1970s
Carlton, Your Doorman
A never-purchased pilot for an animated cartoon series starring the Doorman from the Rhoda show.
Read the fascinating background story here.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Feb 11, 2018 -
Comments (3)
Category: Cartoons, 1970s, 1980s
The Presidential Comedy Albums of Earle Doud
Everyone knows the famous JFK-Vaughn Meader album. But how many realize the producer Earle Doud went on with that theme, to much less acclaim?I can't seem to find any clips on YouTube of the later ones.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Feb 08, 2018 -
Comments (3)
Category: Government, Humor, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s
Hypnotizing the voters
Nick Belluso, while running for governor of Georgia in 1978, came up with the idea of hypnotizing the voters to vote for him. So he hired a hypnotist and created a TV ad which went as follows:Hypnotist: Do not be afraid. I am placing the name of Nick Belluso in your subconscious mind. You will remember this. You will vote on Election Day. You will vote Nick Belluso for governor. You will remember this. You will vote on Election Day. You will vote Nick Belluso for governor.
However, Belluso's scheme was foiled when every TV station but one refused to run the ad, fearing the hypnosis might actually work, which would open them up to potential legal liabilities.
So Belluso lost the election. Though he subsequently became a perennial candidate running for many offices, including President of the United States in 1980.
You can see most of the ad in the clip below.
Also worth noting: Belluso claimed he had been endorsed by "The Force."
The Nashville Tennessean - Aug 11, 1978
Posted By: Alex - Thu Jan 25, 2018 -
Comments (2)
Category: Hypnotism, Mesmerism and Mind Control, Politics, Psychology, 1970s
Harvesting and Storage of Sorghum Silage
In our untiring quest to find the most boring material ever filmed or written, which began with "Timber Bridge Inspection," reposted below, we bring you the entire contents of a scintillating pamphlet.
Original document here.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Jan 20, 2018 -
Comments (0)
Category: Agriculture, Boredom, Government, 1970s
8 tons of fallout biscuits
A follow-up to my post yesterday about the invention of 'fallout biscuits' in 1961.In 1971, eight tons of these biscuits, or crackers, caused the floor to collapse at the South Carolina State House:
"We know there were some crackers back there," Brooks said, "but who would have thought there were eight tons of them."
The Greenville News - July 11, 1971
Posted By: Alex - Thu Jan 18, 2018 -
Comments (2)
Category: Food, Atomic Power and Other Nuclear Matters, 1970s
Fragrance-coded card catalog
In 1974, the public library in Upper Arlington, Ohio added scratch-and-sniff scents to its card catalog. They called it the "Stick Your Nose in the Card Catalogue" program.The idea was that the card in the catalog would have a scent, and then the book on the shelf would have a matching scent. So you could find your books by smell. There were about 60 scents in total, including apple, chocolate, garlic, lemon, roses, root beer, leather, pizza, orange, strawberry, candles, pine, cheddar cheese, clover, and smoke.
I was curious what became of the scented catalog, so I emailed the library and asked. The reply came just a few minutes later:
And they also emailed me a news clipping about the catalog (in extended, below) from the local Upper Arlington paper.
The Vernon Daily Record - Feb 9, 1975
San Antonio Express - Apr 11, 1976
More in extended >>
Posted By: Alex - Tue Jan 16, 2018 -
Comments (9)
Category: Libraries, 1970s, Perfume and Cologne and Other Scents
The Candy Tangerine Man
Posted By: Paul - Tue Jan 16, 2018 -
Comments (0)
Category: Stereotypes and Cliches, Exploitation and Grindhouse, 1970s
Cool Breeze
"Cool Breeze is cold business!"
Extra points for the lead actor's extra-juicy name: Thalmus Rasulala.
Wikipedia entry.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Jan 14, 2018 -
Comments (1)
Category: Crime, Movies, Stereotypes and Cliches, 1970s
Follies of the Madmen #344
Sleeping couple happy to be awakened by cigarette parade.
Original ad here.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Jan 03, 2018 -
Comments (3)
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, Tobacco and Smoking, 1970s
When Havoc Struck
It's never news or entertainment when something goes right, only when it goes wrong. The 1978 TV series WHEN HAVOC STRUCK knew what people wanted. Glenn Ford must've needed a paycheck.
Other episodes on YouTube.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Dec 30, 2017 -
Comments (0)
Category: Accidents, Goofs and Screw-ups, Death, Destruction, Engineering and Construction, 1970s
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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 |