Category:
1960s
1960s
A New Sound from the Japanese Bach Scene
Just what you'd expect: Bach played on Japanese instruments. Player is embedded below the Tracklist.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Sep 18, 2024 -
Comments (5)
Category: Music, 1960s, Asia, Europe
‘Sanity clearance’ for Japanese drivers
In the 1960s, Japan experimented with two ways of improving road safety.First, it required that new drivers obtain a "sanity clearance" from a doctor. This was supposed to keep psychotic motorists off the road.
Second, it urged pedestrians to either raise a hand or wave a yellow flag to indicate to drivers that they wanted to cross the road.
Both efforts failed and were quickly scrapped.
The "sanity clearance" was too easy to obtain and people disliked the expense. (Imagine flunking your driving test because you failed a sanity clearance!)
The hand-raising promotion actually increased pedestrian deaths. Apparently pedestrians seemed to believe that, as long as they raised their hand, they had "permission to ignore all traffic rules and boldly march out in to the middle of the road whenever they felt like it."
Sydney Morning Herald - Mar 24, 1968
Posted By: Alex - Tue Sep 17, 2024 -
Comments (2)
Category: Regulations, 1960s, Asia, Cars
Kinematic programming for rain
July 1966: The mathematician Mervyn Stone published an article in the journal Nature that analyzed "the optimal speed and posture to adopt when caught without protection in a rain shower."The article itself is mostly gobbledygook to me, but apparently he concluded that if the rain is coming from behind you then "walk forward leaning backwards." While if you're walking into the rain then "lower the head and walk as fast as possible."
Reference: "Kinematic Programming for Rain," Nature - July 23, 1966
The Branford Expositor - Sep 19, 1966
Click to enlarge as PDF
Posted By: Alex - Mon Sep 16, 2024 -
Comments (8)
Category: Science, 1960s, Weather
Follies of the Madmen #605
Posted By: Paul - Sun Sep 15, 2024 -
Comments (1)
Category: Advertising, Cereal, Infantilism, 1960s
The Swamp in June
Posted By: Paul - Fri Sep 13, 2024 -
Comments (0)
Category: Boredom, Nature, Vinyl Albums and Other Media Recordings, 1960s
Please don’t throw explosives in the trash
A very British way of asking people to not blow up garbage workers:[Detective-constable Frank Loydall] urged that members of the public wishing to dispose of explosives of any sort should not put them into dustbins or other refuse containers
Derby Evening Telegraph - May 14, 1966
Posted By: Alex - Sun Sep 08, 2024 -
Comments (1)
Category: 1960s, United Kingdom, Weapons
Subversive Coca-Cola Bottles
In 1965, thousands of sealed Coca-Cola bottles containing "subversive bulletins" were found floating off the coast of the Northern Celebes.
Miami Herald - July 30, 1965
I can't find any information about who was responsible for this strange act of subversion. But it recalls a later subversive use of Coca-Cola bottles by the Brazilian artist Cildo Meireles.
It was during the 1970s when used glass bottles would be returned and refilled. Meireles would modify the bottles before returning them by adding white text on the side showing messages such as "Yankees Go Home" or instructions for turning the bottle into a Molotov cocktail.
As the bottle progressively empties of dark brown liquid, the statement printed in white letters on a transparent label adhering to its side becomes increasingly invisible, only to reappear when the bottle is refilled for recirculation.
More info: Beach Branding and Packaging Design
Posted By: Alex - Sat Sep 07, 2024 -
Comments (1)
Category: Art, Soda, Pop, Soft Drinks and other Non-Alcoholic Beverages, 1960s, 1970s
Killer Tree
Posted By: Paul - Tue Sep 03, 2024 -
Comments (2)
Category: Death, Highways, Roads, Streets and Traffic, Nature, Synchronicity and Coincidence, 1960s
The Singing Sculpture
The Singing Sculpture by the art duo Gilbert & George is well known, though I just discovered it recently. Info from wikipedia:Whilst still students, Gilbert & George made The Singing Sculpture, which was performed at the National Jazz and Blues Festival in 1969 and at the Nigel Greenwood Gallery in 1970. For this performance they covered their heads and hands in multi-coloured metalised powders, stood on a table, and sang along and moved to a recording of Flanagan and Allen's song "Underneath the Arches", sometimes for a day at a time. The suits they wore for this became a uniform for them. They rarely appear in public without wearing them.
It is also unusual for one of the pair to be seen without the other. The pair regard themselves as "living sculptures". They refuse to dissociate their art from their everyday lives, insisting that everything they do is art. They were listed as among the fifty best-dressed over-50s by The Guardian in March 2013.
It is also unusual for one of the pair to be seen without the other. The pair regard themselves as "living sculptures". They refuse to dissociate their art from their everyday lives, insisting that everything they do is art. They were listed as among the fifty best-dressed over-50s by The Guardian in March 2013.
It's now become common to see street performers painted in metallic paint. They pretend to be unmoving statues until someone gives them some money, and then they may move abruptly. You can find them in the downtown areas of many big cities, wherever there are a lot of tourists.
I wonder if Gilbert & George's Singing Sculpture was the original inspiration for this form of performance art? I haven't been able to find any direct confirmation of this, but nor have I been able to find any examples of 'Bronze Man' performers before 1969.
More info: "Gilbert & George's Singing sculpture"
Posted By: Alex - Fri Aug 30, 2024 -
Comments (1)
Category: Performance Art, 1960s
In three weeks he may be dead…
Look at Bambi lying in a field. Bambi will be dead soon.
Sports Illustrated - July 1970
Coincidentally, this ad appeared within a year of the release of the classic animated short "Bambi Meets Godzilla." Perhaps the ad men had seen Marv Newland's film. Newland went into advertising after making his film, so it's at least possible.
Posted By: Alex - Wed Aug 28, 2024 -
Comments (3)
Category: Advertising, Cartoons, 1960s, 1970s
| 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 |