August 2024
August 16, 2024
The Shrink
Poetry of the insane?Are you nuts? Are you nuts? Have you lost your guts?
Why do you think you are nuts?
Posted By: Alex - Fri Aug 16, 2024 -
Comments (0)
Category: Music, Television, Psychology, 1980s, Mental Health and Insanity
Novelty Wig
FINALLY, I can achieve the effect so often seen in cartoons and gag panels!Full patent here.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Aug 16, 2024 -
Comments (4)
Category: Wigs, Hairpieces, Fake Eyelashes, Implants, and other Prosthetics, Patents, 1920s, Pranks
August 15, 2024
Nylon panties in a bottle
Feb 1956: An unnamed English man found a pair of nylon panties inside a bottle that had washed up on a beach near Bognor Regis. An accompanying note explained that a Finnish sailor had put the panties in the bottle. The man presented the panties to his wife who was reportedly "delighted with them."
The London Sunday People - Feb 26, 1956
Posted By: Alex - Thu Aug 15, 2024 -
Comments (2)
Category: 1950s
Mr Civil Defense
Read the full 16-page comic here.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Aug 15, 2024 -
Comments (8)
Category: PSA’s, War, Corporate Mascots, Icons and Spokesbeings, 1950s
August 14, 2024
Double-standard DWI-rules game
Emil Richard Rossi was granted a patent (No. 6,412,777) in 2002 for his "Double-standard DWI-rules" board game.One purpose of the game was to teach players about drunk-driving laws and the financial consequences of drunk driving. Its second purpose was to demonstrate the "double-standard" of drunk-driving enforcement. Or, as he put it, the "Special treatment for drunk-driving offenders according to their Social Status."
Sounds like Rossi had a bone to pick with the way drunk-driving laws are enforced.
No surprise, his game was never produced by a commercial board game manufacturer, but according to boardgamegeek.com he did self-publish the game. So perhaps a copy of it might be available in a second-hand store somewhere.
From his patent description:
The object of the game disclosed herein, is to provide amusement for the players while they acquaint themselves with the financial liability incurred by being arrested for driving drunk. It is also is an object of the game is to provide amusement for the players while they acquaint themselves with the behind the Scene manipulations resulting in Special treatment for drunk-driving offenders according to their Social Status.
Posted By: Alex - Wed Aug 14, 2024 -
Comments (1)
Category: Games, Inebriation and Intoxicants, Police and Other Law Enforcement, Patents, 2000s, Cars
The Reluctant Dragon
Truly bizarre mishmosh of live-action and cartoons, an early experiment from Disney.The film's Wikipedia page.
Modern critics have pointed out that the dragon's mannerisms can easily be interpreted as gay. Sean Griffin notes "the delight and acceptance of an effeminate male," saying, "The dragon sports long emotive eyelashes and contains not an aggressive bone in his body, with the dragon prancing and pirouetting throughout the story... There is no mistaking how the film makes fun of the dragon's mincing manner and prissy pretentions. Yet, the film also makes it quite clear that the dragon does not believe in fighting, and the film doesn't specifically make fun of him for that... Just as in Ferdinand the Bull, The Reluctant Dragon presents an easily read gay character under the guise of fantasy and shows characters accepting him as he is."
The sound quality is a bit off in this posting, but otherwise watchable for strangeness.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Aug 14, 2024 -
Comments (0)
Category: Ineptness, Crudity, Talentlessness, Kitsch, and Bad Art, Movies, Cartoons, 1940s
August 13, 2024
AI Pastor
I'm assuming this is satire because the site doesn't actually share any AI-generated spiritual guidance. If you click the "Get Started" button it shows a pop-up that says "coming soon."On the other hand, I wouldn't be surprised if AI could provide online spiritual help on a par with flesh-and-blood pastors.
More info: AI Pastor
Posted By: Alex - Tue Aug 13, 2024 -
Comments (7)
Category: Religion, AI, Robots and Other Automatons, Satire
Mystery Gadget 112
Why? How? What?The answer is here.
Or after the jump.
More in extended >>
Posted By: Paul - Tue Aug 13, 2024 -
Comments (2)
Category: Body, Technology, 1920s
August 12, 2024
New Hoover Deluxe Shampoo Polishers
Jeff Koons's 1987 "sculpture" is titled "New Hoover Deluxe Shampoo Polishers, New Shelton Wet/Dry 5-Gallon Displaced Quadradecker." It consists of a stack of six shampoo polishers and one wet/dry vacuum.I wonder if the work was inspired in any way by the persistent weird news theme of 'art mistaken as trash.' Instead of art that resembles trash, Koons imagined cleaning supplies as art.
Yeah, I'm probably overthinking this.
New Hoover Deluxe Shampoo Polishers, New Shelton Wet/Dry 5-Gallon Displaced Quadradecker
image source: wikiart
Posted By: Alex - Mon Aug 12, 2024 -
Comments (1)
Category: Art, 1980s
Beaversprite
Dorothy Richards established a sanctuary for beavers in Little Falls, NY. Not so weird. Except that she also had several beavers at a time living in her home.Read her life story at the Internet Archive.
Posted By: Paul - Mon Aug 12, 2024 -
Comments (1)
Category: Animals, Eccentrics, North America, Twentieth Century
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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 |
