Robber warns of robbery

Jan 1995: Raymond Cuthbert warned an employee at Nolan's Pharmacy that he would be back in half an hour to rob the store. Sure enough, he returned a half hour later with a friend who was carrying a concealed weapon. The two were arrested by the waiting police.

The Vernon Morning Star - Jan 6, 1995

Perhaps Raymond had in mind the law proposed in Texas in 1973 that would have required criminals to give their victims advance notice before committing a crime.

Posted By: Alex - Fri Sep 24, 2021 - Comments ()
Category: Stupid Criminals, 1990s

The Alaskan Slot Machine

1990: Customers of a laundromat in Anchorage, Alaska frequently complained that the slot machine in the establishment never paid out any money, even if a winning combination came up, and one of them eventually called the police about it.

The police initially agreed that it seemed like theft to never pay out winnings, so they confiscated the slot machine. But then the owner of the laundromat explained that the machine was deliberately fixed to not pay off, because gambling was illegal in Alaska. Furthermore, a small sign next to the machine said that it was "For Amusement Only". Perhaps, he conceded, the sign was not prominent enough, but it was there nevertheless.

Upon hearing this, the police decided the slot machine was legal and let the owner take it back.

Daily Sitka Sentinel - Jan 4, 1990

Tampa Bay Times - Mar 17, 1996

Posted By: Alex - Sat Sep 18, 2021 - Comments (3)
Category: 1990s, Gambling, Casinos, Lotteries and Other Games of Chance

The Boeing Sky Commuter

Another car-plane hybrid that never made it into production.

Article here.

Posted By: Paul - Fri Jul 02, 2021 - Comments (1)
Category: Technology, Air Travel and Airlines, 1990s, Cars

Puppet Officer Brendan O’Smarty

1993: Under pressure from his superiors to stop carrying his ventriloquist dummy with him while on patrol, San Francisco Police Officer Bob Geary decided to take the matter to the voters. He formed the "Committee to Save Puppet Officer Brendan O'Smarty" and succeeded in putting the issue on the ballot.

The voters decided by a narrow margin of 51% to 49% to allow him to continue patrolling with Brendan O'Smarty.

This turns out not to be the first puppet officer we've posted about. Just a few months ago, Paul posted about puppet officer Jerry McSafety. I wonder how many more puppet officers there are?

More info: wikipedia, alchetron

Geary with Puppet Officer Brendan O'Smarty

Posted By: Alex - Fri Jun 18, 2021 - Comments ()
Category: Police and Other Law Enforcement, Puppets and Automatons, 1990s

Odyssey:  Into the Mind’s Eye

1990s production of psychedelic trip with soundtrack.

Posted By: Paul - Wed May 19, 2021 - Comments ()
Category: Drugs, Psychedelic, Music, Special Effects, 1990s

Best Scents for Sexual Arousal

The article dates from 1997 (The Daily Herald Chicago, Illinois 21 Aug 1997, Thu Page 97), but an actual scientific paper from the same people was posted in 2014. If any WU-vie can cite more recent reasearch, please do so!

Posted By: Paul - Sun May 16, 2021 - Comments (4)
Category: 1990s, Twenty-first Century, Smells and Odors, Sex

Jan Švankmajer’s “Lunch”

Creator's Wikipedia page.

Posted By: Paul - Sun May 02, 2021 - Comments (2)
Category: Food, Movies, Surrealism, 1990s, Eating

The Stimulator

The Stimulator, which sold for $79, promised to cure headaches, allergies, swollen joints, backaches, and more. It did this by delivering low-voltage electrical shocks to whatever body part was hurting.

However, the FDA shut down its manufacturer in 1997 noting that the device was actually a modified gas-grill igniter which cost about $2 to make.

More info: Museum of Quackery

Yoga Journal - Dec 1995

Greenville News - Jan 21, 1997

Posted By: Alex - Fri Apr 23, 2021 - Comments (2)
Category: Patent Medicines, Nostrums and Snake Oil, 1990s

Roger Powell, Human Work of Art

In 1995 Roger Powell was 46 years old and living homeless on the streets of London after the failure of his taxi business. And then, by a strange twist of fate, his life changed and he became a work of art.

Film director Tony Kaye had decided to display a homeless person as a work of art at the Saatchi Gallery. So he sent his assistant out to find a homeless person willing to go along with this scheme, and Powell was the one found.

Powell on display at the Saatchi Gallery. Source: alamy.com

Powell sat in the gallery beside a sign explaining that he was for sale as a "human work of art." The price: £1000.

As far as I know, no one offered to buy Powell. Nevertheless, Kaye continued to display Powell at various museums for the next two-and-a-half years, but most of the time not as an official exhibit. Powell would simply walk around the museums while wearing a t-shirt that said "For Sale, Roger, By Tony Kaye, Four Million Pounds." (The sale price had inflated quite a bit.) In return for doing this, Kaye paid Powell a small weekly allowance and gave him some money towards rent.

San Francisco Examiner - Nov 19, 1995

Eventually Kaye lost touch with Powell. Then, in 2002 Powell died. Kaye paid for Powell's cremation and received his ashes. He said he planned to use them to create a painting that would say "Dead Homeless Man." I don't know if he ever completed this work.

More info: upi.com, CSMonitor

Posted By: Alex - Tue Apr 20, 2021 - Comments ()
Category: Art, 1990s

The American Airlines Recipe Book

We recently posted about the American Airlines Wine Club, which allows people to enjoy wines served inflight at home. Turns out that in 1994 the company did something similar with its airline food, publishing a recipe book so that people could "prepare their inflight favorites at home". It was titled A Taste of Something Special.

The book was given to frequent fliers, rather than being sold to the public. But you can now download a pdf of the entire thing via Michigan State University Library.

Yonkers Herald Statesman - Feb 8, 1996

Posted By: Alex - Wed Apr 14, 2021 - Comments (8)
Category: Food, Cookbooks, Air Travel and Airlines, 1990s