1920s
Adolph Heilborn’s Theories on Women
I can learn little personally about Adolf Heilborn (1873-1941). But his book THE OPPOSITE SEXES caused a bit of a stir when it appeared in 1927, given that he described the female human as the missing link between ape and male human. Naturally, there was, um, a little pushback.
Original article here.
Here is the bio of his opponent.
But maybe it was all a joke! If this bookplate belongs to the same fellow, we can see he had a sense of humor.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Aug 26, 2016 -
Comments (7)
Category: Animals, Eccentrics, Feminism, Forgotten Figures and Where Are They Now?, Science, Anthropology, Stereotypes and Cliches, 1920s, Men, Women
Coco Cod: Worst Flavor Mashup Ever?
Original ad here.
Original ad here.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Aug 21, 2016 -
Comments (1)
Category: Food, Advertising, Patent Medicines, Nostrums and Snake Oil, Children, 1920s
Mystery Gadget 39
What's happening with this device?
The answer is here.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Aug 02, 2016 -
Comments (4)
Category: Technology, 1920s
Follies of the Madmen #289
Erotic embrace of gasoline pump by 1920s woman indicates America's love affair with cars dates to earliest era.
Original ad here.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Jul 30, 2016 -
Comments (3)
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, Motor Vehicles, Public Indecency, 1920s
Teen Suicide Inspired by Media!
Yes, a "contemporary" trend happening in 1921.
Original story here.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Jul 29, 2016 -
Comments (3)
Category: Death, Suicide, Movies, Teenagers, 1920s
People who have slipped on banana peels
I came across a 1927 case of a cliche come to life — a thief fleeing on foot who was caught because he accidentally slipped on a banana peel, which sent him sprawling.
New Cambria Leader - Nov 11, 1927
I figured that Chuck must have documented cases of people who have slipped on banana peels, and sure enough he has.
• 2011 — Ida Valentine, who filed a lawsuit against a California 99 Cents Only store after slipping on a banana peel and suffering a herniated disk. (posted here on WU)
• 2007 — Joyce Walker, awarded $4,110 for injuring her knee in a hospital restroom after slipping on a banana peel. (newsoftheweird.com)
• 2001 — Dorothy M. Ellis Williams, who sued a Quiktrip gas station after she slipped on a banana peel on the pavement outside their store and injured her back and knee. (google groups)
MythBusters has investigated whether you can really slip on a banana peel, and they concluded that although it's not as easy to do as the cliche might suggest, it's definitely possible. Older skins are more slippery. They also note that the cliche originated in the early 20th century after bananas first became a popular fruit, which led to numerous old skins littering sidewalks, and therefore numerous accidents.
Also, back in March 2016 it briefly became a fad among teenagers to take videos of themselves slipping on banana peels and then post the videos online. It was called the "banana peel challenge" #bananapeelchallenge. (Daily Mail)
Photo by Sandman_KK (via Flickr)
Posted By: Alex - Sun Jul 03, 2016 -
Comments (5)
Category: Accidents, 1920s, Bananas
Scientist who thought women were like apes
The wikipedia article on Oxford anthropologist Arthur Thomson (1858-1935) notes that he's best remembered for formulating Thomson's Nose Rule, which states that ethnic groups from cold climates tend to have thinner noses than groups from hot climates.Apparently he's not remembered for his "Women Are Like Apes" theory, which he presented to a meeting of the Royal Academy of Sciences in 1927. The basis of this theory was that, "woman's legs are usually shorter, and her arms longer, than man's" — and this, Thomson felt, made women more ape-like.
I was curious whether Thomson was actually correct about female body proportions, and after some googling I've concluded that he probably was — at least about women (on average) having shorter legs as a proportion of their total height than men do. See, for instance, this article by a designer of bicycles for women, which says that's the case.
Harrisburg Telegraph - Oct 5, 1927
Posted By: Alex - Sat Jun 25, 2016 -
Comments (6)
Category: Science, Anthropology, 1920s, Women
Enormous Human Voice Movie House Organ
Original article here.
This seems to me a vivid example of a massively clever technology that totally missed out on the future train. Adding sound capture to film stock itself made this huge device totally obsolescent overnight.
Posted By: Paul - Mon Jun 06, 2016 -
Comments (3)
Category: Movies, Technology, 1920s
Execution of Comatose Crybaby
[Text skipped]
Original article here.
Posted By: Paul - Fri May 06, 2016 -
Comments (10)
Category: Death, Scary Criminals, Wimps, Milquetoasts and Cowards, 1920s
Capturing Lions by Aeroplane
"The odor of gasoline indicates great wealth and to this they show due respect." So then: nothing has changed in the Middle East in nearly 100 years!
Cautionary note: numerous lions were hurt in the making of this film.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Apr 28, 2016 -
Comments (6)
Category: Animals, Hunting, Trapping and Other Wilderness Activities, Air Travel and Airlines, 1920s
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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 |