1910s
The Six Brown Brothers
Blackface, clownsuits and saxophones: a winning combo in any era!
Learn the whole story here.
Posted By: Paul - Sun May 05, 2013 -
Comments (0)
Category: Clowns, Music, Stereotypes and Cliches, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s
Group Baptism by Firehose
Conducted under the auspices of the famous and fabulous United House of Prayer for All People, whose founder was "Sweet Daddy Grace," as depicted below.
I heartily endorse any institution whose leaders inherit the title of "Sweet Daddy."
Posted By: Paul - Tue Apr 30, 2013 -
Comments (2)
Category: Crowds, Groups, Mobs and Other Mass Movements, Cult Figures and Artifacts, Eccentrics, Religion, 1910s
Doc Owens, Con Man
As early as December 1900, the notorious Doc Owens was making headlines, having established his racket of fleecing sea-going sheep.
READ LEFT-HAND COLUMN, THEN RIGHT-HAND COLUMN, THEN SAME FOR THE TWO FOLLOWING.
Three years later, The New York Times did a special feature on Owens and his fellows (with his photo miscaptioned).
Click here for very readable PDF download.
But Owens was to meet poetic justice in 1912, as our final piece reveals.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Feb 15, 2013 -
Comments (2)
Category: Crime, Death, Disasters, Frauds, Cons and Scams, Oceans and Maritime Pursuits, 1900s, 1910s, Gambling, Casinos, Lotteries and Other Games of Chance
Westphal’s Auxiliator
[Click text to enlarge]
Here's an old-timey hair tonic with a weird name. The strange noun just means "helper."
Composed of "55% grain alcohol," it went down many an alcoholic's gullet, I'm sure.
Believe it or not, the tonic was mentioned in a SIMPSONS comicbook. If you look at their ad below, you'll see why. The mutant female user resembles the famed Springfield three-eyed fish.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Jan 22, 2013 -
Comments (4)
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, Elderly and Seniors, Comics, 1900s, 1910s, 1920s, Nineteenth Century, Hair and Hairstyling
Women Vigilantes of 1913
There's a lot more to this story, including many pictures, fascinatingly recounted here.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Jan 19, 2013 -
Comments (4)
Category: Vigilante Justice, 1910s, Women
Weird Woodrow Wilson
Two further odd reasons why Woodrow Wilson is recalled as one of our worst presidents: sweet sorghum and no wine!
Posted By: Paul - Thu Sep 13, 2012 -
Comments (9)
Category: Eccentrics, Food, Government, 1910s, Alcohol
Kayser the Spy
The Reverend Kayser sounds like a real piece of work. German propagandist, adulterer, real-estate conman, and possible saboteur. A man accumulates a lot of possible murderers with that resume.
Bonus points for being named "Kayser" during World War I.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Aug 23, 2012 -
Comments (7)
Category: Death, Real Estate, Religion, Sexuality, War, Weird Names, 1910s
Alum-laced Peanut Butter
What else could explain that intense puckering?
Original ad here.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Aug 12, 2012 -
Comments (3)
Category: Food, 1910s, Face and Facial Expressions
Electric Bitters
I can't find the ingredients for this patent medicine, but I'll bet it packed a kick.
Here's the story of its creation, as given also below.
Posted By: Paul - Mon Jul 23, 2012 -
Comments (11)
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, Medicine, 1900s, 1910s, Alcohol
Improve Your Face
Original ad here.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Jul 08, 2012 -
Comments (3)
Category: Body Modifications, Self-help Schemes, 1910s
| 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, 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. Contact Us |