Category:
Natural Wonders

RIP Pigcasso

The artist's Wikipedia page.

Posted By: Paul - Fri Mar 08, 2024 - Comments (2)
Category: Animals, Art, Obituaries, Africa, Natural Wonders

Betty Furness for Westinghouse



The weirdest thing about this commercial is the incredibly tiny waist of almost 40-year-old Betty Furness. I can't take my eyes off it.

NOTE: the first video runs slow, at least for me. Best to let it download entirely before hitting play.



Posted By: Paul - Sun Nov 06, 2022 - Comments (5)
Category: Body, Domestic, Television, Advertising, 1950s, Women, Natural Wonders

One Step Beyond:  The Sacred Mushroom



Here is the Wikipedia page for the show, which has a section on this episode.

Posted By: Paul - Tue Oct 04, 2022 - Comments (3)
Category: Drugs, Psychedelic, Science, Television, 1960s, Natural Wonders

The Artesian Tree

I can find no fuller account of this miracle. No doubt it was bulldozed long ago.

ADDENDUM: I just did the obvious and visited the address given via Google Streetview. No sign of the fabled tree, alas. See screenshot in extended.





More in extended >>

Posted By: Paul - Sat Jan 15, 2022 - Comments (4)
Category: Health, Regionalism, Natural Wonders

California Soap Mine

Was the 1855 Soap Mine tale just a prank or hoax? What about the 1901 article, in third place, which sounds a little more scientific?




Source.





Source.



Source.

Posted By: Paul - Mon Aug 16, 2021 - Comments (3)
Category: Freaks, Oddities, Quirks of Nature, Hoaxes and Imposters and Imitators, Humor, Hygiene, Regionalism, Natural Wonders, Nineteenth Century, Twentieth Century

The Sebastapol Goose

Their Wikipedia page.





"The bird should look like a pineapple."

Posted By: Paul - Mon May 10, 2021 - Comments (0)
Category: Freaks, Oddities, Quirks of Nature, Natural Wonders

The Creeping Devil Cactus



The Wikipedia page.

In cool maritime climate of Baja California Sur, creeping devil cacti can grow at a rate of up to two feet per year, forming large, sometimes impenetrable colonies of thorny stems, but when transplanted to more arid climates, their growth rate drops to two feet per decade. But even in their endemic environment, these succulents are isolated from pollinators so they rely on self-cloning for survival.

As it grows parallel to the ground, the stem of the creeping devil cactus will start to take roots toward their tip, and once it is solidly fixed into the sandy soil, the old body dies, rotting and eventually turning into nutrients that help the new stem grow. It is this process that also allows the cactus to creep through the desert over time. In a way, the cactus has to die in order to survive.

Posted By: Paul - Mon May 03, 2021 - Comments (0)
Category: Freaks, Oddities, Quirks of Nature, Nature, Natural Wonders, Regionalism, North America

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Who We Are
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.

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