1950s
One Atom Bomb Can Ruin Your Whole Day
Posted By: Paul - Sat Apr 13, 2013 -
Comments (8)
Category: Comics, Atomic Power and Other Nuclear Matters, 1950s
Parakeet demands tax refund
Jo-Jo Kay the parakeet was paid $615 a year by the Kay Jewelry chain to go around to their stores and say the phrase "It's Okay to owe Kay." Of this money, $20.50 went to income tax and $12.30 to Social Security. However, Jo-Jo claimed $25 in deductible travel expenses and $1 in charitable contributions (given to the zoo). This dropped his total income to $589, which was less than the $600 personal exemption. So Jo-Jo asked for a refund.
The IRS responded by pointing out that Kay Jewelry wasn't paying Jo-Jo the minimum wage, which meant they were liable to have their property (including Jo-Jo) seized as a penalty.
The picture shows Jo-Jo standing on the head of Internal Revenue Commissioner T. Coleman Andrews. [Milwaukee Sentinel — Jun 24, 1955]
Posted By: Alex - Wed Apr 10, 2013 -
Comments (4)
Category: Animals, Government, Money, 1950s
Bernard Wheatley, Hermit
The man depicted above is Dr. Bernard Wheatley who, after the deaths of his family, chucked a flourishing career to live as a hermit on the Hawaiian island of Kauai.
Read a long and fascinating article about him here.
In 1957 Dr. Bernard Wheatley - an African American physician from the Virgin Islands - made a pilgrimage to Kalalau Valley. Distraught after the death of his wife and son in a car accident, he kept questioning the meaning of life and other ontological problems until the answers finally came. In a remarkable religious conversion-like revelation he realized that life is eternal. He abandoned his medical practice, sold all his worldly possessions and sought a quiet, secluded place where he could earnestly seek truth without distraction. He arrived on the remote Island of Kauai and after seeing Kalalau from a ridge-top lookout in Kokee, he knew that he had found his home.... He passed on December 3, 1991 at the age of 72. His ashes were spread in Kalalau.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Apr 10, 2013 -
Comments (4)
Category: Death, Religion, Hermits, 1950s, 1960s, South Pacific
Most Unfortunate Clown Motto Ever
More info here.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Apr 09, 2013 -
Comments (2)
Category: Clowns, Sexuality, Comics, 1950s
Do the Peg Leg!
The "peg-leg" was a brief dance craze back in 1953. To do the peg leg, a man simply wore a wooden leg over his right leg as he danced with his partner. The dance was imported from the Dominican Republic where, so the story goes, a sailor with a wooden leg once was so seized by the rhythm of the merengue that "he stood up and took part in the dancing. The people loudly applauded and imitated the clumsy and awkward dancing of the seaman. This way a new dance came into existence." [Montreal Gazette, May 1953]
Posted By: Alex - Sat Apr 06, 2013 -
Comments (3)
Category: Fads, 1950s, Dance
THE GOLDBERGS
Once upon a time, sheer Jewishness was exotic enough to supply material for sitcoms and product spokesmanship.
THE GOLDBERGS.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Apr 05, 2013 -
Comments (5)
Category: Ethnic Groupings, Family, Stereotypes and Cliches, Television, 1940s, 1950s
Cracker Jack Jingle Beanie
[Click to enlarge]
Imagine any kid enthusiastically wearing such a hat today.....
Posted By: Paul - Wed Apr 03, 2013 -
Comments (9)
Category: Comics, Children, Headgear, 1950s
ROBOT MONSTER
You know the drill: if you like the trailer, above, for ROBOT MONSTER, then you can watch the whole film, below.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Mar 30, 2013 -
Comments (11)
Category: Aliens, Ineptness, Crudity, Talentlessness, Kitsch, and Bad Art, Movies, AI, Robots and Other Automatons, 1950s, Fictional Monsters
The great hose mystery of 1955
Back in 1955, a mysterious phenomenon was reported. Garden hoses started to spontaneously burrow their way into dirt. It began in the garden of California resident George Di Peso. His 12-year-old daughter stuck the nozzle of a hose into the dirt to make the job of watering the garden easier, and then the hose (with the water running) started to burrow downwards. Over 20 feet of the hose disappeared into the earth.
The same phenomenon was then reported in Minnesota, Michigan, New York, Florida, Ontario, and Kansas.
Geologists speculated that the rapid flow of water was creating a vacuum at the nozzle causing the hoses to slide downward into the earth. The burrowing could be stopped by turning off the water. But Di Peso never did recover the 20 feet of hose lost in the earth. He eventually cut the hose off where it went into the earth, saying "I couldn't stand it any longer. This thing was getting out of hand. My life has been made a big mess."
Posted By: Alex - Fri Mar 29, 2013 -
Comments (9)
Category: Unsolved Mysteries, 1950s
Miss Curity Coloring Book
Click on each page to expand.
1) Yes, that's a fishhook in the lad's finger. How it was extracted before application of bandaid is not known.
2) Do NOT invite Miss Curity to your party--she's a jinx!
3) Why are they peeing into the lemonade?
Please color within the lines!
Posted By: Paul - Wed Mar 27, 2013 -
Comments (9)
Category: Art, Comics, Injuries, Advertising, 1950s
| 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 |