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 -
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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
Spoon bracelet fad alarms cafeterias
Spoon bending, pre-Uri Geller.
Des Moines Register - Oct 15, 1939
Hastings Morning Spotlight - Dec 27, 1938
Posted By: Alex - Sun Mar 20, 2022 -
Comments (2)
Category: Fads, Fashion, 1930s
Obscene Chinese Money
The portrait of Confucius is expressing his opinion with his fingers of the occupying Japanese army.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Mar 16, 2022 -
Comments (0)
Category: Innuendo, Double Entendres, Symbolism, Nudge-Nudge-Wink-Wink and Subliminal Messages, Money, War, 1930s, Asia
Suicide with sock
This sounds like a particularly unpleasant way to end one's life.
Dayton Daily News - Mar 25, 1932
Posted By: Alex - Sat Mar 12, 2022 -
Comments (1)
Category: Suicide, 1930s
A Device for Intercepting the Moisture running down the Hands and Wrists when Eating Crayfish
In 1933, the British patent office awarded Edgar Honig of Germany Patent No. 393,673 for this invention. From his patent:When eating crustacea of this nature, it is found very unpleasant that the liquid emerging therefrom tends to run down the wrists and into the sleeves, this liquid resulting in stains, which it is extremely difficult or impossible to remove.
According to the invention, this drawback is overcome by means of a ring which tightly encircles the wrist and consists of an absorbent material. As a material of this description it is convenient to employ rubber sponge. It is, however, also possible to use paper, fabric or similar materials, which intercept the moisture running over the wrists and absord the same.
I'm not a fan of shellfish, so I wasn't aware how messy crayfish (aka crawfish) could be. But evidently their messiness really bothered Honig.
Below: how to eat crawfish.
Posted By: Alex - Thu Mar 10, 2022 -
Comments (3)
Category: Food, Patents, 1930s
Artwork Khrushchev Probably Would Not Have Liked 42
This series has suddenly become topical!
Posted By: Paul - Thu Feb 24, 2022 -
Comments (1)
Category: Art, Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Dogs, 1930s, 1940s
Jealous Judy Prefers Gentlemen
Reno Gazette Journal - May 12, 1937
Posted By: Alex - Thu Feb 17, 2022 -
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Category: Animals, Love and Romance, 1930s, Men
Mystery Gadget 100
What's happening with these poor doggos?The answer is here.
Or after the jump.
More in extended >>
Posted By: Paul - Fri Feb 11, 2022 -
Comments (0)
Category: Science, Dogs, 1930s
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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 |