Category:
1920s

Singing Eskimos

On his 1925 Arctic expedition, Admiral Donald B. MacMillan used singing eskimos to test the effectiveness of short wave radio as a communication tool for the world's navies. His experiments are credited with helping to open up previously "useless" radio frequencies.

In the picture, MacMillan is second from right. The guy standing behind him is Eugene McDonald, founder of Zenith Radio Corporation. His company built the special short wave radio gear used on the expedition. All others in the picture are the singing eskimos.

Posted By: Alex - Tue Apr 30, 2013 - Comments (3)
Category: Music, Radio, Experiments, 1920s

Los Angeles 100,000 years in the future


A headline in the Los Angeles Times, Apr 15, 1923. The author of the article, Ransome Sutton, elaborated:

Hairless, toothless, earless, toeless, head-heavy, all the useless scaffolding removed from the body, all the animal instincts erased from the mind, man will sit in a cushioned chair — a Jovian brain in a simplified body, like a dynamo housed in papier-mache — wielding thunderbolts.

So much concerning the inhabitants of Los Angeles in the year 101,923 AD.

Within the memory of old men, Los Angeles has grown into a city of some 700,000 inhabitants. Barring earthquakes, glaciers, acts of God and the public enemy, it should continue to grow, at an increasing rate, so long as mouths can be fed and the inhabitants housed. For it affords attractions of everlasting value — summery sunshine, health, rare air, good soil, scenery, the mountains in the background and in front the sea. Railroads extending to the eastward like a fan, and ocean routes radiating to the westward. Here, more surely than almost anywhere, continuous growth is insured.

Of course, he failed to foresee how bizarre many of the residents of Los Angeles would have become a mere 90 years later, let alone 100,000 years in the future!

Posted By: Alex - Wed Apr 24, 2013 - Comments (11)
Category: Utopias and Dystopias, 1920s, Yesterday’s Tomorrows

Sideways Art


The Fossil Hunters is a painting by Edwin Dickinson, created between 1926 and 1928. Its claim to fame in the history of art is that it was accidentally hung sideways first at the Carnegie International Exhibition of 1928, then subsequently at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and at the New York Academy of Design, where it received an award. Finally someone noticed that it was incorrectly oriented (according to what Dickinson said was supposed to be the right-side up).

I think it looks better on its side (below). At least, I can kinda make some sense out of the painting from that angle. But then, who said art was supposed to make sense!

Posted By: Alex - Fri Apr 12, 2013 - Comments (8)
Category: Art, 1920s

Happy Easter 2013!

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Personally, I think it's weird that we can peek at our ancestors from nearly 85 years ago. Be sure to catch the sylph-like dancing starting around the four-minute mark.

Posted By: Paul - Sun Mar 31, 2013 - Comments (4)
Category: Animals, Holidays, Easter, Movies, 1920s

Fritz von Opel



Fritz von Opel was one of those early-20th-century rocket-besotted guys who pioneered this exotic means of propulsion. Just look at his rocket car go in the film clip above! (Narration in German, but not necessary to comprehension.)

But von Opel's innocent excitement had its darker side. I give you the 1929 newspaper article below. Specifically, the enlarged sentence.

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Posted By: Paul - Fri Mar 29, 2013 - Comments (7)
Category: Inventions, War, Space Travel, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, Europe, Cars

Interstate Poultry School

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"Interstate poultry husbandry?" That could get you ten to twenty years in prison nowadays!

Original ad here.

Posted By: Paul - Sun Mar 17, 2013 - Comments (6)
Category: Agriculture, Animals, Education, 1920s

Electric Waffles for Valentine’s Day


1928 ad, via Paul Collins

Posted By: Alex - Thu Feb 14, 2013 - Comments (5)
Category: Food, Holidays, 1920s

Westphal’s Auxiliator

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[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.

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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

Zulu Blowgun Free

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Oh, just imagine the glorious lawsuit possibilities if this toy were offered today!

Original ad here.

Posted By: Paul - Tue Jan 15, 2013 - Comments (7)
Category: Death, Stereotypes and Cliches, Toys, Lawsuits, 1920s, Africa

How to Apply Blackface


Denison's make-up guide (1926) was a catalogue of the various products sold by Denison, but it also offered detailed instructions on how to use their products. Below is their guide for "blacking up" using their Superfine Minstrel Black make-up paint. There were similar how-to's for other ethnic types such as the 'Ghetto Jew,' the Japanese, Irishman, Chinaman, etc. See more images from the catalogue at UVA's online exhibit, Uncle Tom's Cabin & American Culture.





Posted By: Alex - Wed Jan 09, 2013 - Comments (8)
Category: Clowns, Costumes and Masks, Racism, 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.

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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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