Appliances
Follies of the Madmen #223
Those crossbars replicate the excruciating pain of the infamous parental sofabed from Seinfeld.
Original ad here.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Jul 09, 2014 -
Comments (9)
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, Appliances, 1960s
Follies of the Madmen #221
Family lives in eerie black hole environment, stores floating possessions at many levels but without formal order.
Original ad here.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Jun 15, 2014 -
Comments (5)
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, Domestic, Appliances, Family, 1950s
Goodbye to Garbage
The ominous opening music implies a problem at least equivalent to a serial killer loose in the neighborhood. But it's only some spilled coffee grounds.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Jun 05, 2014 -
Comments (3)
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, Garbage, Trash, Waste and Other Detritus, Appliances, 1950s, 1960s
Forest Fire Lamp
[Click to enlarge]
Favorite illumination of arsonists everywhere!
Original ad here. (Page 25.)
Posted By: Paul - Fri Mar 21, 2014 -
Comments (10)
Category: Destruction, Appliances, 1940s
Happy Hotpoint
Even eventual superstars had to start somewhere.
At the age of 17, Mary Tyler Moore aspired to be a dancer. She started her career as "Happy Hotpoint", a tiny elf dancing on Hotpoint appliances in TV commercials during the 1950s series Ozzie and Harriet.[9] She appeared in 39 TV commercials in five days, ultimately earning about $6,000 from her first job.[10] Her time as "Happy Hotpoint" ended when it became difficult to conceal her pregnancy in the dancing elf costume.[9]
Posted By: Paul - Sun Dec 22, 2013 -
Comments (5)
Category: Celebrities, Advertising, Appliances, 1950s, Dance
Young Man’s Fancy
Electricity: too cheap to meter!
Posted By: Paul - Sat Feb 23, 2013 -
Comments (2)
Category: Domestic, Appliances, Propaganda, Thought Control and Brainwashing, PSA’s, Utilities and Power Generation, 1950s
Personalized Alarm Clock
[Click to enlarge for readability]
Upon a moment's reflection, the creepiness of this product becomes apparent, explaining why it never caught on. The notion of one's own voice pleasantly or angrily cajoling the sleeper to awake is straight out of some Philip K. Dick dystopia, in which the hero's brain has been split into two separate personalities. "Wake up, Paul, wake up! Today is the day you must assassinate the ambassador from Rigel Nine!"
Original ad here.
Posted By: Paul - Mon Aug 20, 2012 -
Comments (3)
Category: Domestic, Appliances, Psychology, 1970s
Dumbest Breakfast Device Ever.
Original story here.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Dec 03, 2011 -
Comments (5)
Category: Chindogu, Appliances, 1920s
Toilet Gun
The ad copy advises me to "Think of it!" and to contemplate the "powerful chain reaction." I sure am, buster! I'm thinking of what happens when you apply an explosive force to a ceramic bowl filled with excrement and wet paper that won't flush. And why aren't these devices common nowadays, if they were so great?
I think I'll stick with the old plumber's helper, thank you!
Original ad here.
Posted By: Paul - Mon Nov 07, 2011 -
Comments (2)
Category: Domestic, Appliances, Hygiene, Excrement, Technology, 1960s
Brown Bobby
Get rich quick with triangular donuts!
Explanation here.
Original ad here.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Nov 03, 2011 -
Comments (5)
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, Technology, Junk Food, Appliances, 1930s
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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 |