March 2021
March 16, 2021
Nuclear submarines as oil tankers
Potentially mad scheme: After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Russian navy was casting about for ways to raise revenue and came up with the idea of using Typhoon-class submarines as oil tankers. The Soviets had built six Typhoon-class nuclear subs which were, and still are, the largest submarines ever made. The main selling point of this idea was that the subs could travel under Arctic ice, eliminating the need for expensive ice-breakers. From wikipedia:The idea was abandoned when someone over there decided that a nuclear sub filled with 10,000 tons of oil might pose some safety concerns.
More info: bellona.org
Posted By: Alex - Tue Mar 16, 2021 -
Comments (7)
Category: Military, Atomic Power and Other Nuclear Matters, Transportation, 1990s
Orienta
From the Wikipedia page:
The album's liner notes stated that the music "resembles the dreams of an imaginative person who has fallen asleep during a 'Dr. Fu Manchu' movie on television," with vignettes that "combine the sounds of the East with the wit of the West; the charm of the Orient with the humor of the Occident."[1]
Posted By: Paul - Tue Mar 16, 2021 -
Comments (0)
Category: Music, Space-age Bachelor Pad & Exotic, Stereotypes and Cliches, 1950s, Asia
March 15, 2021
Capt. Hinman’s Floating Restaurant
Captain Sidney Hinman demonstrating a life suit of his own design.
"Capt. Sidney Hinman, Coney Island Life Guard, eating a midday repast cooked by himself on a raft table he constructed standing in eighteen feet of water while encased in his non-sinkable life-saving suit." Brooklyn Standard Union - Apr 20, 1921
"Demonstrating his safety suit — Capt. Sidney Hinman of the Coney Island life saving guards, recently paddled his way down the Hudson River in a suit designed to keep a person afloat. He paddled along for an hour." Regina Leader-Post - Mar 28, 1922
Posted By: Alex - Mon Mar 15, 2021 -
Comments (6)
Category: Restaurants, 1920s
The Evil Eye
I wish audiovisual recordings had been available in 1898 to capture this play.
Source of quote.
Posted By: Paul - Mon Mar 15, 2021 -
Comments (3)
Category: Excess, Overkill, Hyperbole and Too Much Is Not Enough, Theater and Stage, Special Effects, Nineteenth Century
March 14, 2021
The Amplifier, or Enunciator
Robert Linn theorized that a loudspeaker shaped like a human head, containing a mouth and nose cavity similar to that of a person, would produce sounds that were of a higher quality and more "pleasing and properly modulated" than a regular loudspeaker would. So he created (and patented in 1927) what he called the Amplifier or Enunciator.
The resemblance to a sex doll has to be coincidental, because they weren't invented until after World War II. (The claim that Hitler invented the first sex doll is apparently a hoax).
Posted By: Alex - Sun Mar 14, 2021 -
Comments (2)
Category: Inventions, Patents, Music, 1920s
The Old and New Blue Holes of Ohio
Once upon a time, there was a tourist attraction in Ohio called the Blue Hole.
But then it was closed off to the public.
So the state opened up a rival Blue Hole nearby.
I wonder if they should be a "sister body of water" to the Lagoa das Sete Cidades, which we looked at back in February?
Posted By: Paul - Sun Mar 14, 2021 -
Comments (0)
Category: Regionalism, Rivalries, Feuds and Grudges, Lakes, Ponds, Rivers, Streams, Swamps and Other Bodies of Fresh Water, North America, Natural Wonders
March 13, 2021
The Wicked Bible
An edition of the Bible printed in 1631 came to be known as the 'Wicked Bible' because it omitted one, important word — the word 'not' from the seventh commandment. This made the commandment read, 'Thou shalt commit adultery'. More details from The Guardian:
There's still debate about whether the omission was accidental, purposeful, or sabotage.
Only ten copies of the Wicked Bible are known to exist today. The current going price for one is around $100,000.
More info: wikipedia
Posted By: Alex - Sat Mar 13, 2021 -
Comments (10)
Category: Religion, Books, Seventeenth Century
The Aquatennial Queen of the Lakes and/or Ambassador
Before looking at these charming ladies, let us ponder the name of this worthy organization: "Aquatennial." The water/wet years? The most common word with this suffix of course is "centennial," which is derived, so Merriam-Webster tells us, from the Latin "centum" and the English suffix "-ennial," which is basically "annual." The suffix is not "-tennial," because the "t" comes from "centum." So even if "the wet or water years" made sense, it would have to be "Aquaennial," which of course is a hideous-looking neologism.All that aside, this organization, founded in 1940, is still going strong. But you can't call the winners "queens" any longer, just "ambassadors." It's nice they kept the tiaras, though, which are not in evidence among ambassadors at, say, the U.N.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Mar 13, 2021 -
Comments (1)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Regionalism, Lakes, Ponds, Rivers, Streams, Swamps and Other Bodies of Fresh Water, Twentieth Century, Twenty-first Century
March 12, 2021
Make wine now for children’s parties!
Mason's wine essence was non-alcoholic. But even so, it seems a bit odd that it was marketed as a children's drink.I can't find a description of what, specifically, it was. Although, by the name, I'm assuming it was wine that had been reduced by slow boiling to a syrup. By then adding water to the syrup, one could make a non-alcoholic wine.
Circa 1900 - via Advertising Archives
Posted By: Alex - Fri Mar 12, 2021 -
Comments (3)
Category: Inebriation and Intoxicants, Advertising, Children, 1900s
The Barkleys
Cartoon version of ALL IN THE FAMILY.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Mar 12, 2021 -
Comments (2)
Category: Animals, Domestic, Family, Homages, Pastiches, Tributes and Borrowings, Cartoons, 1970s, Parody
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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 |
