1930s
Mother Goose Controversy
1937: I don't know how Khrushchev would have felt about the Mother Goose mural painted on a wall at the Glenn Dale Sanatorium outside Washington D.C., but health officer Dr. George Rhuland felt it was "grotesque" and ordered it painted over. I think he was eventually overruled.I'm not sure what he found objectionable about it. Perhaps he didn't like the modernist style.
Meanwhile, the Glenn Dale Sanatorium has since become an abandoned relic, which remains standing, rather than being torn down, because of the asbestos remediation costs.
North Adams Transcript - Nov 19, 1937
Posted By: Alex - Thu May 12, 2022 -
Comments (1)
Category: Art, Censorship, Bluenoses, Taboos, Prohibitions and Other Cultural No-No’s, 1930s
World’s Most Beautiful Blonde
The photo that comes second here represents several of the contestants in this French competition. Not sure if our winner, Helen, is among them.
Posted By: Paul - Thu May 12, 2022 -
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Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, 1930s, Europe
Unlikely Reasons for Murder No. 9
These two were "lucky" enough to be immortalized by Weegee.Article source: The Grand Island Daily Independent (Grand Island, Nebraska) 03 Aug 1936,
Mon Page 1
Posted By: Paul - Tue May 10, 2022 -
Comments (2)
Category: Crime, Scary Criminals, Stupid Criminals, Family, Photography and Photographers, 1930s
Legs of Tomorrow
In 1939, ice skater Erna Anderson was declared to have the "Legs of Tomorrow" on the theory that "the woman of tomorrow will be more athletic."Arguably this prediction came true. At least, it's common now for women to go to gyms, whereas it wasn't in the 1930s.
Minneapolis Star - June 2, 1939
Erna Anderson. Source: New York Public Library
Posted By: Alex - Mon May 09, 2022 -
Comments (7)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Exercise and Fitness, 1930s, Legs, Yesterday’s Tomorrows
Lamp Shade Queen
Pittsburgh Press - Apr 2, 1939
Posted By: Alex - Fri May 06, 2022 -
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Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Fashion, Furniture, 1930s
Wolfe v. Feldman
Peter Ackerberg, writing in the Minneapolis Star (Nov 17, 1979), described the unusual legal case of Wolfe v. Feldman, which was heard in 1936:Feldman countered that it wasn't his fault, and he told the judge this story:
Wolfe was strapped to the dentist's chair (apparently a common procedure then), and was given nitrous oxide, an anesthesia better known as laughing gas. What happened next was no laughing matter.
The next part of the story is best summarized in the text of the case itself:
So the patient, while under the influence of laughing gas, managed to grab hold of the dentist's testicles, and in the process of freeing himself the dentist fractured her little finger.
Nevertheless, the judge ruled in favor of the patient for $650, saying:
Posted By: Alex - Tue Apr 26, 2022 -
Comments (0)
Category: Lawsuits, 1930s, Teeth
Cat Boxing
I wasn't aware that there was such a thing as cat boxing. Cats fight all the time, of course. But to box each other at a set time in front of a crowd — I didn't think they would cooperate with such an indignity.
Detroit Free Press - June 16, 1939
Update: Paul revealed to me the existence of this old video produced by Thomas Edison, circa 1894, showing cats boxing. So I guess cat boxing is a long-established thing.
Posted By: Alex - Thu Apr 14, 2022 -
Comments (2)
Category: Sports, Martial Arts, Cats, 1930s
Obscure actor pickets Hollywood
Feb 1938: Self-proclaimed obscure actor Emil Sitka picketed on Hollywood Boulevard, declaring that Hollywood was unfair to him.I don't think that this stunt brought him much recognition, but he did, eventually, gain success in Hollywood when, in 1947, he began appearing in Three Stooges' films. He ended up being known as the "fourth stooge". From wikipedia:
More info: his IMDB page
Pittsburgh Press - Feb 6, 1938
Posted By: Alex - Sun Apr 03, 2022 -
Comments (1)
Category: ShowBiz, 1930s, Actors
Joke Beer
It's April Fool's Day. Have a beer!From Patent No. 2,140,327:
Posted By: Alex - Fri Apr 01, 2022 -
Comments (0)
Category: Holidays, Patents, 1930s
Oklahoma U. Engineers’ Queen
Apparently the University of Oklahoma has a long tradition of the Engineering Department electing a queen, and then risking her being kidnapped by the Law School.Read a history of the OU Engineering School here.
I found a pretty recent reference to the continuation of the Queen's election, but not necessarily the kidnapping.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Mar 31, 2022 -
Comments (1)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Regionalism, Rivalries, Feuds and Grudges, 1920s, 1930s, 1950s, Universities, Colleges, Private Schools and Academia, Twenty-first Century
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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 |