1950s
Telescoping Fish Knocker
Not being a fisherman or sportsman of any sort, I had no idea until now that there existed a special tool for whacking your caught fish on the noggin: the fish knocker or fish bat. You can buy a variety of modern ones, as seen here. But I like the patent on a collapsible model.Full patent here.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Dec 02, 2023 -
Comments (6)
Category: Sports, Tools, Lakes, Ponds, Rivers, Streams, Swamps and Other Bodies of Fresh Water, Patents, 1950s
Everyone left early again
How a wonky thermostat turned a family into social outcasts.
Posted By: Alex - Sat Nov 25, 2023 -
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Category: Advertising, 1950s
Strange to Your Ears
Jim Fassett started as a broadcaster on WBZ Boston in the 1920s. He eventually moved to New York where he took a position with CBS Radio. In the 1950s, he hosted a radio programme which highlighted his interest in the manipulation of sound on tape. The programme was called Strange to Your Ears and some of the results of that show became the basis of this LP.
Over the course of the album, Fassett plays weird and other-worldy sounds which he then proceeds to deconstruct revealing the original sound source. There are sound sources like roosters crowing and babies crying.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Nov 25, 2023 -
Comments (1)
Category: Radio, 1950s, Cacophony, Dissonance, White Noise and Other Sonic Assaults
Dutch Courage From Car Radiator
Posted By: Paul - Fri Nov 24, 2023 -
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Category: Death, Poisons and Other Injurious Substances, 1950s, Alcohol
Bishop in Space
Nov 1957: Lord Alastair Graham offered a solution for declining church attendance. Launch a bishop into space inside a sputnik.For context, the Soviets had just a few days before (Nov 3, 1957) launched Sputnik 2 which carried the first living creature into space, a small dog named Laika. Graham's remark was evidently a reference to this.
However, while the Soviets had succeeded in getting Laika into space, they had made no plans for getting her back alive. It was a one-way trip. It's not clear that Graham realized this, but it definitely puts a different spin on his suggestion.
The Guardian - Nov 13, 1957
Posted By: Alex - Mon Nov 20, 2023 -
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Category: Religion, Spaceflight, Astronautics, and Astronomy, 1950s
Follies of the Madmen #581
Posted By: Paul - Wed Nov 15, 2023 -
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Category: Music, Advertising, 1950s, Alcohol
Mystery Illustration 112
What Shakespeare play--one of the more famous--does this production with its bizarre costumes portray?The answer is here.
Or after the jump.
More in extended >>
Posted By: Paul - Sun Nov 12, 2023 -
Comments (1)
Category: Costumes and Masks, Theater and Stage, Avant Garde, 1950s
Miss Tramp Steamer
Posted By: Paul - Fri Nov 10, 2023 -
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Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Oceans and Maritime Pursuits, 1950s
Miss Electronics of 1950 and Miss Microwave
The Institute of Radio Engineers chose 19-year-old Toy Palaske to be "Miss Electronics of 1950." She got to wear a swimsuit covered with electronics symbols and a crown topped with a television antenna.A few papers reported a different title for her, "Miss Microwave of 1950".
I assume she was both simultaneously.
(left) Pasadena Independent - Sep 15, 1950; (right) Los Angeles Mirror - Sep 14, 1950
Posted By: Alex - Tue Nov 07, 2023 -
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Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Technology, 1950s
Reassuring news in the event of a nuclear war
The reassuring news, according to Dr. G.D. Kersley, was that if you've had one nuclear bomb dropped on you, you're unlikely to have another.Kersley's article appeared in the Aug 9, 1958 issue of the British Medical Journal. You can read it here. The reassuring comments are on the final page, in the conclusions section.
Birmingham Post - Aug 8, 1958
Posted By: Alex - Mon Nov 06, 2023 -
Comments (2)
Category: War, Weapons, Atomic Power and Other Nuclear Matters, 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, 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 |