1950s
Hal Hayes’s Swinging Bachelor Mansion
For $600,000 -- adjusted for inflation, about $4.9 million today -- Hayes got a six-level, steel-and-glass pad with masculine, maximum technology and minimal custom decoration. He parked on girders projecting from the edge of his hillside lot, piped in hi-fi music, poured drinks from an ultra-sleek mini kitchen designed for catering, not for cooking, seduced brunettes in an orchid greenhouse and did what bachelors do in a free-standing “playroom.”
There was a circular fireplace, a louvered skylight, a mirrored master suite and an artificial beach for topless tanning. An outdoor hearth in gunite lava rock warmed women chilled by gin martinis.
Guests in the bomb shelter of Hal Hayes's house.
Retrospective write-up at the LA TIMES.
1958 feature in LIFE magazine.
Some great pix with this article.
Posted By: Paul - Mon Dec 26, 2022 -
Comments (4)
Category: Architecture, Domestic, Excess, Overkill, Hyperbole and Too Much Is Not Enough, Space-age Bachelor Pad & Exotic, 1950s
Old Money
Article source: The Indianapolis Star (Indianapolis, Indiana) 09 Dec 1959, Wed Page 31
Posted By: Paul - Thu Dec 15, 2022 -
Comments (2)
Category: Destruction, Government, Money, 1950s
Miss Coaxial Cable
Cable TV was coming to Phoenix in 1952, and to celebrate a local TV store organized a "Miss Coaxial Cable" contest.
Arizona Republic - July 1, 1952
Arizona Republic - June 29, 1952
I can't find who was eventually crowned "Miss Coaxial Cable," but around the same time Mary Perkins was awarded the title of "Miss TV Cable," also in Phoenix. I'm guessing these must have been two rival beauty contests.
Arizona Republic - July 7, 1952
Posted By: Alex - Sun Dec 11, 2022 -
Comments (2)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Television, 1950s
Cosmic Vision Helmet
Not a bad toy, but the advertising claims sure laid it on thick.This sensational discovery is as new as the hydrogen bomb! As exciting as a ride through space. Makes you a super space cadet.
Posted By: Alex - Thu Dec 01, 2022 -
Comments (5)
Category: Toys, Headgear, 1950s
Beatnik Fly
Their Wikipedia page.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Dec 01, 2022 -
Comments (2)
Category: Insects and Spiders, Music, Gonzo, Demento, Kooky, Wacky and Out-there, 1950s, 1960s
Krylon Man
I wonder if Krylon Man is supposed to be sentient. He has a nozzle instead of a head, but he's guided by some kind of instinct to press his nozzle and release his contents.I also wonder if they tried putting a head on him but decided that he looked better with just a nozzle.
You can buy a screen print of Krylon Man for $25 and hang him on your wall.
Life - Sep 23, 1975
Posted By: Alex - Wed Nov 30, 2022 -
Comments (0)
Category: Corporate Mascots, Icons and Spokesbeings, 1950s
The Reber Plan
In this era when we speculate about giant geoengineering schemes, we should honor such past visionaries as John Reber, who wanted to turn San Francisco Bay into two giant freshwater lakes.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Nov 29, 2022 -
Comments (2)
Category: Eccentrics, Engineering and Construction, Oceans and Maritime Pursuits, 1950s
Artwork Khrushchev Probably Would Not Have Liked 47
The Wikipedia page.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Nov 27, 2022 -
Comments (1)
Category: Art, Avant Garde, 1950s, Europe, Russia
The Blonde And Her Companion
Back in the 1950s, the FBI used "a curvaceous blue-eyed blonde, wearing a form-fitting sweater" to help train its agents to improve their powers of observation. The lesson was that if they spent too much time looking at her, they might miss other important details, such as her companion, "public enemy No. 11."Reminds me of the "woman in the red dress" featured in the agent-training-program scene in The Matrix. I wonder if the Wachowskis had heard of the "blonde and her companion" test.
San Bernardino County Sun - Dec 4, 1955
Posted By: Alex - Sat Nov 26, 2022 -
Comments (8)
Category: Police and Other Law Enforcement, 1950s, Eyes and Vision
Les Baxter’s “Goliath and the Barbarians”
Space-age Bachelor Pad meets Sword and Sandals. What could be better?
If you dig the first track, embedded here, go to the Internet Archive listing for the album, click the Spotify option, and you get the whole thing.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Nov 19, 2022 -
Comments (3)
Category: Movies, Space-age Bachelor Pad & Exotic, 1950s, 1970s, Europe
| Who We Are |
|---|
| 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 |