1950s
The Man Who Owned the Universe
Posted By: Paul - Tue May 20, 2025 -
Comments (0)
Category: Law, Spaceflight, Astronautics, and Astronomy, 1950s, Outrageous Excess
Roller Skate Spurs
Thank goodness there's no way this novelty item could cause injury to children, such as when a child falls backwards onto his skate, or when a juvenile antagonist rams his spur into your shin.Full patent here.
Posted By: Paul - Tue May 13, 2025 -
Comments (4)
Category: Bicycles and Other Human-powered Vehicles, Injuries, Inventions, Patents, Toys, 1950s
Rock-and-Roll Mops
A short time ago, Alex told you about the exploits of surrealist writer Boris Vian and his novel I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVES. But he did not get into Vian's career as a musician.Here's one of Vian's songs, with bits of his infamous surrealism, as you can see from the lyrics (translated via Google). (I like the classy cover video also.)
And what's the pun inherent in the title?
Why, with the dish known as rollmops.
I seduced her in an instant
Thanks to the light in my eye
She fell like a leaf
Into my big orangutan arms
We loved each other like gods
Aznavour would have been left blue
The phonograph was playing in a corner
Swinging jazz tunes
But in the end I was so hungry
That I called the local bar:
Hello Dupont
Bring me up
Something to eat,
Or I'll die
And what should I bring you?
Bring me without hesitation:
Rock and roll-mops
With buttered bread,
Rock and roll-mops
And ground beef,
Rock and roll-mops
With a fried egg,
Rock and roll-mops
I feel like a cannibal. Kangaroo escalopes
Sapajou sausage
Lion liver with salsify
Bacon head with candied fruit
And in a dish
Just for me
Well prepared
Not too seasoned
Rock and roll-mops
It comforted me,
Rock and roll-mops
I'm bursting at the seams,
Rock and roll-mops
My strength is increased tenfold,
Rock and roll-mops
We're going back to bed
Posted By: Paul - Mon May 12, 2025 -
Comments (1)
Category: Food, Music, Surrealism, 1950s, Europe
Panties Auction
Posted By: Paul - Wed Apr 30, 2025 -
Comments (0)
Category: Auctions, Estate Sales, Ebay and other Bidding Venues, Children, Underwear, 1950s
Miss Soft Water
Deseret News - Sep 17, 1954
Posted By: Alex - Mon Apr 21, 2025 -
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Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, 1950s
The Great American Bum
Posted By: Paul - Thu Apr 17, 2025 -
Comments (2)
Category: Bums, Hobos, Tramps, Beggars, Panhandlers and Other Streetpeople, Music, Vinyl Albums and Other Media Recordings, 1950s
Miss Civil Defense
There were innumerable "Miss Civil Defense" contests in the 1950s, that era of duck and cover. Even Hollywood got into the act, as you can see below. But I found one such outlier instance from 1967 (last item in the sequence). I wonder how long the beauty title continued?
Posted By: Paul - Wed Apr 16, 2025 -
Comments (2)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Destruction, War, Civic Duties, 1950s, 1960s
The Electric Violin Bow
Why spend years practicing your bowing technique, when the the automated conveyor belt-style bow can do all the work for you?Full patent here.
Posted By: Paul - Mon Apr 14, 2025 -
Comments (0)
Category: Inventions, Patents, Music, AI, Robots and Other Automatons, 1950s
The Total Electric Home
Posted By: Paul - Thu Apr 10, 2025 -
Comments (0)
Category: Domestic, Predictions, Yesterday’s Tomorrows, 1950s
Writing as a thankless task
It certainly is, for most.
Pittston Gazette - Sep 18, 1954
If you're interested, you can find Guinagh's translation on archive.org.
Posted By: Alex - Thu Apr 03, 2025 -
Comments (0)
Category: Writers, 1950s
| 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, 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 |