Death
Epitaph as personal ad
As reported by numerous 19th century sources (such as here and here), a tombstone bearing the following epitaph supposedly once stood in a "quiet Maine graveyard":Some versions of the epitaph claim that a specific street address was included. But I suspect this all may be a 19th-century urban legend, because I can't find any source that specifies exactly which town, or which cemetery, this tombstone is to be found in.
Posted By: Alex - Sat Jul 05, 2014 -
Comments (3)
Category: Death
Chimpnology
Posted By: Paul - Sat Jul 05, 2014 -
Comments (8)
Category: Animals, Anthropomorphism, Body Modifications, Death, Destruction, Dreams and Nightmares, Surrealism
They Don’t Make Titles Like That Anymore
Read the whole book here.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Jul 01, 2014 -
Comments (5)
Category: Crime, Death, Books, Nineteenth Century
Flameproof Playsuits
Were children more prone to catch fire for no reason in the past during innocent recreational activities than they are today?
Original ad here. (Page 23.)
Posted By: Paul - Fri Jun 27, 2014 -
Comments (12)
Category: Death, Destruction, Disasters, Fashion, Comics, Children, 1940s
Jeez! The Kid’s Got a Real Gun!
What are the actual odds that Billy would be deader'n a doornail as a result of his impetuous behavior?
Original ad here. (On page 35.)
Posted By: Paul - Tue Jun 24, 2014 -
Comments (10)
Category: Crime, Stupid Criminals, Death, Toys, Comics, 1940s
The funeral of Miriam Burbank
In the picture you see Miriam Burbank, sitting at a table, holding a menthol cigarette in her hand. She's dead, and this was the scene at her recent funeral. More info at wgno.com.
Of course, we've seen this kind of stuff before here at WU. Back in 2008, there was a post about Ángel Pantoja Medina "standing tall at his funeral." And also from 2008, a post about the Kuku Kuku of Papua New Guinea who pose their dead sitting up. So perhaps posed corpses at funerals is a phenomenon that is "no longer weird."
Posted By: Alex - Fri Jun 13, 2014 -
Comments (5)
Category: Death
Operation Ranger and Operation Buster-Jangle
What a crazy old world that was. "Mutually Assured Destruction." But we just thought it was normal at the time.
Posted By: Paul - Thu May 22, 2014 -
Comments (3)
Category: Death, Destruction, Dreams and Nightmares, Science, Technology, War, Armed Forces, Weapons, Documentaries, 1950s
Pearl Bryan and Bobby Mackey’s Music World
A haunted country-music club? Just visit Bobby Mackey's Music World in Wilder, Kentucky.
Fittingly, the most famous ghost, Pearl Bryan, has her own ballad.
Posted By: Paul - Sun May 04, 2014 -
Comments (2)
Category: Death, Horror, Music, Regionalism, Superstition, Nineteenth Century
Video Enhanced Gravemarker
The invention will change a major aspect of civilization. Cemeteries will come alive with stories told through video-tombstones.
It will change the way we look at life and death and it will even change the way history is told.
When people start recording their own obituaries for playback in video-tombstones, it will force them to examine their lives in ways they may not have even considered before.
It will also create two new industries:
1) Manufacturing video-tombstones
2) Producing videos for use in video-tombstones
Posted By: Alex - Sun Apr 27, 2014 -
Comments (8)
Category: Death
The Origin of Crash Test Dummies
Not the musical group.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Apr 05, 2014 -
Comments (3)
Category: Death, Motor Vehicles, PSA’s, Puppets and Automatons, 1960s
| 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 |