March 2014
March 15, 2014
Hail Protector
It protects your car from hail, plus doubles as an inflatable trampoline for children's parties!
Posted By: Alex - Sat Mar 15, 2014 -
Comments (6)
Category: Inventions
March 14, 2014
Three Decades of Slimming
Posted By: Paul - Fri Mar 14, 2014 -
Comments (5)
Category: Exercise and Fitness, Food, Self-help Schemes, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s
Frozen Guru
Authorities recently declared that Indian guru Ashutosh Maharaj died of a heart attack. But his followers refuse to believe he's dead. Instead, they insist that he's merely in a state of "samadhi", which is the "highest plane of meditation."So they've decided to freeze him, to help preserve him until he decides to wake up. They considered embalming him, but Swami Vishalanand (a spokesman for the group) said, "somebody told us that his chances of revival were less if we did it."
Actually, I'm guessing his chances of revival are about the same whatever they do. [BBC News]
Posted By: Alex - Fri Mar 14, 2014 -
Comments (11)
Category: Death
March 13, 2014
Star Crystal
)"A new form of life--and DEATH!"
Posted By: Paul - Thu Mar 13, 2014 -
Comments (4)
Category: Ineptness, Crudity, Talentlessness, Kitsch, and Bad Art, Movies, Spaceflight, Astronautics, and Astronomy, Science Fiction, 1980s, Fictional Monsters
Civic Pride
An AP story that circulated in July 1936:
Every day, at an unannounced time, all fire sirens would start screaming simultaneously. Every citizen would stop whatever he might be doing, turn to the nearest person, vigorously shake his hand and say enthusiastically, "We're living in the finest city in the United States!"
The chamber took it under advisement.
Posted By: Alex - Thu Mar 13, 2014 -
Comments (8)
Category: 1930s
March 12, 2014
Armalite Arms David
This ad by American gun company Armalite not only has seriously offended some people in Italy (in particular the director of the Accademia Gallery where the David statue is located, who says that the ad is disrespectful to Italy's dignity and culture) but also has got them lawyering up. Because in Italy the likeness of a work of art must apparently be licensed by the government for commercial use. Even if the work of art is over 500 years old. [guns.com]
Posted By: Alex - Wed Mar 12, 2014 -
Comments (29)
Category: Advertising
Andy Rolan, The Donkey Man
Read everything in two columns up till the break, then everything after the break.
BREAK
Original article here.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Mar 12, 2014 -
Comments (8)
Category: Animals, Eccentrics, Regionalism, 1970s
March 11, 2014
Wham-O Wheelie Bar
What a cheat!
Posted By: Paul - Tue Mar 11, 2014 -
Comments (4)
Category: Bicycles and Other Human-powered Vehicles, 1960s
Supporting his father
Back in 1932, 14-year-old Charles Highfield was promoted by his father as being the strongest boy in Great Britain. In the first picture, that's the father standing on his son's neck. The Coventry Telegraph has a bit more info about Charles's brief career as a strongman.
Posted By: Alex - Tue Mar 11, 2014 -
Comments (8)
Category: Sports, Teenagers, 1930s
March 10, 2014
African Traffic Robots
The latest innovation in traffic control from the Democratic Republic of Congo. More info at washingtonpost.com.
Posted By: Alex - Mon Mar 10, 2014 -
Comments (3)
Category: AI, Robots and Other Automatons, Africa
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| 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 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. Chuck Shepherd Chuck is the purveyor of News of the Weird, the syndicated column which for decades has set the gold-standard for reporting on oddities and the bizarre. Our banner was drawn by the legendary underground cartoonist Rick Altergott. Contact Us |
