1960s
Edible Bonsai
Original ad here.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Mar 03, 2018 -
Comments (0)
Category: Business, Advertising, Food, Surrealism, 1960s
Ted Serios and his Thoughtographs
Theodore Judd Serios (1918-2006), a bellhop from Chicago who appeared to possess a genuinely uncanny ability. By holding a Polaroid camera and focusing on the lens very intently, he was able to produce dreamlike pictures of his thoughts on the film; he referred to these images as "thoughtographs..."
Full article here.
Collection of thoughtographs here.
Wikipedia page here.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Feb 28, 2018 -
Comments (4)
Category: Eccentrics, Freaks, Oddities, Quirks of Nature, Photography and Photographers, Unsolved Mysteries, 1960s
“Captured” Vietcong Slipper Sandals
Back in 1967, the Haband mail-order company of New Jersey wasn’t selling many of its sandals, until it came up with the idea of advertising them as “captured” Vietcong slipper sandals, claiming they were the “First big style find of the war!”You had to read the fine print to realize that it was simply the design of the sandals that had been captured. And even so, not really, because they had been selling the same sandals for years.
The company later reported that it was the most successful ad they had ever run, and that the 'captured' sandals sold "like mad."
As far as I can tell, they ran this ad for at least a year.
Palm Beach Post - Feb 11, 1968
Sydney Morning Herald - Mar 19, 1967
Posted By: Alex - Mon Feb 26, 2018 -
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Category: Advertising, Shoes, 1960s
Pullman Fragrance
For the man that wanted to smell like a train.Pullman puts you on the right track to an enlightening new experience in good grooming. Use it without reservation... Pullman's subtle scent underscores, never overpowers your masculine assurance. Board the Pullman train decisively with After Shave... Eau de Cologne... Talc... Deluxe bath soap... Shower soap on rope.
Someone has a bottle of this stuff for sale on eBay, if you wanna try some 50-year-old fragrance. Only $180!
Philadelphia Inquirer - Oct 29, 1967
Posted By: Alex - Sun Feb 25, 2018 -
Comments (1)
Category: 1960s, Perfume and Cologne and Other Scents
Sing-Along in Yiddish
The album Sing-Along in Yiddish came out in 1960. Part of a fad for sing-along records. The clips below are from the follow-up, More! Sing-Along in Yiddish.
Posted By: Alex - Sat Feb 24, 2018 -
Comments (0)
Category: Music, 1960s
Shakespeare, Tchaikovsky, and Jayne Mansfield
In 1964, Jayne Mansfield recorded an album for MGM that featured her reading selections from the poetry of Shakespeare, Byron, Shelley, Yeats, and others, as Tchaikovsky's music played in the background. Apparently she hoped the record would show off the asset she was most proud of, her 164 IQ.The album isn't available on CD or MP3, but you can pick up a copy of the original vinyl on eBay for around $30 or $40.
More info: wikipedia
Posted By: Alex - Wed Feb 21, 2018 -
Comments (2)
Category: Celebrities, Poetry, 1960s
Unauthorized dwelling at Yale
Here's one for Paul's unauthorized dwellings theme:Able to afford tuition at Yale, but not housing, 22-year-old Allan Kornfeld lived surreptitiously in a ventilation shaft for seven months, from 1963 to 1964.
Appleton Post-Crescent - Jun 18, 1964
Posted By: Alex - Tue Feb 20, 2018 -
Comments (3)
Category: Unauthorized Dwellings, 1960s
MONTEZUMA: the Opera
Ambitious failure, or noble travesty? Decide for yourself!
"The opera contains human sacrifice, burning at the stake, stabbing, stoning, rule by terror, cannibalism, a love story, war, homesickness, intrigue, a ritual dance, and the supernatural...[T]he opera's greatest defect is its libretto, a 'farrago of poetasty', which is 'a ghastly example of self-parody that even a Robert Benchley could not have topped.'"
Source of quote.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Feb 09, 2018 -
Comments (1)
Category: Ineptness, Crudity, Talentlessness, Kitsch, and Bad Art, Music, 1960s, North America, Cacophony, Dissonance, White Noise and Other Sonic Assaults
Afraid she’d look like a horse
At the International Beauty Congress held in Los Angeles in August 1963, when Miss Luxembourg (Catherine Paulus) learned during rehearsals that she was expected to appear in a bathing suit during the contest, she started laughing hysterically and was reported to have said, "I will look like a horse. The people will all laugh at me. And then I will laugh. I can't do it... I can't do it."The judges had to give her a tranquilizer to calm her down.
Somehow she was nevertheless talked into wearing a bathing suit the next day. And, of course, because of her outburst the picture of her wearing it then ran in papers nationwide.
She received a round of applause during her appearance, but didn't make it through to the finals. However, she was awarded the title of "Miss International Friendship" during the contest.
Detroit Free Press - Aug 16, 1963
image: historicimages.com
clipping: Corsicana Daily Sun - Aug 19, 1963
Posted By: Alex - Thu Feb 08, 2018 -
Comments (1)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, 1960s
The Presidential Comedy Albums of Earle Doud
Everyone knows the famous JFK-Vaughn Meader album. But how many realize the producer Earle Doud went on with that theme, to much less acclaim?I can't seem to find any clips on YouTube of the later ones.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Feb 08, 2018 -
Comments (3)
Category: Government, Humor, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s
| 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 |