Politics
Will Rogers Nominates Henry Ford for President
The election season heats up!
Posted By: Paul - Mon Apr 17, 2023 -
Comments (0)
Category: Politics, Historical Figure, 1920s, Comedians, Cars
The Synthetic Party
Over in Denmark, an AI chatbot called Leader Lars is a candidate in the country's November general election. It's the representative of The Synthetic Party. Apparently this is the first time a form of artificial intelligence has run for political office. (It would be too easy to make a joke about whether any form of genuine intelligence has ever run for office, so I won't do it).You can chat with Leader Lars and ask it questions in English. However, it responds in Danish.
More info: vice.com
Posted By: Alex - Mon Oct 17, 2022 -
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Category: Politics, Strange Candidates, AI, Robots and Other Automatons
Bertolt Brecht Before The Committee On Un-American Activities
Want to empty out the dance floor? Just pop this on the turntable.Player embedded below.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Aug 19, 2022 -
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Category: Hollywood, Politics, Vinyl Albums and Other Media Recordings, 1940s
House Bean Soup
The U.S Congress has some unusual traditions, one of which is that the U.S. House of Representatives Restaurant always has bean soup on the menu. Details from the Congressional Archives:
Back page of the 1955 House Restaurant Menu
Posted By: Alex - Mon May 02, 2022 -
Comments (2)
Category: Food, Politics
Panko: The Suffragette Card Game
See more cards and history here.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Apr 24, 2022 -
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Category: Games, Politics, 1910s, Women
Two Richard Nixon Chess Sets
In 1971, when Nixon was still flying high, he got the honor of his own adulatory chess set.In 1973, he got one devoted to Watergate.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Feb 16, 2022 -
Comments (2)
Category: Games, Politics, Disgrace, Shame, Infamy and Downfalls, 1970s
The Other JFK
John Francis Kennedy served three terms as Treasurer of Massachusetts, from 1954 to 1960. He was legendary for putting almost no effort (or money) into campaigning. He made no speeches, nor did he advertise. He didn't even have any relevant experience for the job. Before becoming state treasurer he had been a stockroom supervisor at the Gillette Safety Razor Company.By all accounts, the only reason for his political success was the resemblance of his name to John Fitzgerald Kennedy.
John Francis Kennedy probably would have kept running for state treasurer if he could have. But term limits prevented him. He tried running for governor in 1960 (while JFK was campaigning for President), but his winning streak finally ended.
More info: Commonwealth magazine, Our Campaigns
John Francis Kennedy
Miami News - May 22, 1960
Posted By: Alex - Sat Nov 20, 2021 -
Comments (4)
Category: Odd Names, Politics, 1950s
Richard Nixon, Cottage Cheese, and Ketchup
Richard Nixon's favorite snack was reportedly cottage cheese topped with ketchup.A 1960 article in the LA Times treated this as noncontroversial personal information about the then-presidential candidate, noting that he had acquired a taste for this unusual delicacy from his Quaker grandmother.
Los Angeles Times - Mar 14, 1960
However, by the 1970s Nixon's team was downplaying his fondness for this snack. Helen Smith, the first lady's press secretary, dismissed it as overblown rumor.
Casper Star Tribune - June 5, 1973
Similarly, White House chef Henry Haller, in his book The White House Family Cookbook, denied he had ever seen Nixon eat such a concoction: "If the President ever doused his cottage cheese with catsup, I never saw him, and doubt he ever did."
I suspect the truth is that Nixon enjoyed this snack when he was younger, but didn't continue eating it when he was President. Regardless, the combination of cottage cheese and ketchup was definitely associated with Nixon in the public mind, and it inspired one odd work of art.
In 1973, on the eve of Nixon's second inauguration, the sculptor Carl Andre dumped 500 pounds of cottage cheese on the floor of the Max Protetch gallery in Washington, DC. He then topped this with 10 gallons of ketchup. He called the work 'American Decay'. However, it smelled so bad that it all had to be removed the next day.
More info: Interview Magazine
'American Decay'. Image source: bonhams
Posted By: Alex - Mon Oct 18, 2021 -
Comments (0)
Category: Art, Food, Politics, 1970s
Miss Kickback
At the end of each year, South Carolina would reward "kickbacks" of surplus state funds to the counties. In honor of this annual event, in 1962 and '63 the Columbia, SC Chamber of Commerce decided to hold a "Miss Kickback" beauty contest.The winner for 1962 was Jayne Arnold, and in 1963 Ann Warr was awarded the title.
The Columbia Record - Jan 10, 1962
The Columbia Record - Jan 9, 1963
Posted By: Alex - Mon Oct 11, 2021 -
Comments (1)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Politics, 1960s
Cultural Revolution Ballet
Posted By: Paul - Wed May 12, 2021 -
Comments (2)
Category: Dictators, Tyrants and Other Harsh Rulers, Political Correctness, Politics, 1970s, Asia
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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 |