Religion
Miracle at Syracuse, NY
Not a "Christmas Miracle," but we'll take what we can get.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Dec 22, 2023 -
Comments (2)
Category: Crowds, Groups, Mobs and Other Mass Movements, Religion, Supernatural, Occult, Paranormal, 1940s
Bishop in Space
Nov 1957: Lord Alastair Graham offered a solution for declining church attendance. Launch a bishop into space inside a sputnik.For context, the Soviets had just a few days before (Nov 3, 1957) launched Sputnik 2 which carried the first living creature into space, a small dog named Laika. Graham's remark was evidently a reference to this.
However, while the Soviets had succeeded in getting Laika into space, they had made no plans for getting her back alive. It was a one-way trip. It's not clear that Graham realized this, but it definitely puts a different spin on his suggestion.
The Guardian - Nov 13, 1957
Posted By: Alex - Mon Nov 20, 2023 -
Comments (0)
Category: Religion, Spaceflight, Astronautics, and Astronomy, 1950s
If God loves me, why can’t I get my locker open?
A profound theological puzzle. First published in 1980.Lorraine Peterson is also the author of Why Isn't God Giving Cash Prizes?.
Posted By: Alex - Thu Nov 09, 2023 -
Comments (3)
Category: Religion, Books, 1980s
Robert Quillen’s Monument to Eve
Robert Quillen was once a well-known humorist, but is nigh-forgotten today. However, still standing is one of his pranks. A whimsical statue dedicated to "the first woman."Official South Carolina page on Quillen here.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Oct 20, 2023 -
Comments (1)
Category: Humor, Newspapers, Regionalism, Religion, Statues and Monuments, Historical Figure
DeVere Baker, Mormon Raftmaker
His page at a Mormon Wiki.He had the goal of sailing ocean currents in order to prove the voyages spoken of in the Book of Mormon were possible.... His failures were many, and often embarrassing, so embarrassing that the press and Mormons in general began to look the other way, rather than report on his adventures.... Nor were Baker’s dreams confined to the ocean. In a unique combination of science-fiction and Mormon theology, he authored several stories focused on a beautiful alien girl named ‘Quetara.’ A human scientist is kidnapped by her crew and falls in love with her, learning in the process how God came to be, billions of years previously, and how evolution allowed the endless variation of species to develop on each world in a grand, perpetual Cosmic experiment overseen and controlled by Deity. A subtext of this was ostensibly good latter-day doctrine – that countless other worlds, including, of course, the wise and alluring Quetara’s own planet, were inhabited by people just like us.
Read a long essay here.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Jul 19, 2023 -
Comments (5)
Category: Eccentrics, Explorers, Frontiersmen, and Conquerors, Oceans and Maritime Pursuits, Religion, Twentieth Century
The Reserved Embrace Theory
A fringe theological theory, advanced by Rev. Robert Kirsch, holding that a Catholic priest could have sex without violating his vows as long as the sex was passionless. The church rejected his theory.
Albuquerque Journal - Nov 18, 1992 (click to enlarge)
Kirsch died in 2005. According to his obituary, the lawsuit described above never went to trial.
Posted By: Alex - Tue Jun 20, 2023 -
Comments (2)
Category: Religion, 1990s, Sex
Call to Heaven
At least the call wasn't traced to a cemetery.
The Munster Times - Jun 8, 1950
Posted By: Alex - Sun Jun 11, 2023 -
Comments (1)
Category: Religion, Telephones, 1950s
Miracle Dentistry
No need for dentists. Just pray away your tooth troubles!
Lloyd Bovee lived for over 50 more years. No mention of tooth problems in his obituary.
Posted By: Alex - Fri Apr 28, 2023 -
Comments (1)
Category: Religion, 1920s, Teeth
Sex, the Key to the Bible
If you want to peruse 172 pages of this kind of analysis, dive right in!
Posted By: Paul - Thu Apr 06, 2023 -
Comments (5)
Category: Eccentrics, Religion, Sexuality, 1910s
Ubiquitous Perpetuity God
1985: Enrique Silberg had previously tried to change his name to God, but was denied on the grounds that it would be confusing and that he also needed a first name. Finally he convinced a judge to let him change his name to Ubiquitous Perpetuity God.1996: Ubiquitous Perpetuity God was sentenced to nine months in Marin County Jail for indecent exposure, a crime that he had 17 prior convictions for. He said that he exposed himself to women so that they "could have some type of awareness of God".
San Francisco Examiner - Apr 18, 1985
Memphis Commercial Appeal - Feb 15, 1996
Posted By: Alex - Thu Mar 16, 2023 -
Comments (1)
Category: Crime, Odd Names, Religion
| Who We Are |
|---|
| 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 |