Insects and Spiders
The Philadelphia Insectarium
World's biggest "insect zoo."
Article here.
Posted By: Paul - Tue May 09, 2017 -
Comments (1)
Category: Insects and Spiders, Museums
DDT Wallpaper
Trimz debuted their children's room DDT-impregnated wallpaper in 1946. It was available in two patterns: "Jack and Jill" or "Disney Favorites."It was certified to be absolutely safe "because the DDT is fixed to the paper. It can't rub off!" But since you're not going to find any similar product sold nowadays, I'm guessing that it actually did rub off.
via Envisioning the American Dream
Posted By: Alex - Sat Mar 04, 2017 -
Comments (5)
Category: Insects and Spiders, 1940s
Cockroach Magnetization
Researchers at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore recently made an unusual discovery, which is that "the magnetic properties of living cockroaches are strikingly different from those of dead cockroaches."
Place a living cockroach in a magnetic field and it'll become magnetized, and then stay magnetized for about 50 minutes.
Place a dead cockroach in a magnetic field and it'll also become magnetized, but then remain magnetized for almost 50 hours.
The reason for the difference:
So I'm curious how strongly magnetized dead cockroaches become. Would it be possible to use them as refrigerator magnets?
More info: MIT Technology Review
Posted By: Alex - Tue Feb 28, 2017 -
Comments (5)
Category: Insects and Spiders, Science, Experiments
Anti-Mosquito Leggings
I'm a bit surprised these anti-mosquito leggings never (to my knowledge) caught on, because if they actually worked then who cares if they looked dorky. Then again, I suppose DEET had already been discovered.
Danville Morning News - Apr 6, 1937
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - Apr 1, 1937
Harrisburg Evening News - Apr 2, 1937
Posted By: Alex - Sun Feb 12, 2017 -
Comments (2)
Category: Fashion, Insects and Spiders, 1930s
No-Roach
She seems a bit too happy to be applying No-Roach. Also, her eyes seem to follow you wherever you move.
The Monroe News-Star - Oct 23, 1967
Posted By: Alex - Wed Feb 08, 2017 -
Comments (7)
Category: Insects and Spiders, Advertising, 1960s
Butterflies in my stomach
Ronald Taylor, a professor of pathology at the University of Southern California School of Medicine, was an early promoter of an insect-based diet. In the 1970s, he published two books on the topic: Butterflies in My Stomach: Insects in Human Nutrition (1975) and Entertaining With Insects, Or: The Original Guide to Insect Cookery (1976). Some of the recipes in the books included:- Boiled cod with snail sauce
- Wasp grubs fried in the comb
- Moths sauteed in butter
- Braised beef with caterpillars
- New carrots with wireworm sauce
- Gooseberry cream with sawflies
- Devilled chafer grubs
- Stag beetle larvae on toast
The full recipe for Peanut Butter Worm Cookies is below.
Posted By: Alex - Sun Jan 22, 2017 -
Comments (2)
Category: Food, Cookbooks, Insects and Spiders, 1970s
Man in Tent for Deep Woods OFF
Apparently, this commercial featuring a guy in a tent filled with biting insects has attained a certain minor cult status I was not aware of.
The original is in the first video at the 3:40 mark.
Here's the guy, now revealed to be Bill Clement, still stuck in the tent fifteen years later.
But most recently, he (or a younger surrogate) finally gets to come out of the tent--and he's got a sexy woman with him. That's progress!
Posted By: Paul - Sat Oct 15, 2016 -
Comments (2)
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, Insects and Spiders, Nature, 1970s
Bugnet!
Does anyone under sixty years old recognize that this bit of lame bureaucratic humor is a DRAGNET parody?
Posted By: Paul - Tue Sep 20, 2016 -
Comments (4)
Category: Government, Insects and Spiders, Nature, PSA’s, Parody
Two Weird Belt Buckles
Ebay auction here.
Ebay auction here.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Sep 02, 2016 -
Comments (3)
Category: Anthropomorphism, Fashion, Horror, Insects and Spiders, Kitsch and Collectibles, Religion
Cockroach Milk
Diploptera punctata, aka the Pacific Beetle Cockroach, is the only known viviparous cockroach, which means that its offspring develop inside its body before it gives birth to them. It bears live young.While its babies are growing, it nourishes them with a milk protein crystal. Some doctors in India think this cockroach milk crystal would make a "fantastic" protein supplement for humans, since it contains three times the energy of an equivalent mass of dairy milk.
Dr. Subramanian Ramaswamy extols its virtues, "It's time-released food. If you need food that is calorifically high, that is time released, and food that is complete — this is it."
More: Times of India, International Union of Crystallography Journal
Diploptera punctata
Posted By: Alex - Wed Aug 03, 2016 -
Comments (8)
Category: Food, Insects and Spiders
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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 |