Category:
1900s

Mystery Gadget 28

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Man in an electrified cage. Why?

Find out here.

Posted By: Paul - Wed May 27, 2015 - Comments (13)
Category: Technology, 1900s

The gun safe enough to use as a toy


There seem to be layers of meaning in this ad. On one level, it's just a girl playing with her toys (and her gun). On another level, the doll clearly seems posed in a way to represent a dead person, shot perhaps by the girl who's looking down at the gun in her hand with regret. What's the message here?

Incidentally, wikipedia tells us that Iver Johnson revolvers were used in the assassinations of William McKinley and Robert Kennedy (and the attempted assassination of FDR).

Source: The Canadian Magazine - April 1904

Posted By: Alex - Tue Apr 21, 2015 - Comments (5)
Category: Guns, Toys, Advertising, 1900s

Alligator Joe

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Proving that Florida, home to our esteemed Chuck Shepherd, has harbored weirdos for over a century.



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Original article here.

Posted By: Paul - Mon Apr 20, 2015 - Comments (3)
Category: Animals, Eccentrics, 1900s, 1910s

Kearton’s Imitation Ox

In his efforts to obtain photographs of some of the shyest birds, an English author resorted to the most ingenious devices, one of which was an imitation ox made of a bullock skin stretched over a wicker frame. Concealed in this with his camera, the lens of which peeped out of a hole in the chest, the naturalist photographer took observations and obtained some excellent pictures. An artificial sheep also proved of great service when studying birds of the moors and mountains, its realistic appearance never failing to deceive, and making it a useful hiding place.
Source: The Canadian Magazine - April 1904

Find more info about Kearton and his ox here.





Posted By: Alex - Sun Apr 19, 2015 - Comments (5)
Category: Photography and Photographers, 1900s

Giant Ice Cube with Man Inside

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This has been a rough winter here in the Northeast, but I don't think we've had an instance yet like this one from 1906.

Original article here.

Posted By: Paul - Thu Mar 05, 2015 - Comments (7)
Category: Accidents, Death, Nature, 1900s

Monkey Brand Soap

In the days before Mr. Clean, there was Monkey Brand. Though it seems an odd choice for whatever ad man thought this up to figure that people would associate a grinning monkey with clean dishes.


Source: Sketch Magazine, April 1908

Posted By: Alex - Sat Feb 21, 2015 - Comments (4)
Category: Advertising, Baths, Showers and Other Cleansing Methods, 1900s

Peas mean something

In 1904, this young lady was dismissed as "demented." Today she might be recognized as a great performance artist.

Quietly entering the offices of various city officials this morning, a young lady about twenty-five years of age, neatly and attractively gowned in green, opened a paper bag of dried peas, threw a handful on the floor and left after making the statement, "Peas mean something." Later she went to the court house and repeated the act in the offices of Clerk of Courts Fred Badger and Sheriff M.J. Rounds.


Oshkosh Daily Northwestern - Apr 12, 1904

Posted By: Alex - Sun Jan 25, 2015 - Comments (10)
Category: Food, Vegetables, 1900s

Radium Spray Liquid Cleaner

From 1909. Can't find much info about this other than the ad itself, so hard to know if it actually had radium in it, or if they were just using the word because it was the buzzword of the day.


via University of Washington Libraries

Posted By: Alex - Fri Jan 23, 2015 - Comments (7)
Category: Hygiene, 1900s

Mark Twain’s Elephant

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This seems to me to be a fine Xmas joke easily duplicated today. Pick your victim!

Original article here.

Posted By: Paul - Tue Dec 09, 2014 - Comments (3)
Category: Animals, 1900s, Pranks

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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, science-themed books such as Elephants on Acid and Psychedelic Apes.

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.

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