Category:
Animals
Animals
Ben the Talking Dog
Back in 1946, a British fox terrier named Ben won international acclaim for his ability to say the phrase, "I want one." I found a brief account of Ben and his fame in Unexplained Phenomena: A Rough Guide Special:A smooth-haired fox-terrier called Ben, belonging to Mr and Mrs Brissenden of Royston, Hertfordshire, was the subject of two articles in the Daily Mirror in August 1946. A Mirror reporter had visited Ben the previous day, and several times he had heard the little terrier say, clearly and distinctly, "I want one", evidently expressing desire for a cup of tea, a biscuit and other doggy treats. His voice was described as "dark brown" and "a rich baritone", low-pitched and authoritative. The reporter found it quite uncanny the way Ben used different tones of voice in making his requests, "from the wheedling note to the gruff, demanding one".
Contacted by the Mirror, two eminent veterinary surgeons, Professor W.C. Miller and Dr. W. Wooldridge, went to Royston to examine the talking dog. To them he duly made his usual remark, "I want one... oh-h-h... I want one". Professor Miller observed: "In all my experience I have never heard a dog so nearly simulate the human voice." Dr Wooldridge added: "The most amazing thing is that Ben does actually use his mouth and, to some extent, his tongue, to formulate and control the words. He cuts his words clearly, and appears to use his tongue to change from one word to another." while the experts discussed his case in Mrs Brissenden's front room, Ben romped around them with a ball.
Contacted by the Mirror, two eminent veterinary surgeons, Professor W.C. Miller and Dr. W. Wooldridge, went to Royston to examine the talking dog. To them he duly made his usual remark, "I want one... oh-h-h... I want one". Professor Miller observed: "In all my experience I have never heard a dog so nearly simulate the human voice." Dr Wooldridge added: "The most amazing thing is that Ben does actually use his mouth and, to some extent, his tongue, to formulate and control the words. He cuts his words clearly, and appears to use his tongue to change from one word to another." while the experts discussed his case in Mrs Brissenden's front room, Ben romped around them with a ball.
Ben became so famous that he was featured in an ad campaign for Comptometer adding-calculating machines that ran in American magazines such as Newsweek:
Newsweek - May 4, 1947
My parents had a welsh terrier that said the word "Out" whenever it wanted to go out. Although the way he said it was "Oooouuuuttttt!". Unfortunately we never thought to film him saying it.
Posted By: Alex - Tue Jun 10, 2014 -
Comments (7)
Category: Animals, Dogs
Alchy the alcoholic hamster
Back in 1958, high-school sophomore Diana McGee chose as her biology project an experiment "to make a hamster an alcoholic, then to cure it of the disease." She named the hamster "Alchy". The hamster consumed about a pint of bourbon a month and reportedly "seems to love it." Unfortunately, the news report never followed up on whether McGee was able to cure her hamster of his habit. Nor did it reveal what grade McGee got for her project.Source: The Salina Journal (Salina, Kansas).
Update: I actually spoke too soon about the lack of a follow-up. Another search revealed that the Salina Journal did report on Apr 25, 1958 that Alchy eventually refused to drink any more of the bourbon-water mixture, leading the paper to comment that "the animal has more sense than some people."
Posted By: Alex - Fri Jun 06, 2014 -
Comments (4)
Category: Animals, Inebriation and Intoxicants, Experiments
Pied Piper of Albany
What a great stunt by famed jazz musician Red Nichols.
Original article here.
I wonder if this was the tune he played.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Jun 06, 2014 -
Comments (2)
Category: Animals, Pests, Plagues and Infestations, Publicity Stunts, 1940s
Rat Roulette
Based on the description, it doesn't sound like this was particularly cruel to the rat, though perhaps slightly stressful for it. Apparently the Humane Society got custody of the rat once the game was closed down.
Source: Santa Cruz Evening News - Jun 15, 1939
Posted By: Alex - Thu May 29, 2014 -
Comments (16)
Category: Animals, Sports, 1930s, Gambling, Casinos, Lotteries and Other Games of Chance
Alouette
Alouette by René Jodoin & by Norman McLaren, National Film Board of Canada
Once upon a time, before karaoke, our ancient ancestors entertained themselves thus.
Posted By: Paul - Tue May 27, 2014 -
Comments (7)
Category: Animals, Hobbies and DIY, Music, 1940s
Consul the Chimp
A once-famous resident of the Bellevue Zoological Gardens in England, known for his pipe-smoking habit.
Posted By: Paul - Mon May 26, 2014 -
Comments (7)
Category: Animals, Anthropomorphism, Smoking and Tobacco, Europe, Nineteenth Century
Emily Davison, Least Intelligent Protestor Ever?
Does suffragette Emily Davison qualify for the title I've given her? The incident is shown in the video starting a bit before the six-minute mark.
She is best known for stepping in front of King George V's horse Anmer at the Epsom Derby on 4 June 1913, sustaining injuries that resulted in her death four days later....
Modern historians agree that Davison was trying to disturb the Derby in order to draw attention to her cause, rather than to commit suicide,[3][4] and 2013 analysis of newsreel has supported the idea that Davison was reaching up to attach a scarf to the bridle of the King's horse. Analysis of newsreel also indicated that her position before she stepped out onto the track would have given her a clear view of the oncoming race, further countering the belief that she ran out in a haphazard way to kill herself.
Posted By: Paul - Sun May 25, 2014 -
Comments (8)
Category: Animals, Contests, Races and Other Competitions, Daredevils, Stuntpeople and Thrillseekers, Curmudgeons and Contrarianism, 1910s
Kate Smith, the flag-raising rat
Kate Smith was a rat trained to raise a small American flag. It was trained by Kelly Buckwalter of Santa Barbara High School as "an experiment in operant conditioning" for her chemistry and psychology classes.
Do kids still get to do experiments like this in high school? Somehow I doubt it. Source: The Tuscaloosa News - May 22, 1976.
Posted By: Alex - Sat May 24, 2014 -
Comments (4)
Category: Animals, Science, Experiments, Psychology, 1970s
Greatest Kitty Ever
This amazing cat saved his boy from a vicious dog attack! Good Kitty!
Posted By: Alex - Wed May 14, 2014 -
Comments (9)
Category: Animals
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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 |