Twentieth Century
Propellor-Driven Snowmobiles
This notion goes way back.The Russians tried them at the start of the 20th century, with the Aerosani.
Here's one from the 1930s.
And finally, one from 2016.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Jul 08, 2018 -
Comments (1)
Category: Motor Vehicles, Nature, Weather, Twentieth Century, Twenty-first Century
Alois Swoboda
His Wikipedia page tells us:
His course did not use apparatus or exercise equipment. Claims in Swoboda's courses included the ability to regrow lost limbs and heal a heart damaged by a heart attack.
Article in POPULAR MECHANICS to be found here.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Jul 03, 2018 -
Comments (7)
Category: Body, Bodybuilding, Diseases, Cult Figures and Artifacts, Exercise and Fitness, Frauds, Cons and Scams, Twentieth Century
Mystery Illustration 73
What was this pleasant little old lady famous for?
The answer is here.
And after the jump.
More in extended >>
Posted By: Paul - Tue Jun 26, 2018 -
Comments (3)
Category: Women, Nineteenth Century, Twentieth Century
Black Knight, Freeman of London
Dominating the staircase is a big painting of Lady Violet Munnings riding a grey hunter, superbly assured against a finely painted sky and moorland setting. Lady Violet’s Pekingese, Black Knight, who was made a Freeman of the City of London (such are the benefits of dining with the influential), wrote a memoir that he called Diary of a Freeman. Actually I think he dictated it to Lady Violet, who was his devoted slave in all things. After he died she had him stuffed, and continued to carry him to the village on errands. He now reposes on a favourite cushion in a glass case beneath Munnings’s portrait of him, in a cubby hole off the main staircase. He remains extremely popular with regular visitors.
The artist.
Here is Black Knight's account of his life.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Jun 24, 2018 -
Comments (2)
Category: Anthropomorphism, Art, Books, Dogs, Twentieth Century
Anna Halprin
"Since the late 1930s Anna Halprin has been creating revolutionary directions for dance..." The actual "dance" starts at 1:11.
Perhaps, after viewing that, you would like to watch a feature-length documentary on Halprin. It'll cost you $3.99 however, although the trailer is free.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Jun 12, 2018 -
Comments (0)
Category: Avant Garde, Dance, Twentieth Century
Tinguely’s Metamatics
His Wikipedia page.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Jun 05, 2018 -
Comments (2)
Category: Art, Avant Garde, Technology, Twentieth Century
Unauthorized Dwellings 5
Keeping one's lover in the attic, hidden from the resident husband, has to require some chutzpah.
Full story here.
Dolly Oesterreich, 33 at the time, first became friendly with 17-year-old Otto Sanhuber (Jul 16, 1888 - ?)around 1913 and described him as her "vagabond half-brother." The two quickly became lovers and met clandestinely at Sanhuber's boarding room or at a nearby hotel. They also arranged trysts at Dolly's home but, when neighbors began noting Otto's increasingly frequent comings and goings and alerted her husband, Dolly suggested to Otto that he quit his job and secretly move into the Oesterreichs' upstairs attic to allay any further suspicions. He readily agreed to the arrangement. Not only would this put him in closer proximity to his lover but it would also give him time to pursue his dream of writing pulp fiction stories. Sanhuber would later describe himself as Dolly's "sex slave".
Posted By: Paul - Wed May 30, 2018 -
Comments (3)
Category: Crime, Unauthorized Dwellings, Death, Sexuality, Twentieth Century
Procession of the Holy Carpet
A vanished, rather homely and charming rite of the Islamic religion.
Full essay here.
At the beginning of the century, there were several types of popular ceremonies in Egypt that have disappeared or faded with time. One such ceremony is the procession of “El Mahmal” or “The Holy Carpet.”
The yearly celebration involved the Egyptian government manufacturing a new cover for the Holy Kaaba and offering it to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. After the cover is prepared in the factory, a large ceremony takes place in Cairo, where a parade organised by the Egyptian army tours the different districts of the city.
The parade included a caravan of decorated camels carrying the Holy Carpet, as well as many other gifts. After the caravan ends its tour in Cairo, it starts its long trip, guarded by the Egyptian army, across the eastern desert, then on to the Suez Canal and Sinai till it reaches Palestine.
From Palestine, it goes directly to Saudi Arabia, crossing its northern borders to the heart of Hijaz, then to Mecca. Normally it reached Mecca before the pilgrimage season, where another ceremony takes place that ends with the covering of the Kaaba with the Holy Carpet.
Posted By: Paul - Sun May 06, 2018 -
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Category: Religion, Interior Decorating, Middle East, Twentieth Century
RIP Luiz Gasparetto
Gasparetto was a medium who claimed that the spirits of famous artists created new works by employing him as a channel. Above is a little trifle that Degas dictated.
Here he is in action.
More on the man here.
His obit, in Portuguese.
Posted By: Paul - Sat May 05, 2018 -
Comments (1)
Category: Art, New Age, Twentieth Century, Twenty-first Century
Vogue Picture Records
For a brief time, one company produced records with illustrations imprinted into the vinyl.Visit this site for a big archive of charming, sometimes bizarre artwork.
Posted By: Paul - Wed May 02, 2018 -
Comments (3)
Category: Art, Music, 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 |