Category:
Self-help Schemes

Three Decades of Slimming







Posted By: Paul - Fri Mar 14, 2014 - Comments (5)
Category: Exercise and Fitness, Food, Self-help Schemes, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s

Are You Ready for Self-Hypnotism?


A self-help book from the 1970s. Among the problems it promised to cure:
  • How to use self-hypnosis to cure your slipped disc, backache, headache, low back pain, even the painful torticolis or "wry neck" that has defied medical science
  • How to conquer a condition we call "loneliness" but which our subconscious mind knows to be a genuine starvation of our love needs
  • Even if you've been smoking for twenty-five years you can give it up overnight—and actually enjoy the so-called "withdrawal" period
  • An entirely new and different way of controlling overweight—on a self-hypnotic diet that requires no dieting

There was also an audio version, available on vinyl, which is still for sale on Amazon.

Posted By: Alex - Sun Jan 20, 2013 - Comments (2)
Category: Hypnotism, Mesmerism and Mind Control, Self-help Schemes, 1970s

Mrs. Jones’ Flesh Grower

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Who knew bioengineering and stem cells were in use so long ago?

Original ad here.

Posted By: Paul - Wed Oct 10, 2012 - Comments (7)
Category: Body, Bodybuilding, Body Modifications, Frauds, Cons and Scams, Self-help Schemes, 1900s

Good For What Ails You

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Original ad here.

Posted By: Paul - Thu Jul 12, 2012 - Comments (8)
Category: Medicine, Self-help Schemes, Advertising, 1920s, Alcohol

Improve Your Face

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Original ad here.

Posted By: Paul - Sun Jul 08, 2012 - Comments (3)
Category: Body Modifications, Self-help Schemes, 1910s

Roca Labs Gastric Bypass



Eighty percent of your stomach filled all day with indigestible mystery fiber, for only $480.00? Sign me up! Or just plunk me down in a barn full of hay!

Posted By: Paul - Fri May 06, 2011 - Comments (3)
Category: Food, Medicine, Self-help Schemes

Training for Failure

I wonder what would have happened had Dr. Sherman's plan been put into action? It would certainly relieve stress -- and provide a much more realistic view of the world -- if we were all taught from day one to accept our mediocrity. Reported in the Newark Advocate, Dec. 1, 1936:

Training for Failure
It seems that parents are wrong in counseling their youngsters to study hard and aim for the presidency.
Anyway, Dr. Mandel Sherman, mental hygiene specialist at the University of Chicago, advises that young people be trained to become failures, in the ordinary sense of the word.
"Our educational system is suffering from an overdose of success stories," he contends. "One person in 10 is neurotic, one in 22 insane today because we train only for success. And only a few can be successful from a material standpoint."
Youth perhaps should be taught that a successful life need not include fame and riches. But history, studded with instances of handicapped youngsters who fought their way to success, indicates that it would be difficult to get the younger generation to bow its head to the inevitability of failure.

Posted By: Alex - Thu Apr 16, 2009 - Comments (14)
Category: School, Self-help Schemes, Psychology

Breatharian FAQ

Posted By: Paul - Fri Apr 10, 2009 - Comments (4)
Category: Eccentrics, Food, Frauds, Cons and Scams, Religion, Self-help Schemes

Joan Avoids A Cold

As the weather becomes colder, let us all pay heed to our health, so that we may all stay well to attend the "Dutch Festival" of our choice.

Posted By: Paul - Mon Oct 06, 2008 - Comments (5)
Category: Domestic, Education, Family, Children, Parents, Hygiene, Body Fluids, Parades and Festivals, Self-help Schemes, 1940s

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Who We Are
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.

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