Category:
Animals

Secrets of Successful Varmint Calling

Secrets of Successful Varmint Calling, by Johnny Stewart, was released in 1967. I could only find a brief clip from it, but I pasted an article below with some more tips on varmint calling.

Here in Phoenix you don't need any special trick to find varmints (aka coyotes). Just go for a walk in the early morning and you're bound to see one.





Fort Worth Star-Telegram - Aug 5, 1984

Posted By: Alex - Sun Sep 29, 2024 - Comments (2)
Category: Animals, Hunting, Trapping and Other Wilderness Activities, Vinyl Albums and Other Media Recordings, 1960s

Dis-Gorilla



Posted By: Paul - Thu Sep 26, 2024 - Comments (0)
Category: Animals, Fads, Fey, Twee, Whimsical, Naive and Sadsack, Music, 1970s

Rats as music critics

According to German researcher Otto Nieschulz, when rats listen to music they prefer to listen to French chansons.

But when Nieschulz says 'chansons' does he mean "secular polyphonic French songs of late medieval and Renaissance music" or the "style of French pop music which emerged in the 1950s and 1960s"? According to wikipedia, both are known as chansons.

I haven't been able to track down Nieschulz's original paper, so there's no way to know. I'm guessing the rats might enjoy both.

Indianapolis Star - May 16, 1966



Victoria Times Colonist - Apr 29, 1966

Posted By: Alex - Sat Aug 31, 2024 - Comments (1)
Category: Animals, Music, Experiments

Beaversprite

Dorothy Richards established a sanctuary for beavers in Little Falls, NY. Not so weird. Except that she also had several beavers at a time living in her home.

Read her life story at the Internet Archive.



Posted By: Paul - Mon Aug 12, 2024 - Comments (1)
Category: Animals, Eccentrics, North America, Twentieth Century

100 Photos That Aren’t Horse Photos

The title of Claude Closky's 1995 book, 100 Photos Qui Ne Sont Pas De Photos De Chevaux (100 Photos That Aren't Horse Photos), is totally accurate. His book consists of 100 photos of chickens.

You can view all the photos on his website.

Posted By: Alex - Sun Aug 04, 2024 - Comments (1)
Category: Animals, Photography and Photographers, Books

The Role of Wine in the Great 1906 California Quake

Everyone knows the drama of the Great 1906 Quake that devastated San Francisco.. But since California is famous for its wine production, it was only natural that wine played a part. Here are two such incidents out of who knows how many.




And in nearby Santa Rosa.



Posted By: Paul - Thu Jun 27, 2024 - Comments (3)
Category: Animals, Destruction, Regionalism, 1900s, North America, Alcohol

Le Baquet de Mesmer

The famous creator's Wikipedia page. That's him in the role of magician.

Posted By: Paul - Sat Jun 22, 2024 - Comments (1)
Category: Animals, Magic and Illusions and Sleight of Hand, Movies, 1900s, Women, Dance

Lobster Leash

Lobster Life Systems of Lodi, New Jersey was just granted a patent (No. 11,997,992) for a "lobster tether and method of tethering a lobster."

This should be useful if, like the French poet Gérard de Nerval, you enjoy taking your pet lobster for walks. Nerval tethered his lobster with a leash made of silk ribbon.



Nerval walking his lobster



via Jeff Steck

Posted By: Alex - Thu Jun 06, 2024 - Comments (2)
Category: Animals, Patents

Voluntary Alcohol Consumption in Chimpanzees and Orangutans

A study published in the June 1968 issue of the Quarterly Journal of Studies on Alcohol involved giving chimpanzees and orangutans as much vodka (mixed with fruit juice) as they wanted to drink in order to find out if they'd become alcoholics.

Reportedly the chimpanzees were enthusiastic drinkers and became drunk repeatedly. But oddly, the orangutans, although they drank, never showed any signs of intoxication.

I'm curious to know more details about the study, but unfortunately the article itself is locked behind a paywall.



Central New Jersey Home News - Aug 22, 1968

Posted By: Alex - Wed Jun 05, 2024 - Comments (1)
Category: Animals, Inebriation and Intoxicants, Experiments, 1960s

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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.

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