Twentieth Century
Alfred Latell, Animal Impersonator
Learn more about him from Pam Deitch at her blog.
Posted By: Paul - Mon Feb 18, 2019 -
Comments (0)
Category: Animals, Anthropomorphism, Costumes and Masks, Entertainment, Movies, Twentieth Century
Canadian Prime Minister Consults Ghost Dogs
Article:
William Lyon MacKenzie King (1874-1950), Canada’s 10th and longest serving Prime Minister was a devoted dog owner in life and in death.While active in politics King had an achingly dull public image, which was certainly at odds with the goings-on in his private life. What the Canadian populace wasn’t aware of was his séances, his consultations with spiritual mediums, table-rapping sessions, tea-leaf readings and communing with the spirits of the likes of former PM Wilfrid Laurier, his long-deceased mother, and of course his dear ghost dog, Pat. That he owned and frequently used both a Ouija board and a crystal ball was published in Time Magazine in 1953, news that shocked the nation. Rampant rumours circulated about King’s oddities, some true, most false. That King had Pat stuffed by a taxidermist so that the little dog would always be by his side turned out to be untrue. King’s detailed diary entries, published after his death in 1950 revealed that King consulted the dead Pats during these séance sessions in manners of international political policy, conscription, and Liberal Party Leadership.
King, obsessed with death and the afterlife, often expressed his wish to communicate with the living after he died, just as he hoped to be reunited forever in the spirit world with his three Pats; “we shall all be together in the Beyond,” he wrote, “of that I am perfectly sure”.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Jan 30, 2019 -
Comments (2)
Category: Communications, Eccentrics, Government, Officials, New Age, Paranormal, Dogs, Twentieth Century
Joe E. Lewis, Al Capone’s Favorite Entertainer
In Chicago in 1927, Lewis refused the request of Jack "Machine Gun" McGurn (an Al Capone lieutenant) to renew a contract that would have bound him to sing and perform at the Green Mill Cocktail Lounge, which was partly owned by Capone. After refusing, because he had been offered more money by a rival gang to appear at their own club, "The New Rendezvous", he was assaulted in his 10th floor Commonwealth Hotel room, in November 1927, by three enforcers sent by McGurn. The enforcers, who included Sam Giancana and Leonard "Needles" Gianola, mutilated Lewis (his throat and tongue were cut) and left him for dead.[2] It took him several years to be able to speak again.
Source.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Jan 18, 2019 -
Comments (4)
Category: Scary Criminals, Comedians, Twentieth Century
Homer Tate
His Wikipedia page.
Long essay on the man and his work.
Great fotos here.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Jan 17, 2019 -
Comments (1)
Category: Eccentrics, Fairs, Amusement Parks, and Resorts, Hobbies and DIY, Human Marvels, Twentieth Century, Fictional Monsters
Charles Fitzgerald, Daredevil
Bored with risking his life on Earth, Fitzgerald offered to become the first astronaut.
Source.
Source.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Jan 05, 2019 -
Comments (4)
Category: Daredevils, Stuntpeople and Thrillseekers, Spaceflight, Astronautics, and Astronomy, Twentieth Century
Home for Incurables
As late as 1952, "homes for incurables" were a going concern. Contemporary medicine seems to have abandoned the term "incurable" in favor of others that are perhaps less of a downer.
Source.
Source.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Jan 03, 2019 -
Comments (2)
Category: Architecture, Charities and Philanthropy, History, Medicine, Nineteenth Century, Twentieth Century
The Last Resort
A nice slideshow about this era here.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Dec 19, 2018 -
Comments (1)
Category: Regionalism, Documentaries, 1980s, Twentieth Century
Stanisław Szukalski
Stanisław Szukalski was a painter and sculptor who also developed the pseudoscientific historical theory of Zermatism, positing that all human culture was derived from a post-deluge Easter Island and that mankind was locked in an eternal struggle with the Sons of the Yeti. He illustrated this theory in his works.
Article source.
Artist's homepage.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Dec 13, 2018 -
Comments (1)
Category: Art, Avant Garde, Outsider Art, War, Documentaries, Bohemians, Beatniks, Hippies and Slackers, Europe, Twentieth Century
Richard Teschner, Art and Puppets
Teschner segment starts at 1:50.
Lots more at this link. Then be sure to follow the two additional links at the bottom of the page.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Dec 11, 2018 -
Comments (1)
Category: Puppets and Automatons, Surrealism, Europe, Twentieth Century
Emma Harbin, the Dixie Eagle
Not only was she one of the earliest women aviators, but she also helped her husband run a tourist court and dairy! (Lots of great fotos at the link.)
Posted By: Paul - Wed Nov 28, 2018 -
Comments (0)
Category: Daredevils, Stuntpeople and Thrillseekers, Regionalism, Air Travel and Airlines, Hotels, Twentieth 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 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 |