1940s
Sexy Banana Spokeslady
This is really four commercials back to back. I like that sentient bananas are willing to strip their skins off and sacrifice themselves for humans.
Number three has one of the typical vintage representations of a cannibal for you to marvel at.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Jan 10, 2015 -
Comments (9)
Category: Food, Stereotypes and Cliches, Advertising, 1940s, Bananas
Follies of the Madmen #238
A pelican garbed in Colonial clothes with lettering on its pouch is not the intuitive choice for a booze mascot.
Original ad here.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Dec 30, 2014 -
Comments (8)
Category: Animals, Anthropomorphism, Business, Advertising, Products, 1940s, Alcohol
Jump Jump the Christmas Elf
Seriously, Jump Jump looks like a mean, vicious badass to me.
You can listen to Jump Jump's Old Time Radio adventures here.
And if you have a spare $200.00, you can own your own Jump Jump doll.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Dec 23, 2014 -
Comments (12)
Category: Aliens, Holidays, 1940s, Fictional Monsters
Crusader for corporal punishment caned
Eric Wildman was a crusader for corporal punishment. He believed strongly that if you spare the rod, you'll spoil the child. He was the president (and perhaps only member?) of the National Society for the Retention of Corporal Punishment in Schools. To support himself, he sold canes and whipping paraphenalia to schools and caning enthusiasts.In 1948, he was invited to speak at Horsley Hall, a British school for boys. But the talk didn't turn out as he expected. As he was talking, a group of the boys crept up behind him, grabbed him, pinned him down, and then began beating him with his own canes.
Strangely enough, the assault turned out to have been planned by the school's headmaster, who was strongly anti-caning. He had decided to give Wildman a taste of his own medicine. Wildman threatened to sue the school, but never did.
You can read more about Wildman and the Horsley Hall incident at corpun.com, which also has lots of info about the strange history of corporal punishment.
Wildman and his canes
The Horsley Hall Incident
The Modesto Bee - Nov 26, 1948
Posted By: Alex - Sun Dec 21, 2014 -
Comments (2)
Category: 1940s, Universities, Colleges, Private Schools and Academia, Pain, Self-inflicted and Otherwise
Red Out
The 1948 high school fad of "Red-Out." Certainly one of the stupidest high school fads ever.What it involved: "Students would kneel, breathe deeply 10 times, close their lips around their thumbs and then blow, without actually exhaling, until they turned red and passed out."
Bonus thrill: students would wake up believing they had been chased by monsters!
Lubbock Evening Journal - Nov 26 - 1948
Posted By: Alex - Sat Nov 29, 2014 -
Comments (6)
Category: Fads, School, 1940s
Drive Me, Daddy
How refreshingly charming to find a young lady who is also a gearhead.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Nov 22, 2014 -
Comments (5)
Category: Innuendo, Double Entendres, Symbolism, Nudge-Nudge-Wink-Wink and Subliminal Messages, Music, 1940s, Cars
How To Improve Immigrants’ English
Posted By: Paul - Thu Nov 20, 2014 -
Comments (5)
Category: Languages, Foreign Customs, 1940s, Asia, Europe
The Jake Bird Hex
From Wikipedia:
Bird then said, “I’m putting the Jake Bird hex on all of you who had anything to do with my being punished. Mark my words you will die before I do.” Allegedly, six people connected with the trial died: Judge Edward D. Hodge of a heart attack within a month of sentencing him to death, as did one of the officers who took his first confession. A police officer who took a second confession died, as did the court’s chief clerk, and one of Bird's prison guards. J.W. Selden, one of Bird’s lawyers, died on the first anniversary of his sentencing.
Modesto Bee - Nov 27, 1948
Posted By: Alex - Mon Nov 17, 2014 -
Comments (5)
Category: Death, Scary Criminals, 1940s
Olympian Swimmer Ann Curtis Races a Seal
Original article here.
PS: the seal won.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Nov 15, 2014 -
Comments (5)
Category: Animals, Contests, Races and Other Competitions, Oceans and Maritime Pursuits, 1940s
Mystery Gadget 24
What's up with this fellow?
The answer is here.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Nov 13, 2014 -
Comments (7)
Category: Technology, 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 |