Technology
World’s Largest Hand-dug Well
Actually not the largest, as the Wikipedia page admits.
Posted By: Paul - Sun May 30, 2021 -
Comments (2)
Category: Architecture, Regionalism, Technology, World Records
International Society for the Abolition of Data-Processing Machines
The International Society for the Abolition of Data-Processing Machines (or ISADAPROM) was founded by Harvey Matusow in the late 1960s. Its aim was "to conduct guerrilla warfare against the computer by such means as sending a penny too much or too little when paying a utility bill."
San Francisco Examiner - Oct 27, 1968
Matusow also authored The Beast of Business, which was supposed to serve as a manual for the guerrilla warfare against the computer. I wonder if any of the techniques he detailed would still work today?
However, Matusow is best known for giving evidence in court against individuals during the McCarthy era. Later he claimed that the FBI had paid him to give false testimony, and he detailed these allegations in his book False Witness.
He seems to have had a rather eccentric life and career. Some other highlights of it, from the University of Sussex's page about him:
- Founded a band called the Harvey Matusow’s Jew’s Harp Band
- Married approximately twelve times
- Is possibly part of the reason The Beatles broke up – he held the party where John Lennon met Yoko Ono
- Worked as a children’s TV clown called Cockyboo in Tucson, Arizona
- Converted to Mormonism and spent his last years known as Job Matusow
Posted By: Alex - Sat May 29, 2021 -
Comments (7)
Category: Clubs, Fraternities and Other Self-selecting Organizations, Technology, Computers, 1960s
The Xervac Anti-Baldness Device
Read all about it here.
And here, source of the photo below.
Posted By: Paul - Tue May 11, 2021 -
Comments (8)
Category: Technology, Patent Medicines, Nostrums and Snake Oil, 1930s, Hair and Hairstyling
Animating Plants
Many people talk to their plants, but the plants don't talk back. However, a new invention allows the plants not to talk back, but at least to communicate, by moving. For instance, you could ask a plant if it needed to be watered, and the plant would shake up and down to indicate 'yes'.From the patent granted to Richard J. Maddocks et al:
The invention can provide an opportunity for retailers, distributors or gift givers to customize the behavior and content of the plant's behavior.
The present invention can provide a technique for the plant through its behavior to communicate its physiological needs for irrigation, light, fertilizer etc.
Posted By: Alex - Sun May 09, 2021 -
Comments (2)
Category: Communications, Inventions, Patents, Nature, Technology
Mystery Gadget 94
A clock. But part of something larger. What?
The answer is here.
Or after the jump.
More in extended >>
Posted By: Paul - Fri May 07, 2021 -
Comments (3)
Category: Technology, Nineteenth Century
Mystery Illustration 100
This is the armature for...something. What?
The answer is here.
Or after the jump.
More in extended >>
Posted By: Paul - Fri Apr 23, 2021 -
Comments (0)
Category: Technology
Walt Builds a Family Fallout Shelter
Posted By: Paul - Tue Apr 20, 2021 -
Comments (2)
Category: Domestic, Technology, War, Twentieth Century
The Middleton Family at the New York World’s Fair
This drama illustrates the contribution of free enterprise, technology, and Westinghouse products to the American way of life. The Middleton Family at the New York World's Fair pits an anti-capitalist bohemian artist boyfriend against an all-American electrical engineer who believes in improving society by working through corporations. The Middletons experience Westinghouse's technological marvels at the Fair and win back their daughter from her leftist boyfriend.
Memorable moments: the dishwashing contest between Mrs. Modern and Mrs. Drudge; Electro, the smoking robot; and the Westinghouse time capsule.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Apr 11, 2021 -
Comments (1)
Category: Fairs, Amusement Parks, and Resorts, Family, Technology, Bohemians, Beatniks, Hippies and Slackers, 1940s
10-Four, Good Buddy Board Game
Did any fad ever evaporate as quickly as CB radio?
Learn details here.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Apr 10, 2021 -
Comments (3)
Category: Fads, Games, Motor Vehicles, Technology, 1970s
The Mimi Award
The Wikipedia entry for MECHANIX ILLUSTRATED tells us:A long-running feature of Mechanix Illustrated was "Mimi," a shapely young woman dressed in skimpy overalls with blue and white vertical stripes; and, in the early sixties, a matching railroad engineer's cap (later discontinued). She was in a picture holding, standing beside, sitting on, lying on or just in the picture with a new product each month. Each "Mimi" held the job for a year. Their names were never given except for the announcement of a new "Mimi" in the January issue. One Mimi did, however, hold the job for a few years in the sixties. An actress from Southern California, she left to live in Hawaii, and a readers' poll was conducted to choose a replacement from a short list. The readers' choice only lasted a short while, and was replaced by one of the runners-up. "Mimi" was discontinued with the change to Home Mechanix.
Ten more Mimi's after the jump.
More in extended >>
Posted By: Paul - Fri Apr 09, 2021 -
Comments (3)
Category: Hobbies and DIY, Magazines, Technology, Sex Symbols, 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 |