1990s
Church of the holy lawn
In 1994, Jeff Goldstein, who described himself as a “semi-active pagan-Jewish minister,” got into trouble with the city of Madison, Wisconsin because he refused to mow his lawn. He claimed that to do so would violate his religious beliefs since he worshipped plants. He said he actually prayed to his lawn, and that to mow it would be a “holocaust against the green creatures.”Goldstein explained that he had formed his beliefs after reading The Secret Life of Plants by Peter Tomkins and Christopher Bird. I’ve read that book. If you like strange science, it’s a good read, full of plant-science weirdness. Though I didn't come away from it believing plants are sacred.
The court didn't buy Goldstein's argument, but I don't know if he ever ended up mowing the lawn.
Seems that Jeff died recently, in 2015. You can read his online obituary here.
Appleton Post-Crescent - Mar 13, 1994
Louisville Courier-Journal - Aug 30, 1994
Jeff Goldstein
Available from Amazon
Posted By: Alex - Fri Feb 23, 2018 -
Comments (7)
Category: Nature, Religion, 1990s
Ruff wedding
In 1994, guests at a wedding reception were expecting to see footage of the ceremony replayed. Instead they were treated to scenes of Derek Jeffrey in flagrante delicto with a dog, Ronnie. Because, oops, Jeffrey had lent his camcorder to a friend to video the wedding, but he accidentally left the wrong tape in the camcorder, and it didn't get fully taped over. He received a six-month suspended jail sentence for bestiality.The whole scene sounds so outlandish that I suspected it might have been an urban legend reported as news. But Snopes confirms that the story is true.
Sydney Morning Herald - Apr 21, 1994
Posted By: Alex - Fri Feb 16, 2018 -
Comments (3)
Category: Dogs, 1990s, Weddings
Useful Tip
Original article here.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Jan 17, 2018 -
Comments (1)
Category: Animals, Annoying Things, 1990s, Pain, Self-inflicted and Otherwise
Trimming the Largest Yew Hedge
According to The Telegraph, they use a cherry picker nowadays to trim the thing. It produces almost a ton of clippings, which are sold to pharmaceutical companies who use yew extract as a key ingredient in a chemotherapy drug, Docetaxel.I can't figure out how the guy is just standing on top of the hedge. Can it really support a man's weight? I guess so.
Honolulu Advertiser - July 24, 1990
Posted By: Alex - Wed Jan 10, 2018 -
Comments (6)
Category: Horticulture and Gardens, 1990s
Over-Yodeled
1993: A German court ordered that a couple deserved a partial refund of the cost of their two-week Caribbean cruise, since the cruise company hadn't warned them beforehand that 500 of the 600 passengers on the cruise would be Swiss yodelers, who would be practicing their yodels constantly.
Wilmington News Journal - Jan 13, 1993
Posted By: Alex - Sat Dec 09, 2017 -
Comments (1)
Category: Holidays, Music, 1990s
Singed Fashion
"Inspired by a conflagration in his own showroom, designer Marcos Egas offers shirts with singed collars, pockets and cuffs."If life deals you lemons, sell lemonade. Or, if your showroom burns down, sell burnt clothes.
Pensacola News-Journal - June 5, 1994
Posted By: Alex - Sat Dec 02, 2017 -
Comments (2)
Category: Fashion, 1990s
Christophpher
June 1996: A Danish mother, Pia Agergaard, won a 9-year court battle to be allowed to name her son Christophpher. The Danish courts had tried to prevent her using the unorthodox spelling, fearing it would have a detrimental effect on her son. They insisted she use Christopher or Christoffer instead.
Bismarck Tribune - June 13, 1996
In 2008, a Danish newspaper (avisen.dk) checked back in with Christophpher, who by then was 21. He reported that he had never experienced any disadvantage on account of his name:
But for nine years it did not go. The Church Ministry refused to approve the special spelling. The name could be detrimental to the child, it said.
That argument shakes Christophpher at the head of today. Because he has never actually experienced his name as a disadvantage. He has never been teased because of it. And he has not had other problems with the name, for example, when he should have a passport, he says.
Christophpher
Posted By: Alex - Fri Dec 01, 2017 -
Comments (9)
Category: Odd Names, 1990s
Indecent Apes
McAllen Monitor - Nov 19, 1993
The offending cover. It's true, you can see a dangly bit there, as well as some naked ta-tas.
Posted By: Alex - Wed Nov 29, 2017 -
Comments (4)
Category: Censorship, Bluenoses, Taboos, Prohibitions and Other Cultural No-No’s, 1990s
Bras across the grand canyon
A great dream that never came to fruition. In the early 1990s, the California artist Nicolino launched a project to string 10,000 bras across the Grand Canyon. First he needed to get 10,000 bras. Then he needed to get permission from the park service. He never got either.
Saint George Daily Spectrum - Nov 16, 1993
St. Louis Post-Dispatch - June 1, 1994
Albuquerque Journal - Dec 25, 1993
Posted By: Alex - Mon Nov 27, 2017 -
Comments (5)
Category: Art, Underwear, 1990s
Most Cockroach-Infested Home
In early 1997, Combat Insect Control ran a contest offering a $5000 cash prize to the person with the most cockroach-infested home.The winner, from over 1000 people who entered, was Mary Esposito of Forest Park, Georgia. She complained that she had roaches living in her dishwasher, refrigerator, oven, coffeemaker, VCR, wallpaper, dresser drawers, and bathtub faucet. An entomologist hired by Combat estimated there were 75,000 roaches in her home.
Somehow I don't think that "most cockroach-infested home" is a record that will ever make its way into Guinness.
Orlando Sentinel - June 12, 1997
Palm Beach Post - Mar 16, 1997
Posted By: Alex - Fri Oct 27, 2017 -
Comments (1)
Category: Insects and Spiders, World Records, 1990s
| Who We Are |
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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 |