1980s
Russian Version of Mary Poppins
Why rush to a crowded theater and pay fifteen dollars to see the new MARY POPPINS, when you can sit at home and watch the Russian version for free?Unfortunately, embedding not permitted, so you must make the far journey to YouTube.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Dec 12, 2018 -
Comments (0)
Category: Movies, Fantasy, 1980s, Russia
Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold
I wonder what more-famous franchise inspired this turkey?
"Sharon Stone...was nominated for a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress for this role, for which she lost to Madonna for Who's That Girl."
Wikipedia page here.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Nov 18, 2018 -
Comments (7)
Category: Ineptness, Crudity, Talentlessness, Kitsch, and Bad Art, Literature, Movies, 1980s
How to make pineapple from zucchini
It's "zucchini pineapple." Info from Healthy Canning:You may also see it called “Mock Pineapple” or “Faux Pineapple.”...
Proponents of the recipe touted cost savings versus the real thing, but we’re not sure if that is necessarily true anymore.
Basically you put zucchini in a can with some pineapple juice, lemon juice, and sugar. Seal it up for a while, and it turns into something kind of like pineapple.
Fremont News-Messenger - July 21, 1981
Posted By: Alex - Thu Nov 08, 2018 -
Comments (6)
Category: Food, 1980s
Bus Starts
Back in 1985, city officials in St. Louis decided that the term 'bus stop' sounded too negative, so they voted to rename them 'bus starts.' 1800 new 'bus start' signs were duly installed.A year-and-a-half later, when it became clear that people were confused by what a 'bus start' was supposed to be, the city conceded defeat and went back to using the traditional term. This, of course, meant buying even more new signs.
St. Louis Post Dispatch - Mar 28, 1985
St. Louis Post Dispatch - Aug 24, 1986
Posted By: Alex - Tue Nov 06, 2018 -
Comments (4)
Category: Odd Names, 1980s, Bus
Space Raiders
In some other universe, 2017 saw the release of the tenth film in the SPACE RAIDERS franchise.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Oct 30, 2018 -
Comments (3)
Category: Aliens, Ineptness, Crudity, Talentlessness, Kitsch, and Bad Art, Movies, Science Fiction, 1980s
Expando-Vision
Introduced in 1983 by Stimutech. It was a device that could flash subliminal messages on your TV screen as you watched TV. The maker emphasized the ways this could be put to use for self-help (weight-loss, stop smoking, stop drinking, etc.). But they did sell a "Sexual Invitation" program that surreptitiously flashed messages of seduction: "Sex is OK, Let us make love, I am OK, We share sexually, Let us kiss, Let us caress, Let us be naked, We explore bodies, Let us be together.”
John Dvorak, InfoWorld - Dec 26, 1983
Lansing State Journal - Dec 4, 1983
Posted By: Alex - Fri Oct 19, 2018 -
Comments (2)
Category: Innuendo, Double Entendres, Symbolism, Nudge-Nudge-Wink-Wink and Subliminal Messages, Technology, Psychology, 1980s
Toni’s Boys
A male version of Charlie's Angels that never made it past a 1980 pilot episode. From Wikipedia:
Posted By: Alex - Tue Sep 25, 2018 -
Comments (0)
Category: Television, 1980s
Inductive Nasal Device
Norman Lake's cure for the common cold. Otherwise known as the "IND".More info: Chicago Tribune - Nov 20, 1985
Chambersburg Public Opinion - Apr 23, 1982
Arizona Republic - May 8, 1982
Posted By: Alex - Mon Sep 10, 2018 -
Comments (1)
Category: Health, Inventions, 1980s
Hero Dog of the Year
In 1954, Ken-L Ration Dog Food began awarding a prize to the "Hero Dog of the Year." Sponsorship switched to Kibbles 'n' Bits at some point.Here is a list of some winners.
The latest year I can find when the award was given was 2004.
The American Humane Society seems to have taken over, or rebooted the award.
In any case, the award gives us a chance here at WU to carry forward one of our earliest missions: proving that cows are the most evil and deadly creature on the planet.
Article behind NYT paywall, alas.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Aug 30, 2018 -
Comments (1)
Category: Animals, Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Dogs, 1950s, 1980s
Microwaveable Ice Cream Sundaes
Johnston's Hot Scoop Microwave Sundae is one of those products where you have to wonder what was going through the minds of the executives who dreamed it up. Introduced in the mid-1980s, the concept was that it was an entire, frozen ice cream sundae that you could heat in the microwave, and (in theory) only the topping would melt.In practice, the ice cream also inevitably melted, leaving consumers with a soggy mix of ice cream and topping. And yet the company went to all the effort to make this thing because they figured it would be too difficult for people to just heat the topping on its own.
A review of the product:
Minneapolis Star Tribune - July 16, 1986
Posted By: Alex - Mon Jul 30, 2018 -
Comments (4)
Category: Food, Products, 1980s
| Get WU Posts by Email | |
|---|---|
| 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 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. Our banner was drawn by the legendary underground cartoonist Rick Altergott. Contact Us |