Twentieth Century
Seelye’s Wasa Tusa
Patent medicine earned Dr. A. B. Seelye a fortune that allowed him to build a fine mansion that is open to the public today.
What was in his fabled Wasa Tusa?
A.B. Seelye made his fortune in patent medicines with the A.B. Seelye Medical Company. At one time he had over 500 salesmen traveling through 14 states. The Wasa Tusa they sold contained 65 percent “non-beverage alcohol, chloroform and sulphuric ether.”
Source of quote.
You can read his digitized ALMANAC, HEALTH GUIDE AND COOKBOOK here.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Sep 07, 2021 -
Comments (0)
Category: Domestic, Money, Patent Medicines, Nostrums and Snake Oil, Nineteenth Century, Twentieth Century
The Odd Downfall of Mary Carolyn Davies
From pulp writer and poet to Skid Row: writing has never been an easy career.
Read the whole arc of her life here.
Read some of her fiction at the Internet Archive.
Newspaper clip from The News Journal (Wilmington, Delaware) 08 Feb 1940, Thu Page 20
Posted By: Paul - Sun Aug 29, 2021 -
Comments (0)
Category: Eccentrics, Literature, Money, Twentieth Century
California Soap Mine
Was the 1855 Soap Mine tale just a prank or hoax? What about the 1901 article, in third place, which sounds a little more scientific?
Source.
Source.
Source.
Posted By: Paul - Mon Aug 16, 2021 -
Comments (3)
Category: Freaks, Oddities, Quirks of Nature, Hoaxes and Imposters and Imitators, Humor, Hygiene, Regionalism, Natural Wonders, Nineteenth Century, Twentieth Century
Electric Football
Posted By: Paul - Wed Aug 04, 2021 -
Comments (3)
Category: Games, Technology, Children, Twentieth Century, Twenty-first Century
Lucky Strikes as Weight-Loss Aid
See more in this series at the link.
Posted By: Paul - Mon Jul 26, 2021 -
Comments (1)
Category: Advertising, Smoking and Tobacco, Twentieth Century, Dieting and Weight Loss
X-Radium Cooking Utensils
Here is a fascinating short monograph (a PDF) about the Radium craze, including a discussion of the product above.
Posted By: Paul - Mon Jul 19, 2021 -
Comments (6)
Category: Death, Domestic, Really Bad Ideas, Twentieth Century
Follies of the Madmen #511
Entice customers by showing something disgusting.
Source.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Jul 03, 2021 -
Comments (3)
Category: Business, Advertising, Food, Twentieth Century, Nausea, Revulsion and Disgust
Dirty Toilets Prompt Relocation
This is like the old joke about selling your car when the ashtrays get full.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Jun 27, 2021 -
Comments (0)
Category: Architecture, Business, Advertising, Hygiene, Twentieth Century
Mystery Gadget 95
This does what now?Answer is here. Or after the jump.
More in extended >>
Posted By: Paul - Sat Jun 05, 2021 -
Comments (2)
Category: Technology, Twentieth Century
Rusty Warren, RIP
Obituary here.Wikipedia page here.
Posted By: Paul - Fri May 28, 2021 -
Comments (4)
Category: Humor, Sexuality, 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 |