November 2023
November 15, 2023
The Jonathan Nichols Temperance and Tobacco Pledge
In 1883, Wakefield resident Jonathan Nichols established a $1000 fund from which $10 would be paid to any Wakefield boy (girls excluded, I assume) who took and successfully completed the "Jonathan Nichols Temperance and Tobacco Pledge."The pledge was to not "drink intoxicating liquors and not to chew or smoke tobacco" before they turned 21. They had to take the pledge before their 16th birthday.
Unfortunately, Nichols didn't bother to have the prize adjusted for inflation. So while $10 in 1883 may have been a decent prize, today it seems like a joke.
Six hundred boys took the pledge before 1918. From 1918 to 1959 only 10 did. There was some publicity about the pledge in 1959, which inspired 29 Boy Scouts to take the pledge in 1964 (but only a couple of them subsequently got the cash payout). Since then it doesn't seem that anyone has bothered with the pledge.
According to this inflation calculator, $10 in 1883 was equivalent to about $300 today.
The article below is from the Wilmington Town Crier - July 7, 1993.
Posted By: Alex - Wed Nov 15, 2023 -
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Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Inebriation and Intoxicants
Follies of the Madmen #581
Posted By: Paul - Wed Nov 15, 2023 -
Comments (1)
Category: Music, Advertising, 1950s, Alcohol
November 14, 2023
Back on Gas
Mrs. Edith Slack waited twenty years to ask the Gas Board to reconnect her gas cooker which its workers had accidentally left disconnected. She didn't ask sooner because her husband "didn't like making a fuss."As Pink Floyd said, "Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way."
London Sunday Mirror- July 5, 1959
Posted By: Alex - Tue Nov 14, 2023 -
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Category: Utilities, United Kingdom
Artwork Khrushchev Probably Would Not Have Liked 53
Get the whole story here.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Nov 14, 2023 -
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Category: Costumes and Masks, Avant Garde, 1920s
November 13, 2023
Speed Mask for Swimmers
From what I can gather, Calvin Gongwer is legendary for his inventions in the world of ocean swimming. But his speed mask doesn't seem to have gained a following.
(left) Popular Mechanics - Dec 1968; (right) Ottawa Citizen - July 25, 1968
Posted By: Alex - Mon Nov 13, 2023 -
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Category: Swimming, Snorkeling, and Diving, Patents
Early Bad Airline Passenger Behavior
I wonder what the first instance of bad behavior on a commercial flight might be? Such an incident probably happened as soon as commercial flights began. In any case, here's an early one.
Posted By: Paul - Mon Nov 13, 2023 -
Comments (3)
Category: Misbehavior, Rebellion, Acting-out and General Naughtiness, Air Travel and Airlines, 1960s
November 12, 2023
Twin Telepathy
1965: Two eye doctors published an article in the journal Science detailing what appeared to be a form of telepathy found in two sets of twins. The brainwaves of the twins seemed to be linked. When the brainwaves of one changed (by having him close his eyes), the brainwaves of the other twin would change also, even though the two were in separate rooms.The doctors examined 16 sets of twins, but only found the linked brainwave phenomenon in two of them. Why these two? The doctors speculated that they were "serene" whereas the other twins demonstrated "impatient anxiety and apprehension about the testing procedure."
It's surprising the doctors got their article published in Science, since that journal doesn't usually consider anything that smacks too much of parapsychology.
You can find a copy of their Science article ("Extrasensory Electroencephalographic Induction between Identical Twins") here.
More info about twin telepathy at Psi Encyclopedia.
Los Angeles Times - Dec 22, 1965
Science - Oct 15, 1965
Posted By: Alex - Sun Nov 12, 2023 -
Comments (5)
Category: Paranormal, Science, Psychology, Twins, Lookalikes & Doppelgangers, 1960s
Mystery Illustration 112
What Shakespeare play--one of the more famous--does this production with its bizarre costumes portray?The answer is here.
Or after the jump.
More in extended >>
Posted By: Paul - Sun Nov 12, 2023 -
Comments (1)
Category: Costumes and Masks, Theater and Stage, Avant Garde, 1950s
November 11, 2023
Home Fallout Shelter Snack Bar
In 1980, FEMA published plans that allowed anyone to build their own Home Fallout Shelter Snack Bar. The plans are available at archive.org.
In 1983, artist Michael Smith followed FEMA's plans and built a Fallout Shelter Snack Bar, which he then displayed as an art installation. To accompany the snack bar, he also created a video game housed in a custom, upright arcade cabinet:
More info: rhizome.org
source: Video Installation 1983
Posted By: Alex - Sat Nov 11, 2023 -
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Category: Art, Atomic Power and Other Nuclear Matters, 1980s
Tri-Ang Bolo Game
The Tri-Ang Toy company in the UK seems to have been a conventional and successful business. But then, in some fit of madness, they chose to release "Bolo--The New Game."
Posted By: Paul - Sat Nov 11, 2023 -
Comments (3)
Category: Inventions, Really Bad Ideas, Success & Failure, Toys, 1940s, United Kingdom
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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 |
