1960s
Bensen Gyrocopters
Aren't drones a little wimpy, when you could be flying your own Bensen Gyrocopter?
Original ad here.
Heck, even Batman had one!
Posted By: Paul - Tue Aug 23, 2016 -
Comments (10)
Category: Hobbies and DIY, Comics, Air Travel and Airlines, 1960s
Happy
Wikipedia article here.
Another, lesser-known, candidate for "Worst TV Show Ever." As a critic said at the time:
Posted By: Paul - Wed Aug 17, 2016 -
Comments (3)
Category: Television, Babies and Toddlers, Fantasy, 1960s
Miss World 1969
Dig those beehive 'do's!
Posted By: Paul - Tue Aug 16, 2016 -
Comments (4)
Category: Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Contests, Races and Other Competitions, 1960s
Jill Day’s Gym
I call total sexual harassment on Jill Day. Luckily she could fall back on her singing.
Note how these poor oppressed men in the second video have retreated to a female-free gym.
Posted By: Paul - Mon Aug 15, 2016 -
Comments (2)
Category: Music, 1950s, 1960s, Europe, Bodybuilding
The scientist who feared inhaling beer cans
Back in 1969, air-pollution researcher Alfred Hulstrunk had arrived at the pessimistic conclusion that pollution levels were getting so bad that within 10 to 15 years every man, woman, and child would need to wear a breathing helmet to survive outdoors. And within 20 years, he predicted, everyone would have to live in domed cities.Part of the problem, Hulstrunk believed, was all the stuff that society produced, such as "plastic beer containers that can be burned instead of just discarded." When burned, the beer cans added to air pollution. He noted, "Aesthetically you improve your area so that you don't have beer cans along the road, but now you are breathing beer cans."
Therefore, Hulstrunk had prepared for the future by designing an air pollution survival suit "to prevent inhaling beer cans or any other matter."
Corsicana Daily Sun - Dec 23, 1969
Arizona Republic - Dec 21, 1969
Note: It looks like Hulstrunk is still around, now aged 90. He recently gave a talk at Cedars of Lebanon State Park.
Posted By: Alex - Mon Aug 08, 2016 -
Comments (8)
Category: Predictions, Yesterday’s Tomorrows, Science, 1960s
Joey Reynolds and the Beatles
An ancient manufactured pop-music feud.
The Joey Reynolds story here.
Posted By: Paul - Mon Aug 08, 2016 -
Comments (2)
Category: Law, Music, Rivalries, Feuds and Grudges, 1960s
The Jesus Cloud of 1963
This strange cloud appeared over Arizona in 1963 and inspired many mystical revelations.
Good coverage here.
And here.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Aug 06, 2016 -
Comments (3)
Category: Eccentrics, Nature, Religion, 1960s, Arizona
Suddenly hated money
The recurring weird-news theme of people who destroy large amounts of money for various reasons (usually so that their heirs can't get their hands on it).
The Wilmington News Journal - Jan 8, 1963
LONDON — Mrs. Doris Lilian Hawtree, 46, told a magistrate's court yesterday she tore up $700 after a quarrel with her daughter's mother-in-law made her suddenly "hate money."
Posted By: Alex - Fri Aug 05, 2016 -
Comments (2)
Category: Money, 1960s
Churks
In 1960, scientists with the poultry research branch of the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that they had successfully created a chicken-turkey hybrid. They called the new bird a "churk." It was the first time such a cross had ever successfully been achieved — one of the obstacles being that chickens have six pairs of chromosomes, and turkeys have nine pairs. Churks ended up having 15 chromosomes.The scientists created three male churks. These three were not only the first, but also apparently the last of their kind.
Some features of the churk:
- They suffered from mental retardation, having only half the intelligence of either chickens or turkeys.
- They were mostly silent, only letting out a feeble chirp if disturbed.
- They had the long neck, legs, and white skin of a turkey, but the general size and coloring of a chicken.
- Their feathers grew twisted.
- All three churks had some defects, such as crooked legs or beaks.
- They had to be kept in a separate pen from the chickens and turkeys, to prevent them from being pecked to death.
More info: Science News (Nov 22, 2011)
The Pittsburgh Press - Oct 27, 1960
Posted By: Alex - Thu Aug 04, 2016 -
Comments (12)
Category: Animals, 1960s
Scopitones
Full story here.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Jul 31, 2016 -
Comments (3)
Category: Music, Video, 1960s
| 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 |