1930s
Double-Chin Eradicator
I wonder how long you'd have to roll this thing over your face before it made the slightest bit of difference.
The Canyon News - Aug 4, 1938
Posted By: Alex - Sun Mar 12, 2017 -
Comments (2)
Category: Inventions, 1930s
Berry Pink, the Marble King
Weird name, unusual hobby.
Original article here.
Home page of current company founded by Berry Pink.
Samples of their marbles, and more history.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Mar 11, 2017 -
Comments (3)
Category: Games, Children, 1920s, 1930s
Gas-Proof Pram
In January 1939, these two photos appeared in numerous newspapers, accompanied by the following caption:An example of the strange effort to try to normalize life despite the threat of war. Also evident in such things as the air-raid fashions.
Posted By: Alex - Sun Mar 05, 2017 -
Comments (0)
Category: Inventions, 1930s
Indecent Fireworks
1936: Residents of Adelaide were scandalized by the sale of "indecent Chinese fireworks." They were "so disgusting that if it had appeared on a postcard and had been found in the possession of any Adelaide individual, there would have been a heavy penalty imposed in the Police Court."The offending fireworks are shown below.
Adelaide Truth - Nov 21, 1936
via National Archives of Australia
Posted By: Alex - Thu Mar 02, 2017 -
Comments (6)
Category: 1930s, Moral Panics and Public Hysteria
Anti-Mosquito Leggings
I'm a bit surprised these anti-mosquito leggings never (to my knowledge) caught on, because if they actually worked then who cares if they looked dorky. Then again, I suppose DEET had already been discovered.
Danville Morning News - Apr 6, 1937
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - Apr 1, 1937
Harrisburg Evening News - Apr 2, 1937
Posted By: Alex - Sun Feb 12, 2017 -
Comments (2)
Category: Fashion, Insects and Spiders, 1930s
World’s Oldest Active Salesman: 1939
Jump to 3:12 for this feature. I hope I move as good at that age as Charles Thurston did.
Posted By: Paul - Mon Jan 30, 2017 -
Comments (1)
Category: Business, Human Marvels, 1930s, Cars
Radium Cap
I'm guessing that if this actually worked to cure headaches it was because of the placebo effect. Although radium does, of course, produce heat, which might help a headache. But if there was enough radium in the cap to feel noticeably warm, it must have been incredibly dangerous.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - June 11, 1937
Posted By: Alex - Sat Jan 21, 2017 -
Comments (21)
Category: Atomic Power and Other Nuclear Matters, Headgear, 1930s
Mount Mihara: Japan’s Suicide Volcano
If you really have to do yourself in, suicide by volcano sounds pretty dramatic and exciting.
Original article here.
Wikipedia info here.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Jan 20, 2017 -
Comments (4)
Category: Death, Suicide, 1930s, Asia
Miniature Driving School
Back in the 1930s, if a Detroit judge suspected a driver was mentally unfit to be on the road, he might send the driver to see Dr. Lowell Selling, who would test the driver using a miniature street intersection to simulate various situations. However, I'm not sure what exactly this testing involved, beyond that vague description.I found a brief note about Dr. Selling in the Law Enforcement Executive Forum (2008, pdf, p.51):
St. Louis Post-Dispatch - Sep 13, 1936
Palladium-Item - Oct 21, 1936
Posted By: Alex - Thu Jan 19, 2017 -
Comments (2)
Category: Motor Vehicles, Psychology, 1930s
Shoes for Walking on Water
Inventor K.O.F. Jacobsen of Seattle, Washington debuted his water-walking shoes in 1934 at a Cincinnati inventors' congress. He later displayed them at several other meet-ups of inventors. But although I've found several photos of models wearing the shoes, I haven't been able to find any photos of someone actually walking on water with them.
The Decatur Daily Review - Mar 30, 1937
The Cincinnati Enquirer - July 17, 1934
Posted By: Alex - Mon Jan 16, 2017 -
Comments (5)
Category: Inventions, Shoes, 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 |