Category:
Costumes and Masks

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

Rubber Beauty Mask

"the best time to slip it on is when nobody is looking, as its beauty is of the kind that frightens the neighbor's children."

Popular Science Monthly - Feb 1922



source: Wellcome Collection



A reference to rubber beauty masks in verse, from the poet Berton Braley:

Owensboro Messenger - Aug 26, 1916

Posted By: Alex - Thu Apr 13, 2023 - Comments (1)
Category: Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Costumes and Masks, 1920s

Harry Bensley and his Unfulfilled Walk Around the World

This first image is somewhat well-known. At least, it often pops up in my searches. But what's the story behind it?



The whole story is here at his Wikipedia page. In short:

He had to walk around the world to fulfill a bet that he lost. It required him to wear an iron mask (a helmet from a suit of armor) to conceal his identity, and he also had to push a perambulator (baby carriage) throughout his travels. He called himself "The Man with the Iron Mask" (inspired by the seventeenth-century Man in the Iron Mask), and the only way he could support himself during his journey was by selling postcards and pamphlets


Posted By: Paul - Wed Feb 01, 2023 - Comments (1)
Category: Costumes and Masks, Eccentrics, Travel, Bets, Wagers, Challenges and Contracts, Twentieth Century

The Armagh Rhymers

The music seems straightforward Celtic Folk. But those costumes (and the video's opener) sure are weird. Suitable as we approach Halloween. Not sure how any little kids in the audience might react.




Posted By: Paul - Wed Oct 05, 2022 - Comments (0)
Category: Costumes and Masks, Cryptozoology, Music, Creepy, Eerie, Spooky, and Disturbing, Europe

Face mask with simulated nose hairs

Uday Singh of Bloomfield, NJ was recently granted Patent No. 11413194 for a face mask with simulated nose hairs.

The idea is that having openings protected by "filter material" (aka fake nose hairs) will solve the problem of mask fogging.

Singh refers to his invention as "an aesthetically pleasing covering for protecting otherwise exposed nasal and/or other facial surfaces." Based on the picture below, 'aesthetically pleasing' isn't the first term that comes to mind.



via Jeff Steck

Posted By: Alex - Tue Sep 06, 2022 - Comments (2)
Category: Costumes and Masks, Patents

Mystery Illustration 106

I hope this one is not too hard or deceptive. What larger structure is this grinning mask a part of?

The answer is here.

Or after the jump.





More in extended >>

Posted By: Paul - Thu May 26, 2022 - Comments (3)
Category: Costumes and Masks, Twentieth Century

Mystery Illustration 103

What job necessitates this woman's outfit?

The answer is here. (Scroll up a tad.)

Or after the jump.





More in extended >>

Posted By: Paul - Tue Oct 05, 2021 - Comments (3)
Category: Costumes and Masks, 1900s, 1910s

The Mersey Monsters



Posted By: Paul - Sat Feb 27, 2021 - Comments (1)
Category: Costumes and Masks, Horror, Music, Pop Art, 1960s, Fictional Monsters

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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.

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