1970s
Killer Candy
Read the thrilling urban legend here.
Posted By: Paul - Sat May 27, 2023 -
Comments (7)
Category: Death, Fables, Myths, Urban Legends, Rumors, Water-Cooler Lore, Advertising, Candy, 1970s
Follies of the Madmen #565
Ninety-second commercial appears to think it's an epic movie.
Posted By: Paul - Tue May 23, 2023 -
Comments (0)
Category: Games, Languages, Mad Scientists, Evil Geniuses, Insane Villains, Stereotypes and Cliches, Advertising, 1970s
Kicked To Death By A Camel
According to the article "Camel-Related Deaths" in The American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology:Some searching for examples of camel-related deaths led me to discover a book with the oddball title, Kicked To Death By A Camel, published in 1973.
The author, Clarence J.L. Jackson, was a pseudonym for Richard W. Bulliet, a history professor at Harvard (and later Columbia University). On his Amazon page he writes:
Sounds like it could be a fun read. If you're interested, you can either buy a used copy or check it out via archive.org.
Shreveport Times - Sep 23, 1973
Posted By: Alex - Mon May 22, 2023 -
Comments (1)
Category: Animals, Death, Books, 1970s
People Hunting
A version of 'the most dangerous game' that ends with licks and cuddles rather than death.
Montreal Star - Feb 2, 1976
Some searching turned up Walter Gilbey's old webpage on the Internet Archive, where he discussed what he called the "Isle of Man Bloodhounds Drag Hunt." A drag hunt (so I learned) is the term for a hunt in which bloodhounds chase after a person who is carrying something aromatic, such as aniseed. However, their noses are so good that they can (and often do) simply follow the scent of the person.
As of 2015, this Isle of Man Bloodhounds Drag Hunt was still taking place. See the March 2015 issue of the Isle of Man magazine (pgs 108-109).
Posted By: Alex - Tue May 16, 2023 -
Comments (1)
Category: Sports, 1970s
Tortured by Ants
This isn't a type of crime one hears about very often:the boys were strapped to the tree for more than an hour, suffering the painful bites of thousands of ants.
On this subject, the Fossil Hunters site has an interesting article about forms of insect torture throughout history, including the gruesome ancient Persian practice of "scaphism," and the "Bug Pit" of Nasrullah Bahadur-Khan.
Alexandria Daily Town Talk - Aug 8, 1978
Posted By: Alex - Mon May 15, 2023 -
Comments (1)
Category: Insects and Spiders, Torture, Sadism, Cruelty, Punishment, and Torture, 1970s
Follies of the Madmen #564
Posted By: Paul - Mon May 15, 2023 -
Comments (7)
Category: Music, Advertising, Candy, Bohemians, Beatniks, Hippies and Slackers, 1970s, Attractiveness, Sexiness, Allure and Personal Magnetism
Legs that come alive in the Spring
Springtime at the Mojud body farm.
Cosmopolitan - Apr 1972
Posted By: Alex - Sun May 07, 2023 -
Comments (4)
Category: Advertising, 1970s, Legs
Unauthorized Dwellings 30
We surveyed this community earlier in this series, but I thought it deserved a followup chronicling its demise.The whole saga of Maplewood Mudflats is told in an article here.
Source: The Province (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada) 05 Sep 1972, Tue Page 25
Posted By: Paul - Thu May 04, 2023 -
Comments (0)
Category: Oceans and Maritime Pursuits, Unauthorized Dwellings, Bohemians, Beatniks, Hippies and Slackers, 1960s, 1970s, North America
Model of the year
I'm sure some psychologist must have conducted a study to see how much pain people would suffer in order to avoid embarrassment. If not, the case of Marcy Kwapil, chosen as "1975 model of the year" in Racine, Wisconsin, would offer an example. Rather than risk the embarrassment of disrupting a parade to get off the burning hot hood of a car, she suffered through to the end, incurring third-degree burns.
Roanoke Times - Aug 19, 1975
Below is the only picture I could find of Marcy Kwapil. She's the second from the right.
Racine Journal Times - Oct 25, 1973
Posted By: Alex - Wed May 03, 2023 -
Comments (2)
Category: Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Psychology, 1970s
Death by metric system
1976: Leonard Dodge "hung himself — because he could not cope with the change-over to metrication, it was suggested at the inquest on him."
Devon Herald Express - Oct 9, 1976
Posted By: Alex - Thu Apr 20, 2023 -
Comments (1)
Category: Death, Suicide, 1970s
| 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 |