On April 1, the drone company Studio Hock, which specializes in creating "world-class drone show experiences," posted a video clip on its Instagram account claiming that they had used their drones to simulate King Kong climbing the Empire State building.
They concluded the post with the remark, "#aprilfools might just be my favorite holiday" — a giveaway that this hadn't happened. Nevertheless, the clip is fooling quite a few people (such as here and here). At least one news station (wsvn-tv in Miami) has reported it as an actual event.
The ancient Egyptians practiced mummification for over 2000 years, but they never wrote down how they did it. In 1994, egyptologist Bob Brier decided that the only way to figure this out was to attempt to duplicate what they did, by mummifying a body.
Brier collaborated with Ronn Wade, director of the Maryland State Anatomy Board. They obtained the body of a man in his late seventies who had died of a heart attack. His name has never been made public. The man had signed up to be a body donor, though of course he would have had no idea he was going to be mummified. His family was only told that his body was being used for a "long-term research project."
Brier's mummification project was featured in a 1994 National Geographic documentary (below). The mummy they produced still resides at the University of Maryland at Baltimore.
When T.M. Zink died in 1930, his will directed that the bulk of his estate should go to the construction of a library in his hometown of LeMars, Iowa — a library from which all women, and any books written by women, would be permanently banned.
The city government of LeMars wasn't exactly pleased by this gift and raised no objections when Zink's daughter (successfully) challenged the will, arguing that her father was of unsound mind. So Zink's womanless library never became a reality.
Of course, as odd as his bequest sounds today, throughout most of history womanless libraries were the norm — until well into the nineteenth century, I believe.
No woman shall at any time, under any pretense or for any purpose, be allowed inside the library, or upon the premises or have any say about anything concerned therewith, nor appoint any person or persons to perform any act connected therewith.
No book, work of art, chart, magazine, picure, unless some production by a man, shall be allowed inside or outside the building, or upon the premises, and this shall include all decorations for inside and outside of the building.
There shall be over each entrance to the premises and building a sign in these words: "No Woman Admitted."
It is my intention to forever exclude all women from the premises and having anything to say or do with the trust estate and library...
If any woman, or women, shall be allowed to disregard any of the limitations herein placed upon them, it shall be ground for removal of the trust estate and library...
My intense hatred of women is not of recent origin or development nor based upon any personal differences I ever had with them but is the result of my experiences with women, observations of them, and study of all literatures and philosophical works within my limited knowledge relating thereto.
Lux ran ads throughout the 1930s and 40s, warning women of the danger of dishpan hands, and their warnings eventually reached an unintended audience.
In 1948, a Soviet delegate to the UN explained that the reason Soviet women were not allowed to leave the country with foreign husbands was because that in the West wives became kitchen slaves and developed dishpan hands.
A popular parody in Darwin's day. https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JP9qulj2Up0/VMuSFjvOKPI/AAAAAAAANdE/nb2wfpOkdTs/s1600/5.Darwin%2Bas%2Bmonkey.jpg-%2Bacr.jpg