Nineteenth Century
Mystery Gadget 62
What did this machine do?
The answer is here.
And after the jump.
More in extended >>
Posted By: Paul - Sat Jul 28, 2018 -
Comments (5)
Category: Technology, Nineteenth Century
Dr. Pierce’s Medicines
The full story, with more pix.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Jul 12, 2018 -
Comments (3)
Category: Patent Medicines, Nostrums and Snake Oil, Nineteenth Century
Opposed cream in coffee
The French scholar Arsene Thiebaud de Berneaud liked his coffee black. So much so that he "opposed with ferocity the then comparatively new custom of adding milk or cream to black coffee.""He seems to have had an obsession that all mixtures of fluids were injurious... Sustained by this preconceived notion, he was able to publish a long diatribe in 1826, in which he accuses cafe au lait of causing almost every derangement known to medicine."
I've been able to find almost no other information about de Berneaud, so this one odd theory seems to be the most enduring thing he left behind.
The Chatham Press - July 15, 1922
Posted By: Alex - Wed Jun 27, 2018 -
Comments (5)
Category: Health, Weird Theory, Coffee and other Legal Stimulants, Nineteenth Century
Mystery Illustration 73
What was this pleasant little old lady famous for?
The answer is here.
And after the jump.
More in extended >>
Posted By: Paul - Tue Jun 26, 2018 -
Comments (3)
Category: Women, Nineteenth Century, Twentieth Century
Hair Dressing with Quinine
Source.
Source.
Eau de Quinine compound hair tonic was introduced in the 1850s by Ed. Pinaud’s (Edouard Pinaud), a Paris parfumerie. Advertisements indicate that the product was sold into the 1960s. Quinine is a toxic alkaloid derived from the cinchona tree. When heavily diluted, it was used in hair products, specifically as a treatment for hair loss. Pinaud’s was advertised as the favorite hair dressing of "Cultured Women" and the only tonic "used by the crowned heads of Europe." It was an "indispensable preparation for the refined toilet" with a "delicate fragrance that overpowers the unpleasant effects of excessive oiliness on the scalp. Pinaud’s product was imported to the United States from France and many barbers apparently tried to pass off domestic preparations as genuine Eau de Quinine. In the mid-1920s, Pinaud filed an injunction against companies making the counterfeit product.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Apr 27, 2018 -
Comments (4)
Category: Advertising, Patent Medicines, Nostrums and Snake Oil, Hair Styling, Nineteenth Century, Twentieth Century
Dentologia: A Poem on the Diseases of the Teeth
Full text here.
Thanks to Richard Bleiler.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Apr 13, 2018 -
Comments (3)
Category: Hygiene, Poetry, Nineteenth Century, Diseases, Teeth
The Rickshaw: Invented and Made in USA
Source of quote.
Source of photo.
More on James Birch.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Mar 20, 2018 -
Comments (0)
Category: Business, Transportation, Asia, North America, Nineteenth Century, Twentieth Century
Condemn Sunday Picnics
Life in 1898.
Original article here.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Mar 08, 2018 -
Comments (3)
Category: Antisocial Activities, Authorities and Experts, Culture and Civilization, Food, Nature, Religion, Nineteenth Century
Mystery Gadget 58
What's it do?!?
The answer is here.
Or after the jump.
More in extended >>
Posted By: Paul - Thu Mar 01, 2018 -
Comments (4)
Category: Technology, Nineteenth Century
The CSS Shenandoah
The ship that continued to fight the Civil War after the surrender of the South.
From the Wikipedia entry:
On June 27, 1865, he learned from a prize, the Susan & Abigail, that General Robert E. Lee had surrendered his Army of Northern Virginia. Her captain produced a San Francisco newspaper reporting the flight from Richmond, Virginia, of the Confederate Government 10 weeks previously. However, the newspaper also contained Confederate President Jefferson Davis's proclamation that the "war would be carried on with re-newed vigor."[9] Waddell then captured 10 more whalers in the space of 7 hours just below the Arctic Circle.
On August 3, 1865, Waddell finally learned of the war's end when he met at sea the Liverpool barque Barracouta, which was bound for San Francisco.[10] He received the devastating news of the surrender of General Joseph E. Johnston's army on April 26, Kirby Smith's army's surrender on May 26, and crucially the capture of President Davis and a part of his cabinet. Captain Waddell then knew the war was over.[9]
Captain Waddell lowered his Confederate flag, and the CSS Shenandoah underwent physical alteration. Her guns were dismounted and stored below deck, and her hull was painted to look like an ordinary merchant vessel.
Article here.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Jan 02, 2018 -
Comments (2)
Category: Confusion, Misunderstanding, and Incomprehension, War, Nineteenth Century
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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 |