Category:
Food
Food
Ninja Broccoli
ninja broccoli began to sprout as a genetic accident, a hybrid among fields of "normal," or sprouting broccoli (recall that the U.S. "normal" broccoli is this genetic aberration). At first, farmers considered it an undesirable variant but could not get rid of this broccoli that kept appearing and spreading mysteriously. A Japanese scientist, who preferred to remain anonymous, compared these cunning broccoli to ninjas, and the name stuck, immediately snatched up by marketing professionals as a stroke of genius: Ninja broccoli, your kid's favorite vegetable.
Posted By: Alex - Sat Jan 28, 2012 -
Comments (4)
Category: Food, Vegetables
Follies of the Mad Men #174
I'll bet you never knew popcorn came in special hepcat/hipster/beatnik varieties.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Jan 28, 2012 -
Comments (1)
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, Food, Bohemians, Beatniks, Hippies and Slackers, 1950s
How to burble a pea
How in the world did I reach the age of 43 without knowing that it was possible to burble a pea? Instructions can be found at askapastor.org:you take the roundest pea you can find. You purse your lips and tilt your head completely back. You place the pea on your lips and blow out a gentle but consistent stream of air until the pea begins to lift off your lips sustained by the air.
Or just watch one of these videos:
Posted By: Alex - Thu Jan 19, 2012 -
Comments (3)
Category: Food, Vegetables
Follies of the Mad Men #173
The Rolling Stones for Rice Krispies.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Jan 05, 2012 -
Comments (2)
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, Food, Music, 1960s
Chicken Dinner Candy
According to the Candy Professor, Chicken Dinner Candy Bars were introduced by the Sperry Candy Company of Milwaukee in 1923. They soon became one of the best selling candy bars of their day. Despite the name, they had nothing to do with chicken or dinner. The bar was a chocolate-covered nut roll. (Sounds pretty good!)
Wikipedia claims the name was a reference to President Herbert Hoover's promise of a "chicken in every pot." But that can't be right if the bars were introduced in 1923. The Candy Professor argues that the name was just an advertising gimmick to get people's attention.
Wikipedia also says that early TV commercials for Chicken Dinner Candy had a jingle that went, "Chick - Chick - Chick - Chick - Chicken Dinner" -- in the cadence of a rooster crowing.
The image of the Chicken Candy advertisement comes from an eBay auction. The seller wants $175 for the vintage cardboard advertisement, which seems a lot, though perhaps not if that's the kind of thing you collect.
Posted By: Alex - Wed Jan 04, 2012 -
Comments (4)
Category: Food, Candy
Electrified Lunch Box
Wonder why this never caught on...?
Original article here. (Scroll up one page.)
Posted By: Paul - Mon Nov 21, 2011 -
Comments (3)
Category: Food, Inventions, Stupidity, 1940s
The Colonel’s Secret Manuscript
Who is the original foodie? It may be Colonel Sanders. His secret food memoir has been discovered three decades after his death.
Kept locked in the vault next to the secret recipe of "11 herbs and spices", the food chain plans to release this typewritten food journal online next year.
Here's a link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/colonel-sanders-had-a-secret-recipe-and-a-secret-manuscript/2011/11/10/gIQAlz2u7M_story.html
Any speculations on which recipes will be our new favorites?
It's really hard not to insert a road-kill comment here. Or another bacony suggestion.
Bon Appetit!!
Posted By: gdanea - Mon Nov 14, 2011 -
Comments (2)
Category: Food
Follies of the Mad Men #166
Ye Olde Colonial Hepcats. And that's "James Madison Avenue" to you!
Wait for second spot after the fadeout.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Nov 12, 2011 -
Comments (2)
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, Food, 1950s, Eighteenth Century
Sigalit Landau
S. Landau "DeadSee" by maneb40
This is the nude artist swimming in the Dead Sea with several bushels of watermelons.
Warning: minor artistic nudity a few pixels wide.
Artist's home page.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Nov 04, 2011 -
Comments (4)
Category: Art, Performance Art, Body, Food, Oceans and Maritime Pursuits
Johnson Smith Catalog Item #11
[Click to enlarge]
Do you know why jokes and pranks like these don't fly any more? Because nobody gives a damn about playing their proper role these days. I'm not even going to mention the old lady with impossible neck and sadistic habits. But just look at that hobo! His hat has the classic open-can-lid top. He's wearing a Victoria Cross medal, cravat and vest. Note how carefully he cradles his cane on his arm. Note how delicately he takes the fake biscuit, with pinky finger upraised. The magnificent scowl when he bites the rubber biscuit! You'd consider your twelve cents well spent!
Now imagine giving a "surprise biscuit" to the modern incoherent and sloppily dressed drug addict sitting on the sidewalk outside your local liquor store. He'd be too out-of-it to even register the prank. If he did, he'd just grunt and toss the surprise biscuit one side, frustrating your enjoyment of your purchase.
We live in a sad age of decline.
From the 1930s catalogue.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Oct 22, 2011 -
Comments (3)
Category: Bums, Hobos, Tramps, Beggars, Panhandlers and Other Streetpeople, Food, Johnson Smith Catalog, 1930s, Pranks
| 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 |