Television
Woops!
A comedy about life after nuclear Armageddon.Fox cancelled the series in late November. At the time, it was ranked 105th out of 108 weekly shows [54]. Only 10 of the 13 produced episodes were aired; the last was broadcast on December 6th.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Mar 01, 2023 -
Comments (5)
Category: Humor, Ineptness, Crudity, Talentlessness, Kitsch, and Bad Art, Television, War, Atomic Power and Other Nuclear Matters, 1990s
Win a Pony!
Maybe this 1950s contest was the inspiration for the famous episode of THE SIMPSONS where Bart won an elephant.A survey of newspaper records indicate the contest ran multiple times from 1952 to 1955. I wonder how many ponies were actually accepted and delivered?
But Roy and Dale could never cause any trouble, could they?
Posted By: Paul - Sat Feb 18, 2023 -
Comments (5)
Category: Animals, Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Television, Children, Cereal, Wild West and US Frontier
Miss Color TV
Apparently the contest continued beyond 1956 (first and second images), because the advertisement that follows is from 1959.
Ann Daly (No. 25) screams as she is declared "Miss Color-TV" in beauty contest at Palisades Amusement Park, N.J.; other contestants stand alongside her.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Feb 08, 2023 -
Comments (1)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Television, 1950s
The Better Sex
Surely this could be rebooted for 2023 in our absolutely carefree and non-contentious cultural atmosphere.The Wikipedia page.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Jan 03, 2023 -
Comments (0)
Category: Games, Rivalries, Feuds and Grudges, Television, Men, Women
Endogen Depression—Turkeys and TV sets
The art installation "Endogen Depression," by Wolf Vostell, consisted of 30 television sets, partially cast in concrete, and five live turkeys.Vostell presented this installation once in the U.S., at the Los Angeles Institute of Contemporary Art, in December 1980.
source: LA Public Library
Text from the LA Times (Dec 17, 1980):
Vostell means to contrast the sophistication of TVs and turkeys. The birds win handily. He also feels we can learn more from reputedly stupid turkeys than from television, but the comparison may not be a fiar one. The TV drone is so familiar and the programming so low-level, we quickly accept it as easily tuned-out background noise. Turkeys, on the other hand, look downright exotic to city folks who have never encountered one off a serving dish and wearing its feathers.
You can check out a video of the turkeys and TVs from the 1980 event at vimeo.com (embedding was disabled).
Posted By: Alex - Sun Dec 18, 2022 -
Comments (2)
Category: Art, Television, 1980s
“The Mouse That Roared” Unsold Television Pilot
Posted By: Paul - Wed Dec 14, 2022 -
Comments (3)
Category: Movies, Television, Unlikely, Improbable and Counterfactual Phenomena, 1960s
Miss Coaxial Cable
Cable TV was coming to Phoenix in 1952, and to celebrate a local TV store organized a "Miss Coaxial Cable" contest.
Arizona Republic - July 1, 1952
Arizona Republic - June 29, 1952
I can't find who was eventually crowned "Miss Coaxial Cable," but around the same time Mary Perkins was awarded the title of "Miss TV Cable," also in Phoenix. I'm guessing these must have been two rival beauty contests.
Arizona Republic - July 7, 1952
Posted By: Alex - Sun Dec 11, 2022 -
Comments (2)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Television, 1950s
TV INTROS TO 18 SHORT-LIVED SITCOMS OF THE 70s
Wow, what a bunch of bizarre stinkers from an odd decade.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Nov 20, 2022 -
Comments (3)
Category: Success & Failure, Television, 1970s
Betty Furness for Westinghouse
The weirdest thing about this commercial is the incredibly tiny waist of almost 40-year-old Betty Furness. I can't take my eyes off it.
NOTE: the first video runs slow, at least for me. Best to let it download entirely before hitting play.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Nov 06, 2022 -
Comments (5)
Category: Body, Domestic, Television, Advertising, 1950s, Women, Natural Wonders
Dick Hyman’s “The Man From O.R.G.A.N.”
Sometimes Alex and I appear to be coordinating our posts, but it's only coincidence. This time, however, I made it intentional!Let's see WABOT-2 play better than Dick Hyman!
His Wikipedia page.
Embedded player below track listing.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Oct 08, 2022 -
Comments (1)
Category: Movies, Music, Space-age Bachelor Pad & Exotic, Television, Ridiculousness, Foolishness, Public Ridicule, Silliness, Goofiness and Dumb-looking, 1960s
| 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 |