1990. But I do not think they all refer to the same contest. The largest number of references relate to a trout-fishing contest in NY State.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Jun 13, 2023 -
Comments (0)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Sports, Twentieth Century
June 12, 2023
The Naked Guy of Berkeley
Andrew Martinez attended UC Berkeley during the early 1990s. While there he became known as the "naked guy" because of his refusal to wear clothes — ever. Text from the magazine of the Cal Alumni Association:
image source: East of Borneo
What became of Martinez:
Posted By: Alex - Mon Jun 12, 2023 -
Comments (1)
Category: Eccentrics, Nudism and Nudists, 1990s
Michael Jackson’s Favorite Cereal?
Since Sugar Bear was supposed to sound like Dean Martin or Bing Crosby, this commercial could be seen symbolically as the passing of the musical baton from the Greatest Generation to the Boomers.
Posted By: Paul - Mon Jun 12, 2023 -
Comments (0)
Category: Music, Advertising, Cereal, 1970s
June 11, 2023
Call to Heaven
At least the call wasn't traced to a cemetery.
The Munster Times - Jun 8, 1950
Posted By: Alex - Sun Jun 11, 2023 -
Comments (1)
Category: Religion, Telephones, 1950s
Slang of 1911
Posted By: Paul - Sun Jun 11, 2023 -
Comments (4)
Category: 1910s, North America, Slang
| 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 |
