1940s
Marlowe
Archie Bunker, Rockford and Kato try to update 1940s noir.
Full movie behind a paywall, alas.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Mar 19, 2016 -
Comments (4)
Category: Movies, Homages, Pastiches, Tributes and Borrowings, Martial Arts, 1940s, 1960s
Trimming Beets for Victory!
WWII was won through strategic use of beets--apparently. No sound on this video.
Posted By: Paul - Mon Mar 07, 2016 -
Comments (7)
Category: Agriculture, Boredom, Food, PSA’s, War, 1940s
How to spell psychology
January 1948: Man responds to spelling challenge by firing shotgun.If it were in a movie, he'd have said something like: "You wanna know how to spell psychology? Let me tell you how to spell psychology."
The Brooklyn Daily Eagle - Jan 5, 1948
New Brunswick, N.J. Jan. 5 (U.P.) — Julius Nuby, 55, was held today on a murder charge for allegedly killing a friend who taunted him about the spelling of "psychology."
Police said Nuby wounded Archie Fuller, 75, with a shotgun. Fuller died later in Middlesex Hospital.
The men had been friends for years. Saturday night they bought 12 bottles of beer and began drinking. An argument developed about psychology, police said.
"You don't even know how to spell psychology," Fuller jeered.
Police quoted Nuby as saying, "I'll show you," and then fired the shotgun.
Posted By: Alex - Sun Mar 06, 2016 -
Comments (7)
Category: 1940s
Miss Front End
Following up on my "Miss Sewer Cleaner" post of a few days ago:In 1947, the admen of Detroit dreamed up the idea of bestowing on a young woman the title of "Miss Front End," who would be "the girl they would most like to have as their radiator ornament."
Dolores Frederick was given the title for 1947, and Carolyn King won it for 1948. After that, there were no more "Miss Front Ends."
I've found a few references to the title of "Miss Reclining Seat" awarded sometime in the 1950s, but I'm guessing this was a joke.
The News-Palladium (Benton Harbor, Michigan) - Jan 17, 1947
Detroit Free Press - Oct 26, 1947
Posted By: Alex - Sun Feb 28, 2016 -
Comments (5)
Category: Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Contests, Races and Other Competitions, 1940s
From Cretin to Genius
In the 1920s, Doctor Serge Voronoff famously decided that grafting monkey glands onto the testicles of human males would rejuvenate the recipients. His ludicrous failed experiments provided the punchlines for innumerable jokes thereafter.But what I did not realize was that twenty years later, Voronoff was still at it. Now he claimed, in his book FROM CRETIN TO GENIUS, that transplanting monkey glands would alter the intelligence of the subjects. Below is the start of a review from 1943.
Below: the Doc and Missus.
Posted By: Paul - Mon Feb 15, 2016 -
Comments (7)
Category: Animals, Eccentrics, Mad Scientists, Evil Geniuses, Insane Villains, Sexuality, 1920s, 1940s, Genitals
Dagwood Splits the Atom
I would not trust goofball slacker Dagwood Bumstead to split any atoms for me. But in 1948 the authorities obviously thought he was an identifiable role model for their science popularization.
I would like to see this updated for this week's news: DAGWOOD DISCOVERS GRAVITY WAVES.
See several more pages of this comic here.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Feb 13, 2016 -
Comments (3)
Category: PSA’s, Comics, Atomic Power and Other Nuclear Matters, Bohemians, Beatniks, Hippies and Slackers, Wimps, Milquetoasts and Cowards, 1940s
The Bandleader Shirt
All your contemporary T-shirts with images of rappers put together will never be as cool as this.
Original ad here.
Larger image here.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Jan 24, 2016 -
Comments (4)
Category: Fashion, Music, 1940s
Shirley Dinsdale and Judy Splinters
Female ventriloquists are pretty rare. So it's always weird to find a forgotten one, especially one who might be remembered for garnering the first Emmy award ever given. Shirley Dinsdale might have been talented, but Judy Splinters was surely ugly as all get-out.
This 1945 radio show (not embeddable) features her act in its prime, starting after the 3-minute mark.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Jan 22, 2016 -
Comments (5)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Entertainment, Puppets and Automatons, 1940s
Jungle Yachts in the Belgian Congo
Holy cats! Look at those gorgeous weird trailers!
Posted By: Paul - Fri Jan 15, 2016 -
Comments (6)
Category: Design and Designers, Ethnic Groupings, Motor Vehicles, Foreign Customs, 1940s, Africa
Polesitter Wedding
More on Mad Marshall Jacobs here.
Posted By: Paul - Mon Dec 28, 2015 -
Comments (6)
Category: Daredevils, Stuntpeople and Thrillseekers, Eccentrics, Weddings and Marriage, 1940s
| Who We Are |
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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 |