1900s
The gun safe enough to use as a toy
There seem to be layers of meaning in this ad. On one level, it's just a girl playing with her toys (and her gun). On another level, the doll clearly seems posed in a way to represent a dead person, shot perhaps by the girl who's looking down at the gun in her hand with regret. What's the message here?
Incidentally, wikipedia tells us that Iver Johnson revolvers were used in the assassinations of William McKinley and Robert Kennedy (and the attempted assassination of FDR).
Source: The Canadian Magazine - April 1904
Posted By: Alex - Tue Apr 21, 2015 -
Comments (5)
Category: Guns, Toys, Advertising, 1900s
Alligator Joe
Proving that Florida, home to our esteemed Chuck Shepherd, has harbored weirdos for over a century.
Original article here.
Posted By: Paul - Mon Apr 20, 2015 -
Comments (3)
Category: Animals, Eccentrics, 1900s, 1910s
Kearton’s Imitation Ox
Find more info about Kearton and his ox here.
Posted By: Alex - Sun Apr 19, 2015 -
Comments (5)
Category: Photography and Photographers, 1900s
Practical Jokes on Corpse
Original article here.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Mar 11, 2015 -
Comments (4)
Category: Death, Work and Vocational Training, 1900s, Pranks
Giant Ice Cube with Man Inside
This has been a rough winter here in the Northeast, but I don't think we've had an instance yet like this one from 1906.
Original article here.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Mar 05, 2015 -
Comments (7)
Category: Accidents, Death, Nature, 1900s
Monkey Brand Soap
In the days before Mr. Clean, there was Monkey Brand. Though it seems an odd choice for whatever ad man thought this up to figure that people would associate a grinning monkey with clean dishes.
Source: Sketch Magazine, April 1908
Posted By: Alex - Sat Feb 21, 2015 -
Comments (4)
Category: Advertising, Baths, Showers and Other Cleansing Methods, 1900s
Peas mean something
In 1904, this young lady was dismissed as "demented." Today she might be recognized as a great performance artist.
Oshkosh Daily Northwestern - Apr 12, 1904
Posted By: Alex - Sun Jan 25, 2015 -
Comments (10)
Category: Food, Vegetables, 1900s
Radium Spray Liquid Cleaner
From 1909. Can't find much info about this other than the ad itself, so hard to know if it actually had radium in it, or if they were just using the word because it was the buzzword of the day.
via University of Washington Libraries
Posted By: Alex - Fri Jan 23, 2015 -
Comments (7)
Category: Hygiene, 1900s
Mark Twain’s Elephant
This seems to me to be a fine Xmas joke easily duplicated today. Pick your victim!
Original article here.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Dec 09, 2014 -
Comments (3)
Category: Animals, 1900s, Pranks
Stolta the Moose
There aren't many famous moose, except for Bullwinkle who doesn't count because he's fictional. So because Stolta achieved some fame in Sweden, that might make her the most famous moose in the world!After her mother was accidentally killed by a train (circa 1900), Stolta was adopted by a lineman and raised like a tame horse. She pulled carts and sleds, including sleds carrying tourists. And in 1907 her fame was forever secured when she won a harness race against trained horses over an ice-covered lake. Some more info and pictures of Stolta at Nordic Thoughts.
Posted By: Alex - Mon Dec 01, 2014 -
Comments (6)
Category: Animals, 1900s
| 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. Contact Us |