Category:
Entertainment
Entertainment
Rev. Hansen’s Bible Birds
In 1940, Rev. Hansen started touring around the U.S. with his family, putting on a show in which he used trained birds to demonstrate lessons from the Bible. Newsweek (Dec. 10, 1951) offered this description of the act:A typical show opens with a six-canary choir accompanying Mrs. Hansen (on the vibra-harp) in "The Star-Spangled Banner," while an oriole pulls a string that hoists a flag on a tiny pole and a parakeet shinnies to the pole top to pose as an American eagle.
Other birds ride on a tiny electric train, eat at tables, and climb ladders while the Hansens appropriately quote the Bible. For example, when Tiger the canary sits on Catnip the cat while daughter Sylvia watches (see picture), Mr. Hansen quotes Isaiah 11:6, "... the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the faitling together; and a little child shall lead them."
Mr. Hansen feels that the whole act is "a demonstration of faith. Pete is not afraid of the flaming hoop because he knows I am holding it. Muggs has to stretch out his neck to swallow a sword that's as long as he is, but he has faith in us."
Other birds ride on a tiny electric train, eat at tables, and climb ladders while the Hansens appropriately quote the Bible. For example, when Tiger the canary sits on Catnip the cat while daughter Sylvia watches (see picture), Mr. Hansen quotes Isaiah 11:6, "... the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the faitling together; and a little child shall lead them."
Mr. Hansen feels that the whole act is "a demonstration of faith. Pete is not afraid of the flaming hoop because he knows I am holding it. Muggs has to stretch out his neck to swallow a sword that's as long as he is, but he has faith in us."
Amazingly, Hansen was able to continue putting on his Bible Birds show for 60 years, until he died in 2002. See Roadside America for some more info.
Hansen makes Boom-Boom eat at a table
Tiger, Catnip, and Sylvia play
Posted By: Alex - Sat Mar 07, 2015 -
Comments (3)
Category: Animals, Entertainment, Religion, 1950s
Dolphina at Bimbo’s 365 Club
Bimbo's 365 Club is still an active music venue in San Francisco. But, according to news on their own website, they seem to have abandoned a long proud tradition: Dolphina, the miniature live nude woman who swims in a fishbowl with goldfish.
How was this illusion achieved? When Dolphina was profiled in the NY TIMES in 2011, we learned:
IT’S AN ILLUSION A catacomb of tunnels in the bowels of the club leads to a small room containing a rotating platform on which the live “mermaid” reclines, naked. A periscope with angled mirrors projects her image up into the fishbowl where it appears that a tiny mermaid, about six inches long, is floating in an underwater grotto.
One at least hopes that the statue to an ideal Dolphina, erected in 1952 inside the club, still has a place of honor.
Posted By: Paul - Mon Mar 02, 2015 -
Comments (2)
Category: Entertainment, Public Indecency, Fish, 1950s
The Well-Balanced Beer
Headline writers had a lot of fun with this story. Ruth Shepler was an Iowa barmaid who had a signature bar trick which involved pouring a bottle of beer into a glass while the glass was balanced on her ample "frontage." She could reportedly balance up to four glasses simultaneously.But when the IRS heard about this, they decided that her trick was really a cabaret show, which meant that she should have been paying cabaret taxes for the previous three years (1952, 1954, and 1955). And they demanded these unpaid taxes, which by their calculations amounted to $44,694.
Shepler hired a lawyer to fight the IRS. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find any news reports that tell how her case turned out.
The San Mateo Times - May 25, 1956
Posted By: Alex - Tue Dec 30, 2014 -
Comments (6)
Category: Entertainment, Government, 1950s
Orto the Aquarium Man
Orto's gimmick is that he would eat and drink things while submerged in a tank of water. According to Newsweek (June 30, 1947), "Here his barker tries to convince skeptics he is smoking a cigarette while submerged."Sounds like quality entertainment!
EXPENSIVE SHOW — Cigarettes pass as money in most European countries these days. So when this street entertainer in Rome put on an underwater smoking act, he was really burning money. The "Aquarium Man" in the tank smokes a whole cigarette before the fascinated crowd. Later he ate and drank under water while the announcer harangued the crowd.
—The Daily News (Huntingdon, Pennsylvania) - Jun 23, 1947
—The Daily News (Huntingdon, Pennsylvania) - Jun 23, 1947
Posted By: Alex - Wed Jun 04, 2014 -
Comments (3)
Category: Entertainment, 1940s
Black Art
A type of stage magic based on the principle that "bright colors show up on stage, and anything covered in black disappears." [via Deceptology]
Posted By: Alex - Mon Sep 30, 2013 -
Comments (2)
Category: Entertainment, Magic and Illusions and Sleight of Hand
Star Trek Transporter Demonstration
We all want to believe it's possible.Don't watch the end if you want to preserve the fantasy.
Posted By: gdanea - Wed Sep 11, 2013 -
Comments (9)
Category: Entertainment
Senior Citizen on a Bottle
I have no idea who this guy is, but his performance is impressive for his age. The youtube info only says that he's a performer in Nuremberg's Christkindlesmarkt. The video was uploaded in December 2006.
Posted By: Alex - Wed Oct 31, 2012 -
Comments (7)
Category: Elderly and Seniors, Entertainment, Sports, Urban Life
Quick Change artist Owen McGiveney Jr
Featured on the 1950s panel game show I've Got A Secret. Notice the subtle promotion of the corporate sponsor. More info about McGiveney here.
Posted By: Alex - Sun Jul 22, 2012 -
Comments (2)
Category: Entertainment, ShowBiz
WU-style Personality Test
When it comes to choosing African-American ventriloquists, are you the kind who likes the clean soul stylings of Willie Tyler and Lester?
Or the dirty funk of Richard and Willie?
The latter clip is verbally NSFW.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Jan 04, 2012 -
Comments (8)
Category: Entertainment, Puppets and Automatons, Racism, Stereotypes and Cliches, Subcultures, 1970s
Magic Lantern Slides
Prior to movies, magic lantern slides were omnipresent, cutting-edge entertainment. Consequently, the range of materials they covered--from juvenile to adult--was enormous--and often weird.
Joseph Boggs Beale illo.
Article on Joseph Boggs Beale.
Collection of slides online.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Oct 05, 2011 -
Comments (4)
Category: Entertainment, Technology, 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 |