North America
Red Hill Jr.‘s Niagara Falls Plunge
Once a common trope, the voluntary plunge over Niagara Falls seems to be extinct. This list at Wikipedia records the last such try as occurring in 2017. Would authorities even allow such an attempt these days?Wikipedia entry for Hill Senior and Junior.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Aug 29, 2023 -
Comments (1)
Category: Daredevils, Stuntpeople and Thrillseekers, Death, Lakes, Ponds, Rivers, Streams, Swamps and Other Bodies of Fresh Water, North America, 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
Happy Fourth of July 2023!
Posted By: Paul - Tue Jul 04, 2023 -
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Category: Games, Holidays, North America
Slang of 1911
Posted By: Paul - Sun Jun 11, 2023 -
Comments (4)
Category: 1910s, North America, Slang
Unauthorized Dwellings 30
We surveyed this community earlier in this series, but I thought it deserved a followup chronicling its demise.The whole saga of Maplewood Mudflats is told in an article here.
Source: The Province (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada) 05 Sep 1972, Tue Page 25
Posted By: Paul - Thu May 04, 2023 -
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Category: Oceans and Maritime Pursuits, Unauthorized Dwellings, Bohemians, Beatniks, Hippies and Slackers, 1960s, 1970s, North America
Sydna Yokley, Rodeo Prodigy
Sydna--seen here in a 1939 LIFE magazine feature--debuted on the rodeo circuit at age 12. She had an outstanding career (see her FIND A GRAVE obit) but died young--under the hooves of her favorite horse.
A nice write-up of her life here.
A 1977 retrospective feature here.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Apr 13, 2023 -
Comments (4)
Category: Animals, Contests, Races and Other Competitions, Regionalism, Sports, North America, Twentieth Century
The Shrine of the Grotto of Redemption
The place's homepage.The Wikipedia entry.
Posted By: Paul - Mon Mar 06, 2023 -
Comments (2)
Category: Buildings and Other Structures, Excess, Overkill, Hyperbole and Too Much Is Not Enough, Religion, Outsider Art, North America, Twentieth Century
Lily Dale Spiritualist Camp
The entire HBO documentary appears to be free on YouTube, as embedded below.The Wikipedia page.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Dec 28, 2022 -
Comments (1)
Category: Supernatural, Occult, Paranormal, North America, Nineteenth Century
Unauthorized Dwellings 26
Source: The San Francisco Examiner (San Francisco, California) 14 Nov 1966, Mon Page 7
Posted By: Paul - Tue Nov 22, 2022 -
Comments (2)
Category: Unauthorized Dwellings, Bohemians, Beatniks, Hippies and Slackers, 1960s, North America
Unauthorized Dwellings 25
b'Mudflats Living', b'Robert' b'Fresco' & b'Kris' b'Paterson', provided by the National Film Board of Canada
Posted By: Paul - Thu Sep 22, 2022 -
Comments (0)
Category: Oceans and Maritime Pursuits, Unauthorized Dwellings, Bohemians, Beatniks, Hippies and Slackers, 1970s, North America
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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 |