Death
Atomic Bomber Arcade Game
Original ad here.
Learn the history here, including a beautiful color pic of the actual machine.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Apr 28, 2018 -
Comments (1)
Category: Death, Destruction, Games, War, 1940s
Do-It-Yourself Coffin/Bookcase
"For $9.95 he'll mail you plans for a do-it-yourself coffin that also works as a bookcase."I guess when you die your family wouldn't even need to remove the books. Just throw you in there with them.
Oshkosh Northwestern - Mar 23, 1993
Lincoln Star - Mar 23, 1993
Posted By: Alex - Mon Apr 16, 2018 -
Comments (4)
Category: Death, Books, 1990s
Playful Swans
Original article here.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Mar 02, 2018 -
Comments (4)
Category: Animals, Death, Children, Parents, 1990s
Riding Table Saw
What could possibly go wrong?
Original article here.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Feb 25, 2018 -
Comments (3)
Category: Death, Hobbies and DIY, Chindogu, 1950s
Drive-Thru Funeral Home
In 1968, Herschel Thornton of Atlanta, Georgia opened the world's first drive-thru funeral home. He called it a "mortatorium." The press dubbed it the "remains to be seen" funeral home.It featured five windows in which bodies could be viewed from the comfort of one's car. Thornton noted, "Folks will be able just to drive by and view the last remains of their loved ones, and then keep going."
The Thornton Mortuary is still around. Herschel died in 1995, so the mortuary is now run by his son and grandchildren. Their website has a page about the "historic drive-thru viewing window." But based on the Google street view image of the mortuary, it looks like the drive-thru option is no longer available.
image source: professionalcarsociety.org
image source: Thornton mortuary
The Greenville News - Mar 14, 1968
However, other funeral homes eventually followed in the path blazed by Thornton. Quartz magazine reports that Japan debuted its first drive-thru funeral home in 2017. And below is an AP news report about a drive-thru mortuary that opened in Michigan in 2014.
Posted By: Alex - Thu Jan 11, 2018 -
Comments (3)
Category: Death, 1960s, Cars
Mongolian Box Prison
Source of photo.
Source of drawing.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Jan 04, 2018 -
Comments (7)
Category: Crime, Death, Dictators, Tyrants and Other Harsh Rulers, Prisons, 1910s, Asia
When Havoc Struck
It's never news or entertainment when something goes right, only when it goes wrong. The 1978 TV series WHEN HAVOC STRUCK knew what people wanted. Glenn Ford must've needed a paycheck.
Other episodes on YouTube.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Dec 30, 2017 -
Comments (0)
Category: Accidents, Goofs and Screw-ups, Death, Destruction, Engineering and Construction, 1970s
Death of a Fly
The product.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Dec 29, 2017 -
Comments (2)
Category: Anthropomorphism, Business, Advertising, Death, Insects and Spiders
The Fountain of the World Cult
"Members of Fountain of the World cult in Chatsworth are pallbearers and mourners at funeral of their leader Krishna Venta and two other cult members killed in dynamiting of their headquarters."
Read a long fascinating article on this Manson precursor at the LA WEEKLY.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Nov 16, 2017 -
Comments (2)
Category: Cult Figures and Artifacts, Death, 1940s, 1950s
Punky Punkin
WU's contribution to the seasonal craze for all things pumpkin.
He's the happiest pumpkin--despite having his guts ripped out of him and doomed to rot more swiftly than his brothers in the field.
Posted By: Paul - Mon Sep 11, 2017 -
Comments (1)
Category: Anthropomorphism, Death, Holidays, 1950s
| Who We Are |
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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 |