Human Marvels
Japanese Rice Festival
I haven't been able to figure out what the name of this festival was, but it included the feat of strength shown below.But I gotta wonder, what would happen if the guy realized he couldn't actually support the 1000 lbs (or more) of weight they've got stacked on him? Were there occasional fatalities?
Des Moines Register - Dec 6, 1964
Posted By: Alex - Wed Nov 06, 2024 -
Comments (0)
Category: Human Marvels, Parades and Festivals, 1960s, Asia
George Carl—“French Pantomimist”—on The Ed Sullivan Show
Prime time humor was really different, way back when.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Oct 23, 2024 -
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Category: Human Marvels, Humor, Television, 1960s, Europe
Monkey Girl Marries Alligator Boy
Posted By: Paul - Mon Sep 09, 2024 -
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Category: Human Marvels, Marriage, 1940s, Circuses, Carnivals, and Other Traveling Shows
Walter Easler, Human Pincushion
Nowadays, we are used to all kinds of piercings in daily life. But this fellow still merits a look.
This young man is literally "on pins and needles" but it doesn't seem to worry him in the least. He is Walter Easler, of Lorain, Ohio, and he is able to pierce his skin with impunity because of sensory anesthesia with which nature has endowed him. The pins and needles which penetrate his lips and cheeks do not cause him the slightest pain, and he recalls with amusement his father's perplexity when he was a lad as to how he could be punished since spankings could not be felt.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Aug 23, 2024 -
Comments (3)
Category: Body Modifications, Human Marvels, Twentieth Century, Pain, Self-inflicted and Otherwise
Moro the Human Icicle
The performer 'Moro' made a career out of the frozen-in-ice stunt. Later performed in Nov 2000 by David Blaine.I've always assumed there's no particular skill involved in the stunt — that it's not very cold inside the ice.
Iowa City Press Citizen - Oct 26, 1931
Ottawa Evening Citizen - Feb 16, 1931
The Winston County Journal - Mar 9, 1934
Posted By: Alex - Sat Jun 08, 2024 -
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Category: Human Marvels, 1930s
Miss Tall International
Instead of "Miss Tall International," I prefered the old name for this contest, per this 1952 entry."Miss California Tip Topper of '52": Sonia Smevik, 18, 6'1 3/4" crowned by Actor John Hubbard. L to R background: Peggy Mcconnell; Pat Hostetter; Marlize Schrad; Toby Guthrie; Joan Wark; Pat Hart; Phyllis Foresberg".
Posted By: Paul - Mon Dec 04, 2023 -
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Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Excess, Overkill, Hyperbole and Too Much Is Not Enough, Human Marvels, Twentieth Century, Twenty-first Century
John Pecinovsky, the Half-and-Half Man
Posted By: Paul - Thu Nov 09, 2023 -
Comments (2)
Category: Eccentrics, Human Marvels, Twentieth Century
Apple-Peeling Queen
Not a beauty contest, but an attempt to craft the longest strip of apple skin.I find this report from 1973--and one from 2021, almost 50 years later! The 2021 piece may be read here.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Oct 19, 2023 -
Comments (1)
Category: Agriculture, Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Human Marvels
Anna Monaro, The Illuminated Woman
Source for clipping: Redwood City Tribune (Redwood City, California) 23 Apr 1934, Mon Page 6
Read the whole tale here.
(Free membership at Medium required.)
Posted By: Paul - Sat Oct 07, 2023 -
Comments (0)
Category: Human Marvels, 1930s, Women, Europe
Werner Hirzel
Posted By: Paul - Wed Aug 09, 2023 -
Comments (2)
Category: Excess, Overkill, Hyperbole and Too Much Is Not Enough, Human Marvels, Music, Television, Twentieth Century
| 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 |