Eccentrics
The Palace of Depression
Article here.
Wikipedia page here.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Jun 02, 2018 -
Comments (0)
Category: Architecture, Eccentrics, Outsider Art, 1930s
Baby Olympics (and other ideas of Edwin Paget)
Retired professor Edwin Paget (1902-1989) decided that one of the problems with the world was that babies weren't exercising enough. Therefore, their brains started to go into decline. In an effort to correct this problem, he tried to organize what he claimed were the first ever "baby olympics" in the summer of 1980.I'm not sure they were ever held, but events would have included "crawling, weightlifing, tug-of-war, 'head-over-heels rolling' and three aquatic events, including the 'leaping fish from the water' swim."
Paget advocated a number of other unusual ideas, such as periodic brain scans for U.S. presidents, to check that their brains had sufficient oxygen levels.
He believed that the rules of basketball should be revised so that the game would be played continuously, with all free throws shot at the end of the game.
And he also designed a line of women's clothing with built-in lighting, saying, "Unlike the bikini, which reveals almost everything, much of which is unattractive, lighting permits a homely girl to reveal only her best, possibly in color."
A former student of his remembers some of Paget's other oddball ideas here.
Twin Falls Times-News - Jun 19, 1980
Lincoln Journal Star - Dec 2, 1979
Auburn Journal - Aug 9, 1981
Bonus: Back in 1965 Paget campaigned to be the first gold prospector on the moon.
source: Historic Images
Amarillo Globe Times - Nov 3, 1965
Posted By: Alex - Wed May 23, 2018 -
Comments (2)
Category: Babies, Eccentrics, Exercise and Fitness
Fearless Fagan
The reality:Hollywood version:
Wikipedia article on the film.
The LIFE magazine article.
Posted By: Paul - Sun May 13, 2018 -
Comments (0)
Category: Animals, Eccentrics, Movies, Pets, 1950s, Armed Forces
Messies Anonymous
This seems to be the current home page.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Mar 24, 2018 -
Comments (1)
Category: Addictions, Domestic, Eccentrics, 1980s
Ted Serios and his Thoughtographs
Theodore Judd Serios (1918-2006), a bellhop from Chicago who appeared to possess a genuinely uncanny ability. By holding a Polaroid camera and focusing on the lens very intently, he was able to produce dreamlike pictures of his thoughts on the film; he referred to these images as "thoughtographs..."
Full article here.
Collection of thoughtographs here.
Wikipedia page here.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Feb 28, 2018 -
Comments (4)
Category: Eccentrics, Freaks, Oddities, Quirks of Nature, Photography and Photographers, Unsolved Mysteries, 1960s
Light Is Invisible
Original article here.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Feb 17, 2018 -
Comments (7)
Category: Eccentrics, Science, Spaceflight, Astronautics, and Astronomy, 1940s
The McGuire Twins
Many of you might already know about the McGuire Twins, since they appeared on both Family Guy and The Simpsons. But when I realized they hadn't yet been mentioned anywhere on WU, I thought I should correct that.The two claimed to be the world's heaviest twins. And they probably were. They both weighed well over 700 lbs at their heaviest.
They were born Billy and Benny McCrary. The McGuire Twins was a stage name they adopted later during their professional wrestling career.
Apparently they were of normal weight until age 10, when a case of measles left both of them with malfunctioning pituitary glands, and their weight started to balloon.
They're best known for riding around on their Honda mini-bikes.
More info: goodsparkgarage.com and wikipedia.
Posted By: Alex - Fri Feb 09, 2018 -
Comments (0)
Category: Eccentrics, Human Marvels
Heidi Lee’s Hats
Posted By: Paul - Wed Jan 10, 2018 -
Comments (2)
Category: Art, Avant Garde, Surrealism, Eccentrics, Headgear
W. T. Benda, Mask Maker
More info here.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Dec 07, 2017 -
Comments (2)
Category: Disguises, Impersonations, Mimics and Forgeries, Eccentrics, 1930s, Face and Facial Expressions
Charles Coffin, the Maine Hermit
Info here.
And more here.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Dec 03, 2017 -
Comments (1)
Category: Eccentrics, Motor Vehicles, Regionalism, Twentieth Century
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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 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 |