1940s
7-11 Curbside Service
An early example of ordering goods while seated in comfort, and then getting the stuff delivered.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Nov 13, 2016 -
Comments (5)
Category: Business, 1940s
The Palatability of Eggs
Dr. Hugh Cott
He assembled a panel of three egg tasters, who were served the eggs scrambled. They then rated them on a 10-point scale. Over a six-year period (1946-1951) they tasted eggs from 212 bird species.
Some of their results: The domestic hen was rated tastiest (8.8 out of 10). The coot, moorhen, and lesser black-backed gull came in second place (8.3 out of 10).
Penguin eggs were "particularly fine and delicate in flavor." Domestic duck eggs were of only "intermediate palatability."
Coming in at the bottom were the eggs of the great tit ("salty, fishy, and bitter"), wren ("sour, oily"), and the oyster-catcher ("strong onion-like flavor"). The eggs of the bar-headed goose made the tasters gag. However, "The freshness of the material available may have been in question."
Cott concluded that brightly colored eggs were, overall, less palatable than camouflaged eggs, but this result has subsequently been challenged. Zoologist Tim Birkhead has also suggested that Cott's experiment would have been more scientifically valuable if the tasters had eaten the eggs raw, because "What predators ever experienced cooked eggs?"
Cott published the full results of his experiment in 1954, in the Journal of Zoology.
The Bend Bulletin - Feb 2, 1948
Posted By: Alex - Wed Nov 02, 2016 -
Comments (2)
Category: Food, Eggs, Experiments, 1940s
Plasticville, USA
Original ad here.
With no trace of modern irony, Plasticville USA was once deemed a grand name for an imaginary town. Somehow I can hear a beatnik of the era saying, "Plasticville, man, that's for squares!"
Wikipedia entry here.
More info and some great pictures on this page.
More images via Google.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Oct 23, 2016 -
Comments (3)
Category: Toys, Urban Life, Bohemians, Beatniks, Hippies and Slackers, 1940s, 1950s
Milka Moo
Introduced in 1948, the "Milka Moo" toy cow had a rubber udder that, when squeezed, would squirt out real milk.It was one of the many inventions of Beulah Louise Henry (aka Lady Edison). Her inventions made her rich, but she was considered a bit of an eccentric. She lived in New York hotels along with "three sizeable live turtles, a dozen tropical fish, a school of snails and other flora and fauna."
Des Moines Register - Mar 14, 1948
St. Louis Post-Dispatch - Dec 5, 1948
The Indianapolis Star - Aug 21, 1948
Posted By: Alex - Mon Oct 03, 2016 -
Comments (1)
Category: Eccentrics, Toys, 1940s
Clark Metal Grave Vault
Rain protection for the dearly departed.
I found this ad reproduced in Marshall McLuhan's The Mechanical Bride (1951). He comments:
Unfortunately, McLuhan never specified where he found the ad. But it's listed in a 1947 catalog of copyright entries. So must be a 1947 ad.
Posted By: Alex - Sun Oct 02, 2016 -
Comments (5)
Category: Death, Advertising, 1940s
The Gods Were Angry With Me
Man's carnal lusts cause Armageddon and make the gods open up the Book of Revelation.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Sep 25, 2016 -
Comments (2)
Category: Excess, Overkill, Hyperbole and Too Much Is Not Enough, Music, Religion, 1940s, Love & Romance
Lou Bunin’s ALICE IN WONDERLAND
It's harder to be more surreal than the original, but this mixed live-actor stop-motion version by Lou Bunin tries hard.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Sep 24, 2016 -
Comments (0)
Category: Surrealism, Books, Fantasy, Stop-motion Animation, 1940s
Mystery Gadget 40
A granite sphere sitting on a base. No moving parts. Yet it performed a useful function. What?
The answer is here.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Sep 23, 2016 -
Comments (5)
Category: Statues, Monuments and Memorials, Technology, 1910s, 1940s
The Existentialist Hat
In 1948, the existentialist Parisian milliner Jean Barthet debuted the "existentialist hat" which was topped by a pair of floppy hands that were supposed to symbolize the hovering "hands of fate."For some reason, Barthet's hat didn't capture the popular imagination as a symbol of existentialist angst in the same way as, for instance, Edvard Munch's The Scream did.
However, Barthet did go on to have an extremely successful career. Wikipedia notes that he was a favorite hatmaker of Sophia Loren and Michael Jackson.
Newsweek - June 28, 1948
Des Moines Register - June 14, 1948
Posted By: Alex - Thu Sep 22, 2016 -
Comments (1)
Category: Philosophy, Headgear, 1940s
Alec Templeton
I must confess that until a few days ago, despite loving clever weird music, I had never heard of Alec Templeton. (A DJ at WQXR dispelled my ignorance.) He turns out to be one of those talented composers who could veer between serious and silly with ease.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Sep 15, 2016 -
Comments (3)
Category: Humor, Parody, Music, 1940s
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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 |