January 2023
January 6, 2023
Merck satisfies your growing appetite for MSG
A full plate of MSG, but you already need more... MORE!Never fear, "You can depend on Merck for unlimited quantities of MSG." In Crystal or Fine Crystal form.
Food Technology - Sep 1958
Posted By: Alex - Fri Jan 06, 2023 -
Comments (1)
Category: Drugs, Food, Advertising, 1950s
Groovin’ with “The Glass Bottle”
Oh, man, what a flashback! I saw The Glass Bottle at Fillmore East!
Posted By: Paul - Fri Jan 06, 2023 -
Comments (2)
Category: Packaging, Wrapping, and other Protective Measures, Advertising, 1960s
January 5, 2023
An egg inside an egg
In 1949, farmer Fred Bollman of St. Louis found that one of his hens had laid an unusually large egg. When he picked up the egg, it cracked, revealing a second egg that had formed inside.
The phenomenon of an egg inside an egg is extremely rare. It's caused by the process of "counter-peristalsis contraction." As explained by cbc.ca:
The second egg forms around the first, hence the large size.
In March 2018, Wendy Devuyst found that one of her hens had laid an unusually large egg. She suspected it was an egg-inside-an-egg (because the same hen had previously laid one of these), so she filmed herself cracking it open. And sure enough, it was.
Posted By: Alex - Thu Jan 05, 2023 -
Comments (4)
Category: Eggs
Shakespeare’s Greatest Hits
The Bard's words as you have never dared to imagine them before.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Jan 05, 2023 -
Comments (2)
Category: Literature, Music, Vinyl Albums and Other Media Recordings, 1960s
January 4, 2023
Shelter Suit
From 1939. Something casual to throw on when the air-raid signal sounds. Plus, "the wearer is safe from mustard gas, because it will stand penetration for one hour."Wear it in a blast-resistant house and you'd have no worries.
Derby Evening Telegraph - Oct 24, 1939
New York Daily News - Oct 2, 1939
Related post: Air Raid Apparel
Posted By: Alex - Wed Jan 04, 2023 -
Comments (4)
Category: Fashion, War, 1930s
Modern Flash Dictionary
Get hep to all the 1830 slang.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Jan 04, 2023 -
Comments (2)
Category: United Kingdom, Nineteenth Century, Slang
January 3, 2023
Gus Comstock, Champion Coffee Drinker
Gus Comstock of Minnesota set a record back in 1927 by drinking 85 cups of coffee in 7 hours and 15 minutes.
Bridgewater Courier-News - Jan 18, 1927
Others subsequently claimed to have beaten his record. Albert Baker of San Francisco claimed to have drunk 157 cups of coffee in 6 hours 20 minutes. However, Comstock complained that there was nothing official about his challenger's claims. They just said they had beaten his record. And Comstock ended up being the most well-remembered champion coffee drinker. Stumbeano's Coffee Roasters (located in Comstock's home town of Fergus Falls) now sells a "Gus Comstock Blend" of coffee.
source: stumbeanos.com
I haven't been able to find any more recent coffee-drinking records. Probably because drinking that much coffee has to be potentially lethal.
Back in my twenties I used to regularly drink 3 or 4 cups a day. Nowadays I limit myself to one cup in the morning.
More info: clickamericana.com
Washington Evening Star - Jan 14, 1927
Posted By: Alex - Tue Jan 03, 2023 -
Comments (6)
Category: World Records, Coffee and other Legal Stimulants, 1920s
The Better Sex
Surely this could be rebooted for 2023 in our absolutely carefree and non-contentious cultural atmosphere.The Wikipedia page.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Jan 03, 2023 -
Comments (0)
Category: Games, Rivalries, Feuds and Grudges, Television, Men, Women
January 2, 2023
Lafleur!
As far as I know, the genre of disco hockey-instruction music is limited to this one album released by Guy Lafleur in 1979.
Montreal Gazette - Sep 11, 1979
Posted By: Alex - Mon Jan 02, 2023 -
Comments (3)
Category: Music, Sports, 1970s
Unauthorized Dwellings 27
As you can read at the Wikipedia page, these evictions were for naught, as the planned dam was never built.Newspaper source: The Morning Call (Allentown, Pennsylvania) 28 Feb 1974, Thu Page 7
Column below is extension of leftmost column above.
Posted By: Paul - Mon Jan 02, 2023 -
Comments (0)
Category: Regionalism, Lakes, Ponds, Rivers, Streams, Swamps and Other Bodies of Fresh Water, Unauthorized Dwellings, 1970s
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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 |
