1950s
A Case of Censorship
This brief item ran in the UCLA Librarian newsletter (Nov 1, 1957) and seems WU worthy:
Transcribed text:
Under the above heading the British Publishers' Circular and Booksellers' Record of September 21, 1957, records another round in the running battle with the censorious customs officials. "Now I understand that officials recently impounded a work called Rape Round Our Coasts. I don't know what sort of minds these yahoos have but I hope they enjoyed the book. It is about soil erosion!"
Posted By: Alex - Fri Jun 20, 2014 -
Comments (5)
Category: Censorship, Bluenoses, Taboos, Prohibitions and Other Cultural No-No’s, 1950s
Follies of the Madmen #221
Family lives in eerie black hole environment, stores floating possessions at many levels but without formal order.
Original ad here.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Jun 15, 2014 -
Comments (5)
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, Domestic, Appliances, Family, 1950s
Playking Athletic Belt
[Click to embiggen]
Wow, a sports girdle for fat boys! And in the last panel, it seems to have had the power to change Fatty's hair color as well!
Original ad here.
Posted By: Paul - Mon Jun 09, 2014 -
Comments (6)
Category: Sports, Children, 1950s, Obesity
Tightrope Wedding
Posted By: Paul - Sun Jun 08, 2014 -
Comments (2)
Category: Daredevils, Stuntpeople and Thrillseekers, Husbands, Wives, 1950s, Europe
Goodbye to Garbage
The ominous opening music implies a problem at least equivalent to a serial killer loose in the neighborhood. But it's only some spilled coffee grounds.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Jun 05, 2014 -
Comments (3)
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, Garbage, Trash, Waste and Other Detritus, Appliances, 1950s, 1960s
Nightmare Chimera
This creature must have haunted the dreams of many a youth back in 1959, for it still has the power to send me screaming today.
Pig snout, elephant ears, dog feet, fox tail. And the insouciant cigarette holder of FDR. This is worse than anything Stephen King ever conjured up.
Perhaps WU readers would like to submit their proposed names for this creature.
Original ad here.
Posted By: Paul - Sat May 24, 2014 -
Comments (12)
Category: Comics, 1950s, Fictional Monsters
Operation Ranger and Operation Buster-Jangle
What a crazy old world that was. "Mutually Assured Destruction." But we just thought it was normal at the time.
Posted By: Paul - Thu May 22, 2014 -
Comments (3)
Category: Death, Destruction, Dreams and Nightmares, Science, Technology, War, Armed Forces, Weapons, Documentaries, 1950s
Virgil Partch
I just finished reading this great book on cartoonist Virgil Partch, who defined cartoon weirdness for several decades.The book revealed that Partch was a great joker in real life as well. He and some buddies founded the Balboa Island Sculling and Punting Society, which was an excuse to putter around the marina, freak out the squares and get drunk. Not satisfied with those activities however, they aimed higher. First they decided to take a "boat ride" from their West Coast hangout to Las Vegas. How? By putting a boat on a truck and riding inside the craft while being driven across the desert.
Then they decided to take a train to Catalina Island, by a similar expedient.
Here's a fuller account of their exploits.
Posted By: Paul - Mon May 19, 2014 -
Comments (4)
Category: Oceans and Maritime Pursuits, Comics, Bohemians, Beatniks, Hippies and Slackers, 1950s
The Zimphone
When telephones were the cutting-edge of technology, cheap knockoffs arose. This Radio-Shack-style wired intercom sought to cash in on Ma Bell's high standards. Imagine stringing one mile of wire from your house to your friend's home through the neighborhood.
There are several sets for sale on eBay as I post.
Posted By: Paul - Fri May 16, 2014 -
Comments (4)
Category: Communications, Imitations, Forgeries, Rip-offs and Faux, Technology, 1950s
Ski Cycling
Posted By: Paul - Thu May 15, 2014 -
Comments (7)
Category: Daredevils, Stuntpeople and Thrillseekers, 1950s, Europe, Motorcycles
| 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 |