January 2024
January 26, 2024
Debbie Merritt, the half-baked girl
It looks like Debbie Merritt didn't just burn. She got absolutely fried.When the ad says that this was a "medically supervised test," does that mean a doctor sat there and watched as she roasted herself?
Ladies' Home Journal - June 1970
Posted By: Alex - Fri Jan 26, 2024 -
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Category: Advertising, 1970s, Skin and Skin Conditions
Follies of the Madmen #586
Posted By: Paul - Fri Jan 26, 2024 -
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Category: History, Advertising, Patent Medicines, Nostrums and Snake Oil, 1960s
January 25, 2024
The Armadillo Armored Suit
Apr 1958: Inventor Harvey Freeman looked a bit like a space alien in his "armadillo" armor, as Police Inspector Beryl Pace shot at him. The Detroit police bought four of Freeman's suits, but I have no idea if they were ever used.Freeman lived to be 100 years old, dying in 2022. You can read his obituary here.
Santa Cruz Sentinel - Apr 30, 1958
Holland Evening Sentinel - Apr 30, 1958 (click to enlarge)
Below is what appears to be an early version of Freeman's suit.
Mechanix Illustrated - Sep 1956
Posted By: Alex - Thu Jan 25, 2024 -
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Category: Inventions, Police and Other Law Enforcement, 1950s
The Avrocar Military Flying Saucer
If only this project had succeeded, we'd all have Jetson-style flying saucers today!Here is the Wikipedia page.
But I do think the version patented by one C. P. Lent right around the same time has a classier shape.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Jan 25, 2024 -
Comments (1)
Category: Flight, Military, Technology, Patents, 1950s
January 24, 2024
Saddle Cigarette Lighter
Perhaps it prevented fires caused by burning matches, but what about the fires caused by cigarette butts?
Popular Science - Apr 1936
Posted By: Alex - Wed Jan 24, 2024 -
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Category: Inventions, Firefighting, Arson, Wildfires, Infernos and Other Conflagrations, Smoking and Tobacco, 1930s
The Midnight Parasites
Posted By: Paul - Wed Jan 24, 2024 -
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Category: Aliens, Cryptozoology, Death, Surrealism, Cartoons, 1970s
January 23, 2024
Mushroom-Based Air Conditioning
Researchers at Johns Hopkins have invented (and patented) a mushroom-powered air cooling system that can reduce the temperature in a semiclosed compartment by approximately 10 °C in 25 minutes. They call it the "MycoCooler." From their recent article in PNAS:It's an interesting concept, but somehow I don't think a MycoCooler would be powerful enough to beat the heat here in Arizona. (Though in the days before AC, everyone here used evaporative coolers. But they also say that it's much hotter here than it used to be... a combination of global warming and the urban heat-island effect.)
More info: Johns Hopkins, Patent No. 11871707
Posted By: Alex - Tue Jan 23, 2024 -
Comments (2)
Category: Technology, Patents
The Kasa-Obake
One of the weirder Japanese mythological creatures.Wikipedia tells us:
They are generally umbrellas with one eye and jump around with one leg, but sometimes they have two arms or two eyes among other features,[2][6] and they also sometimes are depicted to have a long tongue.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Jan 23, 2024 -
Comments (0)
Category: Hygiene, Asia, Fictional Monsters
January 22, 2024
Raisin Pudding Cake
Family Circle Magazine - Jan 1976
Posted By: Alex - Mon Jan 22, 2024 -
Comments (5)
Category: Advertising, 1970s
“The Family Circus” Goes to War
No one likes to make fun of THE FAMILY CIRCUS more than I. In fact, if you go beyond the jump, you'll see a couple of samples of the re-captioned cartoons I frequently post on Facebook.But I have to say that I have new admiration for Bil Keane after reading about his somewhat gutsy and altruistic trip to Vietnam.
More in extended >>
Posted By: Paul - Mon Jan 22, 2024 -
Comments (2)
Category: War, Comics, 1960s, Asia
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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 |
