Business
Follies of the Madmen #485
No infants were harmed in the making of this ad. Oh, wait a minute, they're not breathing...
Source.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Aug 08, 2020 -
Comments (1)
Category: Babies, Business, Advertising, Death, 1950s, Goofs and Screw-ups
Follies of the Madmen #484
Somehow not quite as humorous nowadays.
Source.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Jul 29, 2020 -
Comments (2)
Category: Business, Advertising, Death, Family, Photography and Photographers, 1960s
Follies of the Madmen #483
Our product turns you into an arrogant jerk.
Source.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Jul 19, 2020 -
Comments (3)
Category: Business, Advertising, Emotions, Smoking and Tobacco, 1970s
The Only Legal Non-Burger King Burger King
I discovered this story in SECRET AMERICA: A GUIDE TO THE WEIRD, WONDERFUL, AND OBSCURE.See preview here.
The book is part of a series devoted to different cities, and if the national version is a good example, the individual volumes are probably worth your attention as well.
In any case, here's the lowdown on the Burger King of Mattoon, IL.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Jul 17, 2020 -
Comments (1)
Category: Business, Food, Regionalism, Lawsuits
Follies of the Madmen #482
A kind of housewife voodoo.
Source.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Jul 10, 2020 -
Comments (6)
Category: Business, Advertising, Appliances, 1950s, Christmas
Follies of the Madmen #481
Isn't it the offending husband who is usually the spouse assigned to sleep in the tub?
Source.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Jun 26, 2020 -
Comments (2)
Category: Business, Advertising, Domestic, Excess, Overkill, Hyperbole and Too Much Is Not Enough, Husbands, Wives, 1960s
The Environ Personal Retreat
The Environ Personal Retreat, sold by the Environ Corporation in the early 1980s, was designed to be a stress-free, self-improvement chamber. It offered programs such as "Relax and Affirm," "You and Food: New Scenarios," and "Self-Motivation for Winners." It came with a hefty price tag, $9000, but it was marketed at businesses, with the idea that they could de-stress and motivate their employees. Details from the LA Times - Nov 17, 1982:Seated inside this exotic lounger, the user chooses one of 36 taped 20-minute human-potential programs, and the machine goes into action.
Ionized, filtered air is piped in, along with a pleasing natural scent. And while the taped verbal and music program plays, colored lights change in time with the text. If the user is listening to a business talk on self-motivation, for example, the capsule is bathed in stimulating orange and red lights. On the other hand, if the program deals with relaxation or stress reduction, the lighting is in soothing hues of green and blue.
White Plains Journal News - Jan 23, 1983
Posted By: Alex - Mon Jun 22, 2020 -
Comments (4)
Category: Business, Technology, 1980s
Follies of the Madmen #480
Posted By: Paul - Thu Jun 18, 2020 -
Comments (4)
Category: Ambiguity, Uncertainty and Deliberate Obscurity, Business, Advertising, Daredevils, Stuntpeople and Thrillseekers, Fashion, 1940s
Follies of the Madmen #479
UPDATED: the source.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Jun 12, 2020 -
Comments (3)
Category: Business, Advertising, Emotions, Underwear, 1960s
Novel Device for Stopping a Runaway Horse
If you read the words on the "counterweight," they say, "Recommendations for Reichenbach's Tile Drains." So this is a humorous advertisement rather than an actual patent. But I would not be surprised if someone somewhere had come up with such an idea.
Source.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Jun 07, 2020 -
Comments (2)
Category: Animals, Business, Advertising, Humor, Nineteenth Century
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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 |