History
The Elizabethean Underworld
This review by the famous Anthony Burgess (A CLOCKWORK ORANGE) alerted me to the existence of a fascinating book. Turns out it's available at the Internet Archive. The lexicon of thieves talk that Burgess mentions makes for fun reading.Review source: The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) 19 Mar 1965, Fri Page 11
Posted By: Paul - Sat Jan 28, 2023 -
Comments (1)
Category: Crime, History, Books, Slang
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Brewery
Posted By: Paul - Sun Oct 30, 2022 -
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Category: Destruction, History, Stereotypes and Cliches, Advertising, 1970s, Alcohol
Chuck’s First Post at WU
Posted By: Paul - Fri Sep 16, 2022 -
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Category: Chuck’s Hand-Picked Weird News, History, Statues, Monuments and Memorials, Weird Universe, Chuck
The Dinosaur and the Missing Link
Posted By: Paul - Mon Jun 13, 2022 -
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Category: History, Unexplained Historical Enigmas, Movies, Science, Dinosaurs and Other Extinct Creatures, 1910s
Perkin Warbeck, Pretender to the British Throne
Essay here.
Dealing with Warbeck cost Henry VII over £13,000 (equivalent to £10,301,000 in 2019)
Wikipedia page.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Feb 26, 2022 -
Comments (2)
Category: History, Historical Figure, Hoaxes and Imposters and Imitators, Royalty
Neandertal Perfume
Smell like a caveman. Their web page.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Dec 26, 2021 -
Comments (1)
Category: History, Perfume and Other Scents
Isaac Parker, the Hanging Judge
His Wikipedia page tells us:Parker became known as the "Hanging Judge" of the American Old West, because he sentenced numerous convicts to death.[1] In 21 years on the federal bench, Judge Parker tried 13,490 cases. In more than 8,500 of these cases, the defendant either pleaded guilty or was convicted at trial.[2] Parker sentenced 160 people to death; 79 were executed.
Read a memoir that appeared two years after his death at this link.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Sep 17, 2021 -
Comments (2)
Category: Death, History, Wild West and US Frontier, Law, Books, Nineteenth Century
Banvard’s Folly
I am halfway thru reading this book and can testify to its greatness, and to its allure for all WU-vies. I have already learned about so many hoaxes, weirdos and charlatans I never knew about before.Here's how the book opens:
Posted By: Paul - Thu Jul 01, 2021 -
Comments (8)
Category: Frauds, Cons and Scams, History, Historical Figure, Hoaxes and Imposters and Imitators, Inventions, New Age, Supernatural, Occult, Paranormal, Books, Goofs and Screw-ups
Battle of the Amazons
Maybe the popularity of the WONDER WOMAN films will cause this gem to be reissued.The IMDB page.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Jun 26, 2021 -
Comments (1)
Category: History, Ineptness, Crudity, Talentlessness, Kitsch, and Bad Art, Movies, 1970s, Women
New Frontiers (of Barb Wire)
Thrill to the history of barb wire with "Little Barb!" (Or "American Barb" if you prefer.)
Posted By: Paul - Mon Feb 15, 2021 -
Comments (1)
Category: Agriculture, Anthropomorphism, History, Regionalism, Advertising
| 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 |