Money
Paying Back Your Parents
In the news recently was a story about a teenager whose parents asked her to pay back her school expenses:This reminded me of the story that the artist Ernest Thompson Seton told in his 1940 autobiography (Trail of an Artist-Naturalist). He claimed that when he turned 21 his father presented him with an itemized bill for $537.50, which his father said was what it had cost to raise him, including the doctor's fee for his delivery. His father expected him to pay it.
According to Seton, he briefly considered paying the bill, but then decided against it, figuring he needed to keep all the money he had to establish himself as an artist.
Ernest Thompson Seton
Posted By: Alex - Thu Sep 09, 2021 -
Comments (2)
Category: Money, Parents
Seelye’s Wasa Tusa
Patent medicine earned Dr. A. B. Seelye a fortune that allowed him to build a fine mansion that is open to the public today.
What was in his fabled Wasa Tusa?
A.B. Seelye made his fortune in patent medicines with the A.B. Seelye Medical Company. At one time he had over 500 salesmen traveling through 14 states. The Wasa Tusa they sold contained 65 percent “non-beverage alcohol, chloroform and sulphuric ether.”
Source of quote.
You can read his digitized ALMANAC, HEALTH GUIDE AND COOKBOOK here.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Sep 07, 2021 -
Comments (0)
Category: Domestic, Money, Patent Medicines, Nostrums and Snake Oil, Nineteenth Century, Twentieth Century
The Odd Downfall of Mary Carolyn Davies
From pulp writer and poet to Skid Row: writing has never been an easy career.
Read the whole arc of her life here.
Read some of her fiction at the Internet Archive.
Newspaper clip from The News Journal (Wilmington, Delaware) 08 Feb 1940, Thu Page 20
Posted By: Paul - Sun Aug 29, 2021 -
Comments (0)
Category: Eccentrics, Literature, Money, Twentieth Century
Effective Emulation
A simple, psychological trick maximizes church giving:the evangelist knew that no person with money to give would be content with an "Amen" when a neighbor, sitting in the next pew, was acclaimed with a "Glory hallelujah!"
New York Times - May 18, 1919
Posted By: Alex - Wed Aug 18, 2021 -
Comments (3)
Category: Money, Religion, Psychology
Yachtley Crew
Yachtley Crew is the Nations first-class tribute to the best soft rock of the 70's and 80's also known as "yacht rock"
Their home page.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Jul 14, 2021 -
Comments (3)
Category: Money, Music, Parody
Widow wills millions to help pay U.S. debt
In 1960, the late Mrs. W.L. Clayton reportedly left $25 million in her will to the U.S. government to help pay down the national debt.The amount she left for this purpose may have been unusually large, but it turns out that leaving behind money to help pay off the national debt isn't unusual. The Associated Press reports that, every year, the U.S. government receives about $1 million in bequests to help with the national debt. And since 1961, it's received $100 million.
However, the AP also notes that all these bequests, though well-intentioned, are "pointless" and "essentially, useless". This isn't just because the amounts are like a drop in the ocean compared to the size of the national debt. It's because: "The donations are recorded on the receipts ledger of the federal government’s general fund. So, rather than actually paying down the national debt, these donations just reduce the amount of money our government will borrow."
Los Angeles Times - Jan 30, 1960
Posted By: Alex - Sat Apr 24, 2021 -
Comments (0)
Category: Government, Money
Jazzercise
The Wikipedia page.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Apr 18, 2021 -
Comments (1)
Category: Exercise and Fitness, Fads, Money, Music, 1960s, 1980s
Your Money Or Your Kid!
Source.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Dec 27, 2020 -
Comments (6)
Category: Education, Money, 1930s, Europe
Midget Coins
1935: The U.S. Treasury considered introducing a "midget coin" that would be worth one-tenth of a cent. It would have been called the "mill". The idea was that people could use it to pay the sales tax on small purchases. As we've seen in a previous post, the sales tax often came out to fractions of a cent. However, Congress nixed the idea.The only businesses that continue to charge tenths of a cent are gas stations. And apparently they began doing that back in the '30s because of the fractional sales tax.
More info: Wikipedia
Baltimore Evening Sun - Aug 7, 1935
Fort Worth Star Telegram - Aug 2, 1935
Posted By: Alex - Mon Dec 07, 2020 -
Comments (1)
Category: Money, 1930s
Strange Personal Checks
Source.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Dec 04, 2020 -
Comments (7)
Category: Animals, Eccentrics, Food, Money, Pranks and Revenge, 1960s
| 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 |