1930s
Mystery Gadget 34
This gadget does what now?
Answer is here.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Mar 22, 2016 -
Comments (8)
Category: Technology, 1930s
Train delayed by elephant
The Bakersfield Californian - Jan 23, 1937
McCOOK, Neb., Jan. 23 — A Burlington Road passenger train was four hours late getting into Denver because an elephant kept the engineer and conductor guessing.
The engineer, officials of the road said, kept stopping the train, and the conductor repeatedly signaled for him to proceed, each wondering about the frequent stops.
Investigation disclosed an elephant in the baggage car was pulling the airbrake rope with his trunk.
Posted By: Alex - Fri Mar 18, 2016 -
Comments (1)
Category: Animals, Trains and Other Vehicles on Rails, 1930s
The Kabalarian Philosophy
Their page.
Their entry at THE SKEPTIC'S DICTIONARY lets us know: "Since the death of Mr. Parker in 1964, the Kabalarians, headquartered in Vancouver, B.C., have been led by Ivon Shearing who was sentenced to five years in prison in 1997 for sexually abusing several teenage girls over a twenty-five year period."
Posted By: Paul - Sun Mar 13, 2016 -
Comments (3)
Category: Frauds, Cons and Scams, Lies, Dishonesty and Cheating, Paranormal, Religion, Myths and Fairytales, 1930s
Human Flesh Cure
The 1999 film Ravenous (starring Guy Pearce and Robert Carlyle) is about cannibalism. It's loosely inspired by the stories of the Donner Party and Alferd Packer. But it also includes the idea that eating human flesh can cure any wound or disease.I was reminded of that film when I came across this real-life case, from 1932, of someone trying the human-flesh cure, apparently successfully. But I wonder why the husband fed his wife only a third of his thigh steak? What did he do with the rest? Does eating too much human flesh turn someone into a vampire?
The Des Moines Register - Dec 25, 1932
Posted By: Alex - Fri Mar 11, 2016 -
Comments (7)
Category: Cannibalism, Medicine, 1930s
Howling Dog Phone Ringer
October 1932: A Seattle woman complained that her phone never rang, but she could tell when someone was trying to call her because her dog would start howling in the yard. The telephone repair guy investigated. Realized the dog wasn't psychic. Instead, there was a short in the line and the dog was chained to the ground wire.
Indianapolis Star - Oct 23, 1932
Posted By: Alex - Wed Mar 09, 2016 -
Comments (3)
Category: Technology, Telephones, 1930s
The Spoon Lady of Norfolk
They say that every weird and disturbing thing can be found somewhere on the Internet, but I googled toenail and fingernail spoons and got no relevant results. (Of course, anyone who googles those keywords will now find this post.)The info in the clipping below about the old woman and her toenail spoons was credited to Time magazine. So I checked Time, and it did run a brief blurb about the Spoon Lady of Norfolk in its Dec 12, 1932 issue. But offered no more info, and didn't reveal its source. But there must be more details out there somewhere about this woman and her freaky cutlery.
La Plata Home Press - Jan 12, 1933
—Time (Dec 12, 1932)
Posted By: Alex - Thu Mar 03, 2016 -
Comments (10)
Category: 1930s
Mystery Illustration 17
Is this 1930 image from:
1) A Surrealist art show?
2) A Paris fashion show?
3) An Artists' Ball?
4) A movie?
Answer after the jump.
More in extended >>
Posted By: Paul - Sun Feb 28, 2016 -
Comments (8)
Category: Avant Garde, 1930s
Wife choked by snoremeter
January 1936: In Rome, Italy, Goffredo Galluzzi, a "self-styled electrical engineer," created a "snoremeter" in an attempt to stop his wife from snoring. The device, which fit over her mouth like a muzzle, included a thin brass blade that would be lifted by the heavy breathing of snoring, causing an alarm to go off, thereby waking his wife and stopping the snoring. However, the blade came loose, went down her throat, and almost choked her to death.When I did a keyword search on this story to see how many papers it had run in, I came across something odd. The story was reported as news both in January 1936 and April 1946, but with one difference. In 1936 Galluzzi was reported as living in Rome. In 1946, he had become a resident of Syracuse, Sicily.
So a case of recycled news. It's also quite possible the story was complete baloney, both in 1936 and 1946.
The Evening Times (Sayre, Pennsylvania) - Jan 29, 1936
Posted By: Alex - Sat Feb 27, 2016 -
Comments (2)
Category: Inventions, Sleep and Dreams, 1930s
We Drivers
Are you a Reckless Rudy or a Sensible Sam? And don't forget Man-Mountain Momentum.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Jan 13, 2016 -
Comments (7)
Category: Daredevils, Stuntpeople and Thrillseekers, Destruction, PSA’s, 1930s, Cars
Desk Riders
I sure would like to know more about this system/device/technology, but I can't google up anything else. Maybe WU-vies can help!
Original article here.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Jan 07, 2016 -
Comments (10)
Category: Business, Technology, 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 |