Blue Eyeshadow Should Be Illegal

Paula Begoun calls herself "The Cosmetics Cop". And as such she firmly believes that blue eyeshadow is violating some kind of law.

You can read the full book (published 1985) at archive.org.





In 1991, she came out with a follow-up: Blue Eyeshadow Should Absolutely Be Illegal. Evidently her feelings on this matter had only grown stronger over time.

Posted By: Alex - Mon Mar 14, 2022 - Comments (4)
Category: Cosmetics, Books, 1980s

The Golden Age of Patents

Alex is a master at finding oddball inventions that received a patent. Surely one of his spiritual ancestors must have been Wallace Peck, who did a humorous book that imagined such inventions.

You can read the whole text here.

Posted By: Paul - Sun Jan 30, 2022 - Comments (0)
Category: Humor, Inventions, Patents, Books, Nineteenth Century

Sex on an Animal Hide Rug

The subtext in the ad is obvious. Fur rugs, fake or real, are for making love on. It's the staple of a thousand PLAYBOY cartoons.

But where did the trope originate? Most likely with writer Elinor Glyn. Her novel THREE WEEKS (read it here) featured such a scene that became so notorious, it inspired some doggerel.

Posted By: Paul - Sun Jan 02, 2022 - Comments (0)
Category: Animals, Domestic, Books, 1900s, 1970s, Sex

Odd Showers

Read it here.

Posted By: Paul - Tue Dec 14, 2021 - Comments (3)
Category: Animals, Supernatural, Occult, Paranormal, Weird Facts, Weird Studies and Guides, Books, Natural Wonders, Nineteenth Century

Dolls the wide world over

A book that could be shelved in either Art or Horror.

Available for loan at the Internet Archive.

Posted By: Alex - Mon Dec 06, 2021 - Comments (0)
Category: Books, Dolls and Stuffed Animals

Webs In The Wind

Webs in the Wind, published in 1949, is an odd, obscure book. The author, Winifred Duncan, decided that she wanted to learn more about spiders — creatures about which she previously had almost no knowledge.

To do so, she caught spiders outside, released them in her house, and then patiently observed their behavior as they went about building webs in her curtains, between pieces of furniture, behind her toilet, etc. Her book is full of illustrations of the spider webs throughout her house.

Only after observing the spiders for months did she start reading any of the existing scientific literature about spiders.

Used copies of her book are quite expensive, starting at around $35. But you can read the entire book for free at the Hathitrust archive.

Posted By: Alex - Sun Nov 28, 2021 - Comments (1)
Category: Insects and Spiders, Books, 1940s

C. W. Leadbeater, Theosophist

Anyone with even a passing interest in the weird has heard of that famous eccentric Madame Blavatsky and the Theosophical Society.

But less attention is paid to her interesting comrade, C. W. Leadbeater.

Read his pretty short book THE LIFE AFTER DEATH here.

Posted By: Paul - Wed Nov 17, 2021 - Comments (2)
Category: Death, Eccentrics, Supernatural, Occult, Paranormal, Books, Nineteenth Century, Twentieth Century

The Language and Poetry of Flowers

Once upon a time, each flower held a very specific symbolical meaning. You can read about them in this book.

So be very careful next time you commission a bouquet for someone. You wouldn't want to include any white roses still in bud, lest you seem "ignorant of love."

Posted By: Paul - Mon Oct 25, 2021 - Comments (5)
Category: Innuendo, Double Entendres, Symbolism, Nudge-Nudge-Wink-Wink and Subliminal Messages, Nature, Books, Nineteenth Century, Love & Romance

A Moose for Jessica

In 1987, a wild moose fell in love with what zoologists refer to as a "biologically inappropriate object". His love interest was a cow named Jessica who lived on the Vermont farm of Larry Carrara.

For over two months the moose displayed courtship behavior towards Jessica. He followed her all around, would rest his head on her back, or would push hay toward her as a food offering.

The moose and Jessica

Over 75,000 sightseers came out to Carrara's farm to witness this interspecies romance.

Finally, after 76 days, rutting season came to an end and the moose lost interest in Jessica and wandered back into the wild.

The moose

The romance between the moose and Jessica inspired the book A Moose for Jessica, written by Pat Wakefield with photographs by Larry Carrara. It's available on Amazon, or you can read it for free at archive.org.

More info: wikipedia, New England Living

Posted By: Alex - Sun Oct 10, 2021 - Comments (0)
Category: Animals, Cows, Books, 1980s, Love & Romance

Isaac Parker, the Hanging Judge

His Wikipedia page tells us:

Parker became known as the "Hanging Judge" of the American Old West, because he sentenced numerous convicts to death.[1] In 21 years on the federal bench, Judge Parker tried 13,490 cases. In more than 8,500 of these cases, the defendant either pleaded guilty or was convicted at trial.[2] Parker sentenced 160 people to death; 79 were executed.

Read a memoir that appeared two years after his death at this link.

Posted By: Paul - Fri Sep 17, 2021 - Comments (2)
Category: Death, History, Wild West and US Frontier, Law, Books, Nineteenth Century