Food
Killer Tomatoes
My partner grafts tomatoes for our garden. Must caution against this!Source: The Knoxville News-Sentinel (Knoxville, Tennessee) 31 Oct 1963, Thu Page 14
Posted By: Paul - Thu Sep 16, 2021 -
Comments (2)
Category: Family, Food, Psychedelic, 1960s, Goofs and Screw-ups
Follies of the Madmen #515
Either an eensy-teensy chopping block and cleaver, or a very large can of tuna.
Source.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Sep 12, 2021 -
Comments (2)
Category: Business, Advertising, Enlargements, Miniatures, and Other Matters of Scale, Food, Oceans and Maritime Pursuits, 1960s
Sour Cream Cookbook Ad
We're sweet on sour cream.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Sep 10, 2021 -
Comments (1)
Category: Food, Advertising, 1950s
What happens when a fly lands on your food
1970 ad for the UK Health Education Council. The text is credited to Charles Saatchi, who was then a young advertising executive (and is now a wealthy art collector).More info: The Guardian
Posted By: Alex - Tue Aug 31, 2021 -
Comments (1)
Category: Food, Insects, Advertising, 1970s
Fruit Cake Queen of 1968
No further info available!
Posted By: Paul - Tue Aug 17, 2021 -
Comments (4)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Food, 1960s
Car sold for 1395 bananas
1965: Bernice Wyszynski saw a brand-new Pontiac sedan advertised for "1,395 bananas". So she tried to take the dealer up on that offer. However, the dealer insisted that the car actually cost $1,395. 'Bananas', he said, was a vernacular term for dollars. Wyszynski threatened to sue him for false advertising, and eventually he relented, selling her the car in exchange for 1,395 bananas.I can buy five bananas at the supermarket for $1. Which means that, in present-day money, Wyszynski got the car for around $280. That's a pretty good deal.
Bernice Wyszynski died in 2003, and the banana incident made it into her obituary:
Long Beach Press-Telegram - May 5, 1965
Arizona Daily Star - May 1, 1965
Posted By: Alex - Tue Aug 10, 2021 -
Comments (8)
Category: Food, 1960s, Cars, Bananas
The 10,000 (Really 7200) Egg Omelet
Get the full story, with more pics, here.
BONUS: Same stunt done almost 90 years later!
Source.
Posted By: Paul - Mon Jul 05, 2021 -
Comments (6)
Category: Excess, Overkill, Hyperbole and Too Much Is Not Enough, Food, World Records, 1930s, Europe, North America, Twenty-first Century
Follies of the Madmen #511
Entice customers by showing something disgusting.
Source.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Jul 03, 2021 -
Comments (3)
Category: Business, Advertising, Food, Twentieth Century, Nausea, Revulsion and Disgust
Company seeks frozen sparrows
1978: The Taiei Company of Japan contacted the U.S. State Department seeking an American company willing to provide it with frozen sparrows "at regular intervals". The company was ready to "give guidance on how to catch small birds and how to process them".
Bangor Daily News - Jan 14, 1978
According to the British Food History site, sparrows used to be a common part of the British diet.
Posted By: Alex - Mon Jun 28, 2021 -
Comments (2)
Category: Animals, Food, 1970s
Miss Hot Dog 1959
Photo source: Daily News (New York, New York) 12 Jul 1959, Sun Page 36
Text source: The Daily Oklahoman (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) 27 Jun 1959, Sat Page 6
Posted By: Paul - Thu Jun 10, 2021 -
Comments (1)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Food, 1950s
| 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 |