Technology
Mystery Gadget 40
A granite sphere sitting on a base. No moving parts. Yet it performed a useful function. What?
The answer is here.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Sep 23, 2016 -
Comments (5)
Category: Statues, Monuments and Memorials, Technology, 1910s, 1940s
Moonlight Towers
The antique form of streetlights called "moonlight towers" exists today only in Austin, Texas, as seen above in a picture taken from this fine post. There's something pretty science-fictional or steampunk about them, especially in a vintage picture as seen here.
In some other timeline, moonlight towers dot the nation in the year 2016.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Sep 11, 2016 -
Comments (4)
Category: Buildings and Other Structures, Technology, Urban Life, Nineteenth Century
Anti-Slide Devices
Perhaps this is common knowledge, but I just learned that those raised knobs between escalators really are there for the sole purpose of discouraging people from sliding down the ramp. I had always assumed they had some kind of structural function.
Source: Elevators 101
Posted By: Alex - Sat Sep 10, 2016 -
Comments (8)
Category: Technology
Don’t Cry For Me, Roentgen-tina!
Once upon a time Juan Peron's Argentina, tricked by a quasi-scientific hoaxer, claimed they had perfected fusion power. You can see the legacy of their project in the picture above.
Read the full story here.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Aug 12, 2016 -
Comments (2)
Category: Hoaxes and Imposters and Imitators, Technology, 1940s, 1950s, South America
Mystery Gadget 39
What's happening with this device?
The answer is here.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Aug 02, 2016 -
Comments (4)
Category: Technology, 1920s
1960s Portable Record Player
Posted By: Paul - Tue Jul 26, 2016 -
Comments (1)
Category: Music, Technology, Teenagers, 1960s
Williams-Dekker Piano-Teaching Computer
This oddball hybrid technology seems to have vanished from history, as I can learn little about its fate after its 1970 launch.
Original article here.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Jun 29, 2016 -
Comments (2)
Category: Music, Technology, 1970s
Mystery Gadget 38
What is this 1950s fellow dressed for?
The answer is here.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Jun 21, 2016 -
Comments (4)
Category: Technology, 1950s
Enormous Human Voice Movie House Organ
Original article here.
This seems to me a vivid example of a massively clever technology that totally missed out on the future train. Adding sound capture to film stock itself made this huge device totally obsolescent overnight.
Posted By: Paul - Mon Jun 06, 2016 -
Comments (3)
Category: Movies, Technology, 1920s
Mystery Gadget 37
Why? What for? The answer is here.
Posted By: Paul - Fri May 20, 2016 -
Comments (7)
Category: Technology, 1960s, Head
| 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 |