1950s
Square-Wheeled Tank
In 1957, Albert Sfredda secured a patent (No. 2,786,540) for a square-wheeled tank. He explained:
Sfredda was correct that square wheels would provide better traction on rough terrain than circular wheels would. The video below explains why. But the problem, of course, was that his tank would have difficulty moving on a regular, flat road.
Along similar lines, Macalester College has had a square-wheeled bicycle on permanent display since 1997. More info: macalester.edu
image source: StanWagon.com
Posted By: Alex - Wed Jul 21, 2021 -
Comments (2)
Category: Motor Vehicles, War, Weapons, Patents, 1950s
Concret PH
A 1958 composition by Iannis Xenakis. Some info about it from YouTube:It has the virtue of being short. But he should have titled it 'Music to eat Rice Krispies by'.
Posted By: Alex - Sun Jul 18, 2021 -
Comments (1)
Category: Music, 1950s
The Jives of Dr. Hepcat
Read the whole thing here.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Jul 06, 2021 -
Comments (2)
Category: Bohemians, Beatniks, Hippies and Slackers, 1950s, Slang
Death by golf and peacocks
Oct 1951: Edward Harrison died in a freak golf accident, by managing to stab himself in the leg with a broken club. As he lay bleeding to death, he screamed for help. "Two other golfers said they twice heard screams, but thought they were the cries of peacocks from a peacock farm."
Deseret News - Oct 9, 1951
Posted By: Alex - Fri Jun 25, 2021 -
Comments (2)
Category: Death, Sports, Golf, 1950s
Follies of the Madmen #510
What's the point of using even a drawing of a pretty woman in your ad if you hide her face?
Source.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Jun 25, 2021 -
Comments (3)
Category: Business, Advertising, Sex Symbols, 1950s
Rubber Biscuit
A classic bit of aural weirdness.Their Wikipedia page.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Jun 18, 2021 -
Comments (2)
Category: Jabberwocky, Scat Singing, Nonsense Verse and Glossolalia, Music, 1950s
Atomic Survival Jacket
Source
Posted By: Paul - Thu Jun 17, 2021 -
Comments (4)
Category: Death, Inventions, War, Atomic Power and Other Nuclear Matters, 1950s
The Talking Fish Lure
Ads for the "Talking Fish Lure" began to appear in papers in 1959. They promised that, thanks to this new talking lure, fishermen would be guaranteed to catch fish:
The Vancouver Province - May 30, 1959
Eight years later, the promoter of the lure was indicted on 60 counts of mail fraud. From the New York Daily News (May 12, 1967):
Named in the indictment was Monroe Caine, 38, of 222 Daisy Farms Drive, Scarsdale, described as an advertising man and mail order promoter whose ads for a "remarkable European talking fish lure" ran July 19, 1964, in newspapers across the country.
The jurors, who were shown the ads, found the whole thing somewhat fishy, especially after being told that fishermen who sent in $1.98 or $2.49 for the lure got either a worthless gadget or nothing in return.
Posted By: Alex - Wed Jun 16, 2021 -
Comments (0)
Category: Frauds, Cons and Scams, Sports, Fish, 1950s, 1960s
Miss Hot Dog 1959
Photo source: Daily News (New York, New York) 12 Jul 1959, Sun Page 36
Text source: The Daily Oklahoman (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) 27 Jun 1959, Sat Page 6
Posted By: Paul - Thu Jun 10, 2021 -
Comments (1)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Food, 1950s
UK Shopping: 1949
Halfway to Christmas!
Source: Wilkes-Barre Times Leader (Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania) 29 Jun 1949, Wed Page 3
Uncle Holly apparently dates to 1950:
Source.
Info on Ginger Nutt here.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Jun 02, 2021 -
Comments (0)
Category: Holidays, Advertising, Retailing, Myths and Fairytales, Cartoons, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, United Kingdom
| 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 |