1910s
Mary & Gretel
Motto: existence is short and capricious, leavened only by booze.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Dec 16, 2020 -
Comments (1)
Category: Animals, Games, Fantasy, Stop-motion Animation, 1910s, Alcohol
Mystery Gadget 90
What's this device do?
The answer is here.
Or after the jump.
More in extended >>
Posted By: Paul - Thu Dec 10, 2020 -
Comments (1)
Category: Inventions, Technology, 1910s
Dyr bul shchyl
The Russian artist Alexei Kruchenykh invented the Zaum language in 1913. He described it as "a language which does not have any definite meaning." From what I can gather, it was gibberish sounds strung together.Dyr bul shchyl, also written by Kruchenykh, was the first (but not last) poem written in Zaum.
ubeshshchur
skum
vy so bu
r l ez
You can hear Kruchenykh reading the poem aloud in the first clip. There's a more modern interpretation of it below.
Knowing Russian, or any other language, won't help you understand the poem. But according to Russian language expert Lucas Stratton, "critics have interpreted Dyr bul shchyl as an arrangement of sounds associated with a coming storm."
Posted By: Alex - Sun Nov 29, 2020 -
Comments (0)
Category: Languages, Poetry, 1910s, Cacophony, Dissonance, White Noise and Other Sonic Assaults
M. X. Mockus, Blasphemer
Read all about it here.
Photo source.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Nov 11, 2020 -
Comments (2)
Category: Law, Religion, 1910s
Wrinkle Mask
Adelaide Smith was granted a patent for this "wrinkle mask" in 1911. It has a certain Bride of Frankenstein look to it.
My invention dispenses with the usual work in massaging, employed for removing the wrinkles or blemishes from the face, and can be used at any time more particularly, however, at nights while the patient is sleeping.
Posted By: Alex - Sun Oct 18, 2020 -
Comments (3)
Category: Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Inventions, 1910s
Follies of the Madmen #491
"Our gum will alter your irises!"
Source.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Oct 16, 2020 -
Comments (5)
Category: Body Modifications, Business, Advertising, Junk Food, 1910s, Eyes and Vision
Will to be read in 2163
Adolph Metzer loved cats and dogs. So, in his will, he gave $1000 to the city of Evanston, as well as to ten states, with the stipulation that the money be put in a bank account and not touched until 2163. By that time, he figured, his money would have grown to $201,559,641.30. All of which could be spent to help homeless cats and dogs.I haven't been able to find out what happened to his money. My guess is that it's long gone.
Washington Post - Mar 13, 1913
Posted By: Alex - Tue Jul 14, 2020 -
Comments (6)
Category: Death, Law, 1910s
Urban Daredevil
REYNOLDS, J., PERFORMING ACROBATIC AND BALANCING ACTS ON HIGH CORNICE ABOVE 9TH STREET, N.W
Source.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Apr 05, 2020 -
Comments (3)
Category: Daredevils, Stuntpeople and Thrillseekers, 1910s
Intestinal Chimney Sweeps
Back in the early twentieth century, the French laxative Jubol ran an ad campaign that featured tiny chimney sweeps climbing up into intestines and scrubbing them out.It reminds me of that old urban legend about Richard Gere and the gerbils.
Image source: vintage-ads — historical source: Rire - Dec 14, 1918
"Voila le petit ramoneur de l'intestin..." (Here's the little chimney sweep of the intestines)
L'Illustration - June 10, 1916
Posted By: Alex - Sat Mar 28, 2020 -
Comments (2)
Category: Health, Advertising, 1910s
The Mystery of the Leaping Fish
In this unusually broad comedy for Fairbanks, the acrobatic leading man plays "Coke Ennyday", a cocaine-shooting detective who is a parody of Sherlock Holmes. Ennyday is given to injecting himself from a bandolier of syringes worn across his chest, and liberally helps himself to the contents of a hatbox-sized round container of white powder labeled "COCAINE" on his desk.
Wikipedia page.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Mar 24, 2020 -
Comments (3)
Category: Addictions, Detectives, Private Eyes and Other Investigators, Drugs, Humor, Parody, Movies, 1910s
| 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 |