1940s
Ready on the Home Front
What do you think would happen today if you got ahold of live telephone operator and shouted, "Army Flash!"
The amazing thing is how much more there was to the civil defense system than the old cliche about the warden yelling, "Douse those lights!"
Posted By: Paul - Sun Dec 27, 2015 -
Comments (3)
Category: Military, PSA’s, 1940s
Battle Bike
Original pic here.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Dec 23, 2015 -
Comments (8)
Category: Destruction, Surrealism, Transportation, 1940s, Weapons
Follies of the Madmen #268
This was one of a series of postwar ads for magnesium, which illustrated how the miracle metal would allow consumers to do things nobody would ever want to do, like carry a baby carriage on your shoulder.
Original ad here.
Posted By: Paul - Mon Dec 21, 2015 -
Comments (8)
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, Technology, Babies and Toddlers, 1940s
Marjoe Gortner, Child Preacher
Marjoe Gortner made headlines in the late 1940s when, at the age of 3½, he became an evangelist preacher. And in 1949, at the age of 4, he performed his first marriage ceremony, marrying Raymond Miller and Alma Brown.
Source: Google Cultural Institute
Daily Capital Journal (Salem, Oregon) - Jan 4, 1949
In the early 1970s, Gortner had a change of heart and collaborated with documentary filmmakers to expose the profit motive of the revivalist industry. The resulting film, Marjoe, won the 1972 Academy Award for Best Documentary Film.
Source: Wikipedia
Gortner then went on to become an actor, appearing mostly in B-movies, before finally transitioning into producing celebrity sporting events to raise money for charities.
Read more about Gortner at wikipedia and RogerEbert.com.
Posted By: Alex - Sat Dec 05, 2015 -
Comments (5)
Category: Religion, 1940s
Mystery Gadget 33
Tamp down fresh asphalt? Transport wounded from the battlefield? Spread DDT in pellet form?
The answer is here.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Dec 04, 2015 -
Comments (10)
Category: Technology, 1940s
Her Hair Turned Green
1948: Mrs. Dorothy Dix of Gloucester, England sued her hairdresser, complaining that after getting a permanent wave from them in July 1946, her normally brown hair turned green. A subsequent effort to bleach her hair back to a normal color worsened the situation, causing it to turn a lighter shade of green, become frizzled, and blistering her scalp.
In fact, her hair was not simply green. Various witnesses offered different descriptions of it, saying it was "like a rainbow with green predominating," "like a dirty sheepskin rug streaked with green," "frizzled like a golliwog," and "streaked with vivid red, brown, green and straw."
The court awarded Mrs. Dix 157 pounds ten shillings in general damages and 12 pounds one shilling and one penny in special damages.
Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find any photos of Mrs. Dix and her green hair.
(left) The Ottawa Journal - Feb 4, 1949; (right) The Winnipeg Tribune - Dec 22, 1948
Posted By: Alex - Tue Dec 01, 2015 -
Comments (6)
Category: 1940s, Hair and Hairstyling
Frozen Turkey Comes Back To Life
Happy Thanksgiving! Hope you all enjoy your turkey dinner — and that your frozen turkey doesn't come back to life.
Sioux Center News - Nov 28, 1940
Following the snow storm Neal Spaan, Orange City hatchery man loaded up his frozen turkeys and peddled them. One customer, wanting to keep the turkey frozen for a few days put it into a snow bank and covered it with snow. When he came to dig it up the turkey lifted its head, stood up, shook off the snow and calmly walked away.
Posted By: Alex - Thu Nov 26, 2015 -
Comments (10)
Category: Animals, Holidays, Thanksgiving, 1940s
Mystery Illustration 12
I have smudged out the relevant information, so now you have to guess. What crime did all these folks have in common?
The answer is here.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Nov 01, 2015 -
Comments (10)
Category: Crime, 1940s
Divorced because of comic books
I'm sure she was better off rid of that comic-book-reading weirdo.
Idaho State Journal - Oct 8, 1949
SALT LAKE CITY — Mrs. Ida Thompson Thursday sued Henry G. Thompson for divorce because he "frequently bought comic books by the dozens and sat around and read them while refusing to help care for our baby."
In asking for a legal ending to their 16-month marriage, Mrs. Thompson requested custody of their infant child and possession of a table and chair set. Their only other possession, she said in her complaint, was a leather saddle which Thompson had bought with a loan. She said he could have the saddle.
Posted By: Alex - Sat Oct 31, 2015 -
Comments (7)
Category: Divorce, 1940s
Mean Stranger Gives Eye Test
Perhaps an ophthalmologist in a bad mood?
The Terre Haute Tribune - June 21, 1949
LOS ANGELES, June 21 — Harvey Bornstein, a studious 10-year-old, needed a new pair of horn-rimmed glasses today.
Harvey groped his way into Wilshire police station yesterday to report that a middle-aged man came up and snatched his specs while he was playing on the street with another boy. Then the stranger held his open hand up before Harvey and asked:
"How many fingers do you see?"
"Five," said Harvey instinctively.
"You don't need glasses," said the stranger. He threw the spectacles on the street, stamped on them and walked away.
Posted By: Alex - Mon Oct 26, 2015 -
Comments (9)
Category: 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 |