1920s
Michelin Hour
The short-lived Michelin Hour radio show, 1928, in which an orchestra of men dressed as tires played popular numbers and lighter classics.
Detroit Free Press - Apr 8, 1928
Posted By: Alex - Wed Jan 31, 2018 -
Comments (6)
Category: Radio, 1920s
Follies of the Madmen #348
Sadistic dentist, with an eye toward cultivating future patients, gives out candy.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Jan 23, 2018 -
Comments (4)
Category: Medicine, Advertising, 1920s, Teeth
Unauthorized Dwellings 4
Houseboats have always been a prime source of contention as authorities try to police dwellings. The Amsterdam article is from 2016. The other news report hails from 1924.
Source.
UPDATE: now behind CHICAGO TRIBUNE paywall.
Posted By: Paul - Mon Jan 08, 2018 -
Comments (0)
Category: Buildings and Other Structures, Oceans and Maritime Pursuits, Unauthorized Dwellings, 1920s, Twenty-first Century
Miss Plump of Coney Island
The winner of the 1925 Miss Plump of Coney Island contest was Jolly Irene, which was the stage name of sideshow performer Amanda Siebert. According to Marc Hartzman's American Sideshow:The pounds piled up and the flesh got fleshier. Diets were ineffective, leaving her helpless against her newly acquired mass. One reporter later described her as having "biceps three times as large as Jack Dempsey." But at 620 pounds, rather than box the heavyweight champion, she turned her tragedy into profit by joining Ringling Bros.
Siebert died in 1940, at the age of 65.
Baltimore Sun - Aug 26, 1925
Central New Jersey Home News - Nov 20, 1925
Louisville Courier-Journal - Dec 1, 1940
Posted By: Alex - Thu Dec 28, 2017 -
Comments (3)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Human Marvels, 1920s
Mystery Illustration 65
What are these guys making?
The answer is here.
Or after the jump.
More in extended >>
Posted By: Paul - Thu Dec 28, 2017 -
Comments (6)
Category: Technology, 1920s
Dr. Blatz’s Trick Chair of Terror
While he was a grad student at the University of Chicago in the early 1920s, William Blatz was sitting in class one day, leaning back in his chair, when suddenly the chair collapsed beneath him, sending him sprawling backwards, crying out in fright. The experience was unsettling, but it gave him an idea for an unusual psychology experiment.
He designed a trick chair that would collapse backwards without warning when he flipped an electric switch. The chair was padded, so its occupant wouldn't get hurt. But Blatz figured that the sensation of abruptly, unexpectedly falling backwards would provoke a strong, measurable reaction in subjects. This would allow him to study the physiology of fear under controlled, repeatable conditions. He performed his experiment on a series of unsuspecting victims.
Diagram of Blatz's trick chair.
When the hook (A) at the top was released, the chair plunged backwards.
More in extended >>
Posted By: Alex - Tue Dec 26, 2017 -
Comments (2)
Category: Experiments, Psychology, 1920s
Artwork Khrushchev Probably Would Not Have Liked 8
Continuing our series of esthetic creations that would probably have displeased stern traditionalist Nikita Khrushchev.
About the artist.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Dec 08, 2017 -
Comments (2)
Category: Art, Avant Garde, 1920s
Mystery Gadget 54
What tha--?
Answer is here.
And after the jump.
More in extended >>
Posted By: Paul - Sun Nov 26, 2017 -
Comments (3)
Category: Technology, 1920s
Tony Sarg
Tony Sarg, "America's Puppet Master," did some weird stuff, among which were early Macy's Thanksgiving Parade balloons; the cartoon below; and his inflatable beach monster on Nantucket.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Oct 12, 2017 -
Comments (3)
Category: Puppets and Automatons, Cartoons, 1920s, 1930s
Psychic Baseball Game
No supernatural abilities actually required.
Original ad here.
Further information here.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Sep 10, 2017 -
Comments (1)
Category: Games, Sports, 1920s, 1930s
| Who We Are |
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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. Contact Us |