1950s
The man who hatched an egg on his stomach
We've previously posted about Ella Petry, the British woman who in 1958 became famous when she hatched an egg in her cleavage.Seven years before she did this, a young man in Germany, Gerd Ruthmann, hatched an egg on his stomach.
He got some media attention for this feat, but nothing like the publicity that Petry received.
Life - July 2, 1951
Life - Dec 12, 1969
Posted By: Alex - Thu Dec 21, 2023 -
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Category: Eggs, 1950s
Miss Futuristic Canned Foods
What would futuristic canned foods look like? And at what point in the future will we get this stuff?Putting those questions aside, what I find really odd about the clipping below is that it gives the Social Security Number of Miss Futuristic Canned Foods.
At first I thought the number must be a joke (though I didn't understand the joke), but according to the Social Security Death Index that number belonged to a woman named Janet Lee, who was born in 1935 and died in 2008. The dates are about right. Jan would be short for Janet. And Lee would be her married name. So that must really have been the SSN of Miss Futuristic Canned Foods.
The numbers indicate that the card was issued to her in Indiana sometime between 1936 and 1950.
Charlotte News - Mar 5, 1957
Posted By: Alex - Sat Dec 16, 2023 -
Comments (1)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Food, 1950s
The Ford Levacar Mach I
It's sixty years later. Where are our Levacars? From Wikipedia:
National Future Farmer - Oct-Nov 1959
Dr. Andrew A. Kucher, Ford vice president, in the Levacar Mach I
Posted By: Alex - Mon Dec 11, 2023 -
Comments (4)
Category: 1950s, Cars
Dior’s “Conspiration” Design
This 1954 number should have been revived for the Covid pandemic.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Dec 10, 2023 -
Comments (1)
Category: Fashion, 1950s, Diseases
The Experimental Soundscapes of Henry Jacobs
His Wikipedia page.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Dec 09, 2023 -
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Category: Avant Garde, 1950s, Cacophony, Dissonance, White Noise and Other Sonic Assaults
Telescoping Fish Knocker
Not being a fisherman or sportsman of any sort, I had no idea until now that there existed a special tool for whacking your caught fish on the noggin: the fish knocker or fish bat. You can buy a variety of modern ones, as seen here. But I like the patent on a collapsible model.Full patent here.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Dec 02, 2023 -
Comments (6)
Category: Sports, Tools, Lakes, Ponds, Rivers, Streams, Swamps and Other Bodies of Fresh Water, Patents, 1950s
Everyone left early again
How a wonky thermostat turned a family into social outcasts.
Posted By: Alex - Sat Nov 25, 2023 -
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Category: Advertising, 1950s
Strange to Your Ears
Jim Fassett started as a broadcaster on WBZ Boston in the 1920s. He eventually moved to New York where he took a position with CBS Radio. In the 1950s, he hosted a radio programme which highlighted his interest in the manipulation of sound on tape. The programme was called Strange to Your Ears and some of the results of that show became the basis of this LP.
Over the course of the album, Fassett plays weird and other-worldy sounds which he then proceeds to deconstruct revealing the original sound source. There are sound sources like roosters crowing and babies crying.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Nov 25, 2023 -
Comments (1)
Category: Radio, 1950s, Cacophony, Dissonance, White Noise and Other Sonic Assaults
Dutch Courage From Car Radiator
Posted By: Paul - Fri Nov 24, 2023 -
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Category: Death, Poisons and Other Injurious Substances, 1950s, Alcohol
Bishop in Space
Nov 1957: Lord Alastair Graham offered a solution for declining church attendance. Launch a bishop into space inside a sputnik.For context, the Soviets had just a few days before (Nov 3, 1957) launched Sputnik 2 which carried the first living creature into space, a small dog named Laika. Graham's remark was evidently a reference to this.
However, while the Soviets had succeeded in getting Laika into space, they had made no plans for getting her back alive. It was a one-way trip. It's not clear that Graham realized this, but it definitely puts a different spin on his suggestion.
The Guardian - Nov 13, 1957
Posted By: Alex - Mon Nov 20, 2023 -
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Category: Religion, Spaceflight, Astronautics, and Astronomy, 1950s
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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 |