Eccentrics
Doris Munday, the woman who controlled the weather
When she was in her forties, Doris Munday realized that she had the power to control the weather. All she had to do was look at a location on a map, visualize what kind of weather it needed, and then concentrate hard. The weather would obey her command.
Shepherds Bush Gazette - Oct 7, 1971
This power came with a cost. Controlling the weather would leave her feeling fatigued, and it also seemed to cause her bad luck. After she had sent rain somewhere, her washing machine might blow up, or someone would run into her car.
She also felt that she didn't get enough credit for her powers. She complained, "Everyone always says when the rain falls, 'Oh well, it is a coincidence isn't it', and I don't even get a thank you for my time and trouble."
Hounslow Middlesex Chronicle - Jan 26, 1973
Daily Mail - Jan 24, 1973
And on occasion she made mistakes. She once wanted to send rain to South Africa, but accidentally sent it to Rhodesia instead.
Hamilton Spectator - Jan 22, 1973
She confessed that she didn't know why her powers worked, they just did. She speculated, "I think I have stumbled on some kind of electrical force which is rarely known."
The Guardian - Dec 23, 1968
Posted By: Alex - Thu Dec 28, 2023 -
Comments (1)
Category: Eccentrics, Paranormal, Weather
One Hundred Proofs That the Earth Is Not a Globe
Bone up on your arguments for this perennial topic!Read the 32-page book here.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Dec 19, 2023 -
Comments (5)
Category: Eccentrics, Gonzo, Demento, Kooky, Wacky and Out-there, Pseudoscience, Books, Nineteenth Century
The Flying Flea
Wikipedia page.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Dec 15, 2023 -
Comments (3)
Category: Eccentrics, Hobbies and DIY, Inventions, Air Travel and Airlines, 1930s
John Pecinovsky, the Half-and-Half Man
Posted By: Paul - Thu Nov 09, 2023 -
Comments (2)
Category: Eccentrics, Human Marvels, Twentieth Century
Harrison Dyar, Amateur Tunneler
Earlier this year, I posted about THE MOLE MAN OF LONDON, an eccentric British fellow who liked to dig tunnels. Well, the USA can hold its own in this category, thanks to Harrison Dyar of Washington, DC. Wikipedia gives a short account of his habit. This long account is much richer.Dyar told the Washington Star that the urge started when he dug a flowerbed for his wife around 1906. "When I was down perhaps 6 or 7 feet, surrounded only by the damp brown walls of old Mother Earth, I was seized by an undeniable fancy to keep on going."
Posted By: Paul - Sun Aug 27, 2023 -
Comments (2)
Category: Eccentrics, Caves, Caverns, Tunnels and Other Subterranean Venues, North America, Twentieth Century
Chrome
Let us all know if/when you bail.The band's Wikipedia page.
Chrome is an American rock band founded in San Francisco in 1976 by musician Damon Edge and associated with the 1970s post-punk movement.[3] The group's raw sound blended elements of punk, psychedelia, and early industrial music,[4] incorporating science-fiction themes, tape experimentation, distorted acid rock guitar, and electronic noise.[5] They have been cited as forerunners of the 1980s industrial music boom.[6] They found little commercial success as part of San Francisco's 1970s music scene...
Posted By: Paul - Wed Aug 16, 2023 -
Comments (4)
Category: Eccentrics, Music, 1970s, Cacophony, Dissonance, White Noise and Other Sonic Assaults
Cycle Ball
Call me a Sports Dummy, but I had never previously heard of Cycle Ball.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Aug 10, 2023 -
Comments (0)
Category: Bicycles and Other Human-powered Vehicles, Eccentrics, Sports
Space is the Place
The definitive statement from a master weirdo, Sun Ra. A couple of clips below.The entire movie can be viewed on YouTube (but not embedded here).
Posted By: Paul - Tue Aug 08, 2023 -
Comments (3)
Category: Aliens, Eccentrics, Bohemians, Beatniks, Hippies and Slackers, Music, Space Travel, 1970s
DeVere Baker, Mormon Raftmaker
His page at a Mormon Wiki.He had the goal of sailing ocean currents in order to prove the voyages spoken of in the Book of Mormon were possible.... His failures were many, and often embarrassing, so embarrassing that the press and Mormons in general began to look the other way, rather than report on his adventures.... Nor were Baker’s dreams confined to the ocean. In a unique combination of science-fiction and Mormon theology, he authored several stories focused on a beautiful alien girl named ‘Quetara.’ A human scientist is kidnapped by her crew and falls in love with her, learning in the process how God came to be, billions of years previously, and how evolution allowed the endless variation of species to develop on each world in a grand, perpetual Cosmic experiment overseen and controlled by Deity. A subtext of this was ostensibly good latter-day doctrine – that countless other worlds, including, of course, the wise and alluring Quetara’s own planet, were inhabited by people just like us.
Read a long essay here.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Jul 19, 2023 -
Comments (5)
Category: Eccentrics, Explorers, Frontiersmen, and Conquerors, Oceans and Maritime Pursuits, Religion, Twentieth Century
The Naked Guy of Berkeley
Andrew Martinez attended UC Berkeley during the early 1990s. While there he became known as the "naked guy" because of his refusal to wear clothes — ever. Text from the magazine of the Cal Alumni Association:
image source: East of Borneo
What became of Martinez:
Posted By: Alex - Mon Jun 12, 2023 -
Comments (1)
Category: Eccentrics, Nudism and Nudists, 1990s
| 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 |