Category:
1930s

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:

This invention relates to a means for intercepting the liquid tending to run down the wrists and the arms when eating crayfish.

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 - Comments (0)
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

Ice-Block Skiing

It's like water-skiing, but on blocks of ice towed through city streets.

Wipeouts would be a lot more painful.

Info from the LA Public Library:

These three photographs show women in swimsuits near the streets of Venice Beach riding on blocks of ice. In the frame at [top], three women are sitting on a huge block of ice and are being towed by cars. The frame at [middle] shows three women sitting together on an ice block in siwmsuits and heels, holding on to a rope. In the third frame at bottom, three women are "ice-block" skiing, and waving to the camera. Appears to be a publicity photograph for the Miss California Bathing Beauty Contest.

I'm guessing the year was 1936, since the other images of the 'Miss California Bathing Beauty Contest' at the library are from that year.





Posted By: Alex - Thu Feb 10, 2022 - Comments (3)
Category: Sports, 1930s

Ellen Harkonen, Potato Queen of 1936

Source: Keansburg News (Keansburg, New Jersey) 31 Dec 1936, Thu Page 4

Posted By: Paul - Thu Feb 10, 2022 - Comments (2)
Category: Agriculture, Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Food, 1930s

NRA Day Parades

The current era has been compared to the Depression and New Deal under Roosevelt. But what's lacking today as we seek to emerge from the pandemic malaise is--parades!

To celebrate "NRA Day," New York City threw a parade that utilized a quarter of a million participants.





But it wasn't just NYC. Smaller places joined in too. Such as Dothan, Alabama. Visit this page for the full account, with lots of great photos.

Posted By: Paul - Tue Feb 08, 2022 - Comments (2)
Category: Government, Money, Parades and Festivals, 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.

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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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