Business
Follies of the Madmen #268
This was one of a series of postwar ads for magnesium, which illustrated how the miracle metal would allow consumers to do things nobody would ever want to do, like carry a baby carriage on your shoulder.
Original ad here.
Posted By: Paul - Mon Dec 21, 2015 -
Comments (8)
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, Technology, Babies and Toddlers, 1940s
Follies of the Madmen #267
It's funny, because women don't know which end of a lathe is up!
Original ad here.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Dec 08, 2015 -
Comments (12)
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, Stereotypes and Cliches, Tools, Hair Styling, 1960s, Women
Follies of the Madmen #266
Posted By: Paul - Sat Nov 28, 2015 -
Comments (5)
Category: Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Business, Advertising, Products, 1960s, Cars
Condom Hut
Back in 1992, Emanuelle Del Vecchio had an idea for a great new business — a drive-through condom store. She called it "Condom Hut" and set up shop in a former Fotomat booth.Unfortunately the booth was located in an area of Cranston, Rhode Island populated by very Catholic Italian-Americans, many of whom took great offense at the idea of people being able to buy birth control from the comfort of their motor vehicle.
Local residents began protesting the store. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence condemned it for "promoting sexual activity, not abstinence." A rock was thrown through its window. Graffiti was spray-painted on its front. And eventually the business folded.
America was just not ready for a drive-through condom store.
Source: People magazine - Sep 21, 1992
Source (and more info): Quahog.org
Posted By: Alex - Fri Nov 13, 2015 -
Comments (8)
Category: Business, Birth Control , 1990s
Follies of the Madmen #264
That young couple is stopping not to admire the tablecloth but to gawk and laugh at the grade-school-dropout, simpleton-style hat worn by Dad.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Nov 10, 2015 -
Comments (3)
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, Family, Baths, Showers and Other Cleansing Methods, Headgear, 1950s
Redactron Word Processor
Apparently, if you can believe the ad, this early feminist word-processor had the side-effect of liberating women.
Original ad here.
History here.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Nov 06, 2015 -
Comments (14)
Category: Business, Computers, 1970s, Women
Groovy Gasoline
Posted By: Paul - Tue Oct 27, 2015 -
Comments (11)
Category: Business, Advertising, Motor Vehicles, 1960s
Follies of the Madmen #263
The deodorant that combines the crushing force of Niagara Falls with the brutal chemicals of a municipal water-treatment plant.
Posted By: Paul - Mon Oct 26, 2015 -
Comments (7)
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, Hygiene, Nature, 1950s
Follies of the Madmen #262
Posted By: Paul - Sat Oct 17, 2015 -
Comments (9)
Category: Annoying Things, Business, Advertising, Products, Death, Insects and Spiders, 1960s, Australia
Mail-Order Foliage
The website shipfoliage.com, created by Kyle Waring, will ship hand-picked New England leaves to U.S. customers. For $19.99 you get three leaves — 1 red, 1 yellow, and 1 mixed-color. The site's "foliage experts" make sure that only perfect leaves are shipped.$19.99 seems like a lot for three leaves. For instance, that's not enough leaves to decorate a Thanksgiving table (which I imagine could be one reason people might want leaves). Also, I'm pretty sure you can buy fake leaves that look pretty convincing at most craft stores.
Posted By: Alex - Thu Oct 15, 2015 -
Comments (13)
Category: Business, Strange Websites, Postal Services
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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 |