Nature
Glacier Rub
I guess you can't keep a good (?) idea down. Particularly poignant product name in an era of climate change.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Jun 08, 2019 -
Comments (1)
Category: Body, Head, Business, Advertising, Nature, Patent Medicines, Nostrums and Snake Oil, Twentieth Century, Twenty-first Century
Follies of the Madmen #421
Perfect today for our climate-change world!
Posted By: Paul - Sun Apr 07, 2019 -
Comments (0)
Category: Armageddon and Apocalypses, Business, Advertising, Nature, 1960s, Alcohol
The Acrobatic Fly
Posted By: Paul - Thu Mar 21, 2019 -
Comments (3)
Category: Entertainment, Nature, Twentieth Century
The Tree That Owns Itself
Recall those recent legal battles about granting new rights to animals? How about this for a precedent?From the Wikipedia page:
The Tree That Owns Itself is a white oak tree that has, according to legend, legal ownership of itself and of all land within eight feet (2.4 m) of its base. The tree, also called the Jackson Oak, is located at the corner of South Finley and Dearing Streets in Athens, Georgia, United States. The original tree, thought to have started life between the mid-16th and late 18th century, fell in 1942, but a new tree was grown from one of its acorns, and planted in the same location. The current tree is sometimes referred to as the Son of The Tree That Owns Itself. Both trees have appeared in numerous national publications, and the site is a local landmark.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Jan 31, 2019 -
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Category: Law, Nature, Nineteenth Century
Unauthorized Dwellings 7
The famous author Robert Louis Stevenson spent a large part of his honeymoon squatting in an abandoned cabin.After their marriage in San Francisco on 19 May 1880, Fanny and Robert Louis Stevenson set off on an adventurous honeymoon to the Napa Valley. Stopping briefly for a night in Vallejo, the Stevenson’s then boarded a train to carry them (and their dog Chuchu) to Calistoga at the northern end of the Valley. They spent the remainder of May in Calistoga, at one of the Hot Springs Hotel cottages. Then, once joined by Fanny’s son Lloyd Osbourne, the family made their way up the grade of Mount St. Helena to the Toll House, from which they found their way to the abandoned Silverado Mine bunkhouse where they would squat until the end of July.
You can read his account of that time, THE SILVERADO SQUATTERS, here.
Or, you can visit the state park named after the writer.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Dec 18, 2018 -
Comments (2)
Category: Buildings and Other Structures, Nature, Unauthorized Dwellings, Marriage, Nineteenth Century
Follies of the Madmen #398
Usage of this product enables user to read the mystical language of flowers.
Original ad here.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Nov 29, 2018 -
Comments (1)
Category: Business, Advertising, Hygiene, Body Fluids, Languages, Nature, 1950s
The Ground Breathes
What on earth is going on here?The explanation, via IFLScience:
“During a rain and windstorm event the ground becomes saturated, 'loosening' the soil's cohesion with the roots as the wind is blowing on a tree's crown," certified arborist Mark Vanderwouw told The Weather Network.
"The wind is trying to 'push' the trees over, and as the force is transferred to the roots, the ground begins to 'heave'. If the winds were strong enough and lasted long enough more roots would start to break and eventually some of the trees would topple.”
Posted By: Alex - Sun Nov 04, 2018 -
Comments (1)
Category: Nature, Natural Wonders, Weather
The Spilhaus Space Clock
This clock gives info on 19 different variables.For complete info, visit here.
The inventor's Wikipedia entry.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Oct 24, 2018 -
Comments (0)
Category: Nature, Science, Technology, 1960s, 1970s
Blue Jay Emetic Unit
As defined by biologist Lincoln Brower, a "blue jay emetic unit" is the amount of cardiac glycosides (a type of poison found in plants such as milkweeds) that will make one blue jay vomit. Brower determined the exact amount by putting cardiac glycosides into gelatin capsules which he force-fed to blue jays.The point of this was that various butterflies ate milkweeds and then became poisonous to the blue jays which, in turn, ate them. Knowing the exact amount of poison needed to make a blue jay vomit allowed Brower to rank each butterfly by its number of blue jay emetic units:
Source: Brower LP (Feb 1969). "Ecological Chemistry." Scientific American 220(2): 22-29.
"barfing blue jay" (picture by Lincoln Brower. Source: ScienceFriday.com)
Posted By: Alex - Wed Oct 03, 2018 -
Comments (3)
Category: Nature, Science, Experiments
Follies of the Madmen #384
How the heck did that tub get out there, and how's that naked gal going to get home?
And without plumbing, will she fill it, pail by pail, with seawater?
Inquiring minds want to know!
Original ad here.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Sep 18, 2018 -
Comments (5)
Category: Business, Advertising, Nature, Baths, Showers and Other Cleansing Methods, 1950s
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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 books such as Elephants on Acid. 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. Our banner was drawn by the legendary underground cartoonist Rick Altergott. Contact Us |