Government
Frestonia
CHAZ? Nothing new in the world.Good article here.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Jul 26, 2020 -
Comments (0)
Category: Government, Stupid Criminals, Unauthorized Dwellings, 1960s, United Kingdom
Constitution of Alabama
Clocking in at 310,296 words, the constitution of Alabama is the longest constitution in the world. By comparison, the U.S. constitution is only 4,543 words (including the signatures).The bloat of the document is a result of the state government deciding that it needed to micromanage the individual counties. So all kinds of local regulations have been included in the constitution. Wikipedia explains:
The Constitutional Convention was called with the intention by Democrats of the state "to establish white supremacy in this State," "within the limits imposed by the Federal Constitution." Its provisions essentially disenfranchised most African Americans and thousands of poor whites, who were excluded for decades.
You can read the full document here.
Posted By: Alex - Fri Jul 17, 2020 -
Comments (6)
Category: Government, Regulations, Law
A Social History of Wild Huckleberry Harvesting in the Pacific Northwest
Read it here.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Jun 10, 2020 -
Comments (2)
Category: Boredom, Customs, Daredevils, Stuntpeople and Thrillseekers, Food, Government, Regionalism
How To Avoid Property Taxes
"Back in 1955, the Marquis de Maussabré took drastic action when faced with a wealth tax. He blew up his château in Airvault, near Poitiers, using 150kg of dynamite."
Posted By: Paul - Wed May 13, 2020 -
Comments (1)
Category: Antisocial Activities, Architecture, Excess, Overkill, Hyperbole and Too Much Is Not Enough, Government, 1950s
Blaze, the Dog That Flew First Class
In the year 1945, a dog named Blaze, while being shipped on Army Transport planes, bumped off several traveling soldiers, causing a national controversy.
Read about it here.
A funnier account was composed by James Thurber, viewable after the jump.
More in extended >>
Posted By: Paul - Mon Mar 30, 2020 -
Comments (0)
Category: Government, Scandals and Controversies, War, Air Travel and Airlines, Dogs, 1940s
Albert in Blunderland
This'll get you hep to the real meaning of "socialism."
Posted By: Paul - Wed Mar 11, 2020 -
Comments (1)
Category: Dreams and Nightmares, Government, Insects, Money, Work and Vocational Training, Cartoons
Interama
A Utopian project in Miami that never materialized.Wikipedia article here.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Feb 29, 2020 -
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Category: Architecture, Fairs, Amusement Parks, and Resorts, Government, Regionalism, 1960s
Linda Lawson, Miss Cue
From her Wikipedia page:On May 5, 1955, Lawson was dubbed "Miss Cue"[4][5] in reference to a series of nuclear tests conducted by the US military under "Operation Teapot," and publicized as "Operation Cue" in a short film distributed by the US Federal Civil Defense Administration. [6]
Posted By: Paul - Sun Feb 16, 2020 -
Comments (3)
Category: Death, Government, Corporate Mascots, Icons and Spokesbeings, Atomic Power and Other Nuclear Matters, 1950s
Conscience Adherent Paradise Government
For a very brief time, in the early 1990s, 717 E Magnolia St. in Arcadia, Florida was home to the "Conscience Adherent Paradise Government" — a separatist state that had declared its independence from the United States. Details from the Tampa Tribune (Apr 4, 1992):DeSoto sheriff’s Capt. Will Wise and Deputy Gary Holsomback went to their apartment in May to serve the couple with an eviction notice that was prompted by unusual behavior.
When deputies arrived, Soloman Frommell grabbed a pair of nunchukas, his wife had a butcher knife, and they fled to the front of the apartment, according to reports.
717 E Magnolia in Arcadia, FL, via Google Maps
Tampa Tribune - Apr 4, 1992
Posted By: Alex - Fri Jan 10, 2020 -
Comments (2)
Category: Government, Diplomacy and Foreign Relations, 1990s
Jackson Barnett, “The World’s Richest Indian”
From Wikipedia:
With the discovery of oil on Barnett's lands in 1912, a series of court actions by interested parties litigated the control of Barnett's trust. Barnett was declared incompetent and denied access to his affairs simply because he only spoke the Muscogee Creek language and not English. Barnett was permitted a modest income and was installed in a house near Henryetta. In 1919 the courts allowed the diversion of money from Barnett's trust to the construction of the "Jackson Barnett Hospital" in Henryetta. In 1920 Barnett, then in his seventies, married Anna Laura Lowe (1881-1952), a fortune hunter whom he had met only once before. The couple had to marry in Kansas after a marriage license was denied in Oklahoma. Barnett's guardians were unable to annul the marriage and the hospital plans were never pursued. Instead, the trust was divided between Anna Barnett and Bacone Indian College.[3]
The Barnetts moved to Los Angeles and bought a mansion on Wilshire Boulevard, where Jackson passed his time directing traffic at a nearby intersection. Legal actions continued from 1923 to 1929, which provoked congressional hearings on the role of the Bureau of Indian Affairs in establishing and administering the Barnett trust and others like it. The hearings led to criticism of BIA administrator Charles H. Burke's actions, and during the 1930s, to the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934. In 1927 Barnett v. Equitable again proclaimed Jackson Barnett incompetent in federal court. In March 1934 another federal ruling annulled the Barnetts' marriage and Anna Barnett's rights to Jackson's trust on the grounds that Jackson had been "kidnapped" by a woman of suspect moral character, but allowed Anna to act as Jackson's caretaker. Jackson Barnett died on 29 May 1934 of natural causes: allegations that Anna had poisoned him were found to be false.[3][4]
Anna was finally evicted from the Wilshire Boulevard residence after four years, even though she had gained significant support from Los Angeles society,[5] including Los Angeles District Attorney Burton Fitts and California Governor Frank Merriam. Anna had to be tear-gassed after she threw a hatchet during the eviction,[5] and lived the remainder of her life with a daughter while unsuccessfully attempting to regain a share of the Barnett estate, which amounted to $3.5 million in 1934 ($55.4 million estimated value in 2012 dollars).
Source.
Lots more info here.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Nov 10, 2019 -
Comments (0)
Category: Crime, Unauthorized Dwellings, Forgotten Figures and Where Are They Now?, Frauds, Cons and Scams, Government, Hospitals, Twentieth Century, Native Americans, Weddings
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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 |