Oceans and Maritime Pursuits
Device for attracting submarines and the like
Submarines were a new menace during World War I, but Louis Schramm figured he had a way to defeat them. His invention (Patent No. 1,143,233) involved powerful electromagnets that would pull submarines to the sides of a ship where they could be electrified, killing their crew.Critics pointed out that the magnets would attract anything metallic to the side of the ship, including mines.
Posted By: Alex - Mon May 08, 2023 -
Comments (3)
Category: Boats, Oceans and Maritime Pursuits, War, Patents, 1910s
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 -
Comments (0)
Category: Oceans and Maritime Pursuits, Unauthorized Dwellings, Bohemians, Beatniks, Hippies and Slackers, 1960s, 1970s, North America
Fish Full of Freight
It's the 21st century and we don't have flying cars. Nor do we have atomic-powered submarine freighters towing underwater barges.However, this did remind me of the Russian scheme to use nuclear submarines as oil tankers.
Fortune - Feb 1959
Posted By: Alex - Sat Apr 22, 2023 -
Comments (1)
Category: Boats, Oceans and Maritime Pursuits, Atomic Power and Other Nuclear Matters, Transportation, 1950s, Yesterday’s Tomorrows
The Beauty Queen of Neptune
Long Beach, California: 1936. The queen of the Neptunes Electrical Extravaganza which will be staged over the Olympic Rowing Course on May 6th in Long Beach.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Dec 11, 2022 -
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Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Oceans and Maritime Pursuits, Parades and Festivals, 1930s
The Handsome Cabin Boy
Surely such a filthy song should incite the outrage of censors!BONUS: Versions by Kate Bush and Jerry Garcia in extended.
In the 19th century, broadside texts of the Handsome Cabin Boy remained steady sellers on the fairgrounds and in the backstreets of provincial towns for sixty years and more. A very widespread song, ashore as well as afloat, it is still not infrequently found among traditional singers in eastern England and north-eastern Scotland.
It's of a pretty female as you may understand
Her mind being bent for ramblin' all unto some foreign land
She dressed herself in sailor's clothes or so it does appear
And she hired with a captain to serve him for a year
The captain's wife, she being on board, she seemed in great joy
To think her husband had engaged such a handsome cabin boy
And now and then she'd slip him a kiss, and she would 'a liked to toy
It was the captain found out the secret of the handsome cabin boy
Her lips they were like roses, her hair allwas all in a curl
The sailors often smiled and said, "she looks just like a girl"
But eating of the captain's biscuit, her color did destroy
And the waist did swell of pretty Nell, the handsome cabin boy
It was in the Bay of Biscayne, our gallant ship did plough
One night among the sailors was a fearful flurry and row
They tumbled from their hammocks, for sleep it did destroy
They swore about the groaning of the handsome cabin boy
"Oh doctor, dear, oh doctor", the cabin boy did cry
"My time has come, I am undone, surely I must die"
The doctor cam a-runnin', and smilin' at the fun
To think a sailor lad should have a daughter or a son
The sailors, when they saw the joke, they all did stand and stare
The child belonged to none of them, they solemnly did swear
The captain's wife she says to him "My dear I wish you joy
For it's either you or me's betrayed the handsome cabin boy"
So each man took his tote of rum, and he drunk success to trade
And likewise to the cabin boy, who was neither man nor maid
"Here's hoping wars don't rise again, our sailors to destroy
And here's hoping for a jolly lot more like the handsome cabin boy"
More in extended >>
Posted By: Paul - Tue Dec 06, 2022 -
Comments (2)
Category: Disguises, Impersonations, Mimics and Forgeries, Music, Oceans and Maritime Pursuits, Fables, Myths, Urban Legends, Rumors, Water-Cooler Lore, Pregnancy
The Reber Plan
In this era when we speculate about giant geoengineering schemes, we should honor such past visionaries as John Reber, who wanted to turn San Francisco Bay into two giant freshwater lakes.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Nov 29, 2022 -
Comments (2)
Category: Eccentrics, Engineering and Construction, Oceans and Maritime Pursuits, 1950s
Fat Woman in Quicksand
Source: The New York Times New York, New York 14 Aug 1908, Fri
Posted By: Paul - Wed Nov 16, 2022 -
Comments (0)
Category: Oceans and Maritime Pursuits, Danger, Risk, and Peril, 1900s, Obesity
Miss Magnetic Fly Reel of 1959
Source: The Times Dispatch (Richmond, Virginia) 09 Nov 1958, Sun Page 49
Posted By: Paul - Sat Nov 12, 2022 -
Comments (2)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Oceans and Maritime Pursuits, Sports, Fish, 1950s
The Orukter Amphibolos
We've seen many amphibious vehicles at WU, but mostly from the 20th century. Here's one of the earliest, from 1804.Wikipedia page of the inventor, Oliver Evans.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Nov 04, 2022 -
Comments (1)
Category: Inventions, Motor Vehicles, Oceans and Maritime Pursuits, Nineteenth Century
The Water Unicycle
Full patent here.
POPULAR MECHANICS source.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Oct 01, 2022 -
Comments (0)
Category: Inventions, Chindogu, Patents, Oceans and Maritime Pursuits, Ridiculousness, Foolishness, Public Ridicule, Silliness, Goofiness and Dumb-looking, 1930s, 1940s
| 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 |