Europe
Stanisław Szukalski
Stanisław Szukalski was a painter and sculptor who also developed the pseudoscientific historical theory of Zermatism, positing that all human culture was derived from a post-deluge Easter Island and that mankind was locked in an eternal struggle with the Sons of the Yeti. He illustrated this theory in his works.
Article source.
Artist's homepage.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Dec 13, 2018 -
Comments (1)
Category: Art, Avant Garde, Outsider Art, War, Documentaries, Bohemians, Beatniks, Hippies and Slackers, Europe, Twentieth Century
Richard Teschner, Art and Puppets
Teschner segment starts at 1:50.
Lots more at this link. Then be sure to follow the two additional links at the bottom of the page.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Dec 11, 2018 -
Comments (1)
Category: Puppets and Automatons, Surrealism, Europe, Twentieth Century
Bugsy Siegel and Atomite
One of the mobster's lesser-known rackets.Source of text.
Di Frasso and Siegel pictured below the text.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Dec 01, 2018 -
Comments (1)
Category: Crime, Dictators, Tyrants and Other Harsh Rulers, Frauds, Cons and Scams, 1930s, Europe, Weapons
Thérèse Humbert, Con Woman
Story with pix here.
In 1902, a political and financial scandal rocked the French nation when it was discovered that Madame Thérèse Humbert (née Aurignac), daughter-in-law of the deceased Minister of Justice, had swindled nearly 100 million francs from the French government and its citizens over twenty years. How did this woman, who was not particularly beautiful, educated, or well born, manage to defraud scores of people, ranging from the brightest and sophisticated of French society to the simplest?
Contemporary article on their capture.
Read a review of the book here, which contains a good synopsis of the case.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Nov 23, 2018 -
Comments (1)
Category: Crime, Frauds, Cons and Scams, Europe, Twentieth Century
Gunhild Carling
Jazz bagpipes.Three trumpets simultaneously.
Her web page (Swedish).
Thanks to Jim Woodring.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Nov 20, 2018 -
Comments (5)
Category: Human Marvels, Music, Reader Recommendation, Europe
Artwork Khrushchev Probably Would Not Have Liked 17
Sjöguden (The sea god) by Carl Milles.
Wikipedia page for the artist.
Posted By: Paul - Mon Nov 05, 2018 -
Comments (3)
Category: Art, 1930s, Europe, Russia
Shame of the Jungle
Cartoon nudity.The Wikipedia page.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Oct 21, 2018 -
Comments (1)
Category: Sexuality, Cartoons, 1970s, Africa, Europe
The Monk Calf of Freiberg
I don't recall any of this being discussed in October 2017 on the 500th anniversary of the Reformation.
A misshapen calf, born in Freiberg, Saxony, on 8 December 1522, quickly became important in the German Reformation. It was born with oddly shaped legs (its hind legs straight as a human's) and with a fold of skin over its head shaped like a cowl—hence its comparison to a monk. An illustration made its way to a Prague astrologer, who "discovered that the monster did indeed signify something terrible, indeed the most awful thing possible--Martin Luther."[10] Luther himself responded quickly with a pamphlet containing a mock exegesis of the creature, Monk Calf, in which the "Monk Calf" stands, in all its monstrosity, for the Catholic church.[12] Luther's anti-papist pamphlet appeared together with a tract by Philipp Melanchthon[13] which discussed a fictional monster, the Pope-Ass, a hybrid between a man and a donkey supposedly found near Rome after the 1496 flood.[14] Circulated in 1523, Martin Luther and Philipp Melanchthon's pamphlet was titled The Meaning of Two Horrific Figures, the Papal Ass at Rome and the Monk Calf Found at Freyberg in Meissen.[15] Luca Cranach the Elder and his workshop provided the illustrations of the Papal Ass and the Monk Calf for the pamphlet. Variations of Luther and Melanchthon’s pamphlet eventually were circulated, including one that depicted the Papal Ass and the Monk Calf in “an encounter between the two creatures. This opening page adds a new phrase to the title of the book: ‘with signs of the Day of Judgement.'"[16]
Source.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Jul 31, 2018 -
Comments (1)
Category: Anniversary, Religion, Europe, Sixteenth Century, Fictional Monsters
In the Round Four-Cornered Forest
Pure nightmare fuel for any unsuspecting child.
"The habitants of the Round Four Cornered Forest are a happy bunch of nice, accepting, loving companions: Micker-Macker, Pretty Kitty, Seraphin Horse, Lajos Monster, Aromo, Great Zoard, Sigfrid Bruckner, Elek Mouse, and Dömdödöm."
Posted By: Paul - Mon Jul 02, 2018 -
Comments (5)
Category: Anthropomorphism, Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Surrealism, Foreign Customs, Cartoons, Europe, Twenty-first Century, Fictional Monsters
The Dutch Mountain
In July 2011, the Dutch journalist Thijs Zonneveld wrote a column in which he proposed that a mountain be built in the Netherlands. He meant the idea as a joke, but people liked it so much that a grassroots movement formed in support of the project.Zonneveld's idea was for the mountain to be 1.2 miles high, and 3.1 miles wide. For which reason, it soon became apparent that a solid mountain wouldn't work. It would be massively expensive, and its weight might lead to earthquakes. But a hollow mountain, that was a definite maybe...
Unfortunately it seems like people have now lost interest in the mountain project. Its website has disappeared, but is still viewable via the Wayback Machine.
More info: wikipedia, reuters.com
Posted By: Alex - Tue Apr 10, 2018 -
Comments (3)
Category: Architecture, Real Estate, Europe
| 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 |