April 2016
April 30, 2016
Insure It
Nick Hawk from the reality series Gigolos has insured his penis for $1 million dollars. I have heard of dancers insuring their legs and even sports professionals insuring various parts depending on what game and position they play. But usually those people are famous and talented. To be fair this show has been on for 6 years so Nick must be some what famous in certain circles. Hope the guy never has to collect though.
Posted By: patty - Sat Apr 30, 2016 -
Comments (4)
Category:
LifeSkills Pod
Barclays Bank in the UK has created a "LifeSkills Pod" which it explains is a "futuristic work experience simulator" that mirrors "real-world work scenarios."Pods will be installed in various schools so that young people can sit in the pod and "build the skills needed in the workplace."
Posted By: Alex - Sat Apr 30, 2016 -
Comments (12)
Category: Jobs and Occupations, Technology
Hoesy Corona at Labbodies
LABBODIES: the pretentious gift that keeps on giving!
Posted By: Paul - Sat Apr 30, 2016 -
Comments (2)
Category: Ineptness, Crudity, Talentlessness, Kitsch, and Bad Art, Regionalism, Gender-bending
April 29, 2016
Small But Mighty
Watch this little bee pull a long nail out of brick. Pretty impressive, I doubt I could have removed it with a claw hammer and pliers!
Posted By: patty - Fri Apr 29, 2016 -
Comments (5)
Category: Insects, Natural Wonders
Cable Car Nymphomaniac
In my latest article over at About.com, I tell the story of the 1970 Cable Car Nymphomaniac lawsuit — which is still one of the most infamous legal cases in SF's history (and was recently made into a musical).
Posted By: Alex - Fri Apr 29, 2016 -
Comments (8)
Category: Lawsuits, 1970s
App for Body Odor
Nivea has developed a smartphone app (called Nivea Men Nose) that will let men know if they have stinky body odor. The app also requires you use a special phone case that has sensors to detect body odor chemicals. To find out your B.O. level, you just hold the phone close to your armpit.I don't know why it's for men only. Perhaps male and female B.O. chemicals differ?
Also, seems to me that the people who worry enough about having B.O. to use this wouldn't be the people with really bad B.O. anyway.
Posted By: Alex - Fri Apr 29, 2016 -
Comments (8)
Category: Hygiene, Technology
Detroit 9000
Posted By: Paul - Fri Apr 29, 2016 -
Comments (6)
Category: Crime, Movies, Stereotypes and Cliches, 1970s
April 28, 2016
Wheaton College Mass Confessions
February 1950: During a chapel service, the students of Wheaton College were invited by the college president to come forward and confess their sins. What followed was 38 hours of uninterrupted confessions as one student after another came forward. Many confessed more than once. Classes were cancelled to allow the spontaneous confess-a-thon to continue.One student confessed that he wasn't sure if he loved his fiancee or God more, another to cheating in Bible class. A somewhat cynical student confessed that she couldn't believe all the confessions were sincere. Then asked forgiveness for doubting their sincerity.
Finally the college president halted the continuing stream of confessions, noting that "outsiders might think the revival has become too showy."
Wheaton students pray and listen to confessions
Newsweek - Feb 20, 1950
Decatur Herald - Feb 11, 1950
Posted By: Alex - Thu Apr 28, 2016 -
Comments (11)
Category: Religion, 1950s
Capturing Lions by Aeroplane
"The odor of gasoline indicates great wealth and to this they show due respect." So then: nothing has changed in the Middle East in nearly 100 years!
Cautionary note: numerous lions were hurt in the making of this film.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Apr 28, 2016 -
Comments (6)
Category: Animals, Hunting, Trapping and Other Wilderness Activities, Air Travel and Airlines, 1920s
April 27, 2016
Name Change
July 1959: Upon becoming a U.S. citizen, Turkish-born Haroutioun A. Aprahamian changed his name to Haroutioun A. Abrahamian.I know this got reported as weird news in the 1950s because it seemed like an odd twist on the phenomenon of immigrants Americanizing their names, but this guy probably just wanted to correct the spelling of his name which perhaps had been misspelled by an immigration official.
When my dad moved to the States from Germany in the 40s, our last name Böse got written as Boese, making it unpronounceable. My sister was smart enough to start spelling it as "Bose" from an early age (actually, whenever possible she insists it be spelled "Böse"), but I never did, so now I'm stuck with the unpronounceable spelling.
The Wilmington News Journal - July 11, 1959
Posted By: Alex - Wed Apr 27, 2016 -
Comments (10)
Category: Odd Names, 1950s
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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 books such as Elephants on Acid. 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. Chuck Shepherd Chuck is the purveyor of News of the Weird, the syndicated column which for decades has set the gold-standard for reporting on oddities and the bizarre. Our banner was drawn by the legendary underground cartoonist Rick Altergott. Contact Us |
