Twentieth Century
Happy Memorial Day 2023!
WHAT are you going to do on Decoration day? Where are you going? To the ball game? Fishing? Are you going to play tennis or go on a long excursion to spend the day away from home? Do you want to go to the park and sail your boat on the little lake? Will you tie a flag to your handlebars and take a ride on your bicycle with your friend Tom? Or are you one of the many who understand that the day is set apart in memory of gallant heroes and is a holiday in their honor? Will you take your place with the many on the line of march in respect to the few remaining heroes who will parade before you? Are you one of those who will look to the wants and comforts of the feeble, who need your protection? Help make the day memorial. With a brush or bit of cotton wound on a toothpick and plain water, paint between the lines; the decoration will then appear in appropriate color. EDITOR'S NOTE.—Read the pages of the entire book before painting or making the cut-outs. Rinse the brush often to prevent colors running together.
Posted By: Paul - Mon May 29, 2023 -
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Category: Holidays, Armed Forces, Twentieth Century
The Queen of Love and Beauty at the Veiled Prophet’s Ball
The Veiled Prophet Parade and Ball was a yearly civic celebration in St. Louis, Missouri, over which a mythical figure called the Veiled Prophet presided. The first events were in 1878. The parade and ball were organized and funded by the Veiled Prophet Organization, an all-male, secret society[3][4][5] founded in 1878 by prominent St. Louisans.
The organization chooses one member to be a Veiled Prophet who conducts meetings and oversees activities but not necessarily for one year, spokesman Allyn Glaub said in 1991. They were a highly select group culled from the area's business, civic and governmental leaders, "the people who run St. Louis and St. Louis County."
See the 1938 Veiled Prophet below.
The Wikipedia article on the ball itself here.
A list of all queens.
Posted By: Paul - Mon May 08, 2023 -
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Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Clubs, Fraternities and Other Self-selecting Organizations, Disguises, Impersonations, Mimics and Forgeries, Parades and Festivals, Regionalism, Nineteenth Century, Twentieth Century, Twenty-first Century
Maco Toys Firefly Safety Helmet
What do you think? Would this have earned envy or disdain from fellow kids? Cool or uncool?The maker's Wikipedia page.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Apr 27, 2023 -
Comments (4)
Category: Bicycles and Other Human-powered Vehicles, Geeks, Nerds and Pointdexters, Toys, Self-protection, Defenses, and Safeguards, Twentieth Century
The Films of Jean Rollin
I confess to never having heard of this director until recently. But his legacy certainly seems one of High Weirdness. A new documentary (first clip) chronicles his career.His Wikipedia page.
Caution: Mild nudity in the clips.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Apr 18, 2023 -
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Category: Horror, Movies, Outsider Art, Fantasy, Europe, Twentieth Century
Sydna Yokley, Rodeo Prodigy
Sydna--seen here in a 1939 LIFE magazine feature--debuted on the rodeo circuit at age 12. She had an outstanding career (see her FIND A GRAVE obit) but died young--under the hooves of her favorite horse.
A nice write-up of her life here.
A 1977 retrospective feature here.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Apr 13, 2023 -
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Category: Animals, Contests, Races and Other Competitions, Regionalism, Sports, North America, Twentieth Century
Señor Wences
Once upon a time, pop culture was very different.The Wikipedia page.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Apr 07, 2023 -
Comments (4)
Category: Puppets and Automatons, Television, Surrealism, Twentieth Century
Smokey Pleacher
His entry at Hillbilly Music Dot Com.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Apr 05, 2023 -
Comments (1)
Category: Hillbillies, Country Bumpkins, Ruralism and Flyover Country, Humor, Ineptness, Crudity, Talentlessness, Kitsch, and Bad Art, Music, Twentieth Century
America’s Most Beautiful Back Contest
I can't be sure if all these videos and photos refer to the same Galveston contest, but it's likely. Except of course for the specifically Florida one.Read about the event--which was briefly revived a decade ago--here.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Mar 30, 2023 -
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Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Regionalism, Twentieth Century
The Mole Man of London
For some reason I recalled recently the odd case of William Lyttle, the Mole Man of London, who dug out a warren of tunnels under his home.Lyttle, originally from Ireland, inherited a 20-room property in the London borough of Hackney. In the mid-sixties he dug out a wine cellar under his home. Having done so, he said that he had "found a taste for the thing" and kept on digging, for some forty years.[2] He created a network of tunnels, wide and narrow, on several levels. Tunnels led in all directions, some of them up to 18 metres (59 ft) in length, and reaching as far down as the water table.[3] One excavation connected with the Dalston Lane tunnel, and the railway line.
I was intrigued to learn that 3 years ago, his derelict house had been renovated and repurposed! Read about it, with many pics, at the link.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Mar 24, 2023 -
Comments (1)
Category: Domestic, Eccentrics, Caves, Caverns, Tunnels and Other Subterranean Venues, United Kingdom, Twentieth Century
Hazel Scott Playing Two Pianos Simultaneously
Her Wikipedia page.See also WU's post on the multi-horn playing of Rahsaan Roland Kirk.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Mar 09, 2023 -
Comments (0)
Category: Human Marvels, 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 |