Category:
Domestic

Surprise, Surprise!

Did this really happen twice in the space of a year, in a manner that became noticeable to a newspaper? Or was it the invention of a bored and desperate reporter, then copied by another?

Source for first item: Lindsay Gazette (Lindsay, California) 31 May 1935, Fri Page 11




Source for second item: Tampa Bay Times (St. Petersburg, Florida) 29 May 1936, Fri Page 2

Posted By: Paul - Thu Dec 02, 2021 - Comments (2)
Category: Domestic, Travel, Fables, Myths, Urban Legends, Rumors, Water-Cooler Lore, 1930s

Follies of the Madmen #520

I have never thought of a percolator as sexy before, but I guess I was misguided...



Source.

Posted By: Paul - Mon Nov 22, 2021 - Comments (1)
Category: Business, Advertising, Domestic, Appliances, Magazines, Sex Symbols, 1970s

“How can explosion touch me?”

The sentence used in the title of this post belongs with Alex's "Strictly feminine is the woman devoid of superfluous hair" in terms of arcane impenetrability the more you repeat it.

Is separate explosion insurance for homeowners still a thing?

Ad source.

Posted By: Paul - Sun Nov 07, 2021 - Comments (4)
Category: Destruction, Domestic, Codes, Cryptography, Puzzles, Riddles, Rebuses and Other Language Alterations, Insurance, 1930s

Suzy Homemaker Is a Square

"She even washes regularly!"

Posted By: Paul - Mon Oct 04, 2021 - Comments (3)
Category: Domestic, Stereotypes and Cliches, Toys, Children, Bohemians, Beatniks, Hippies and Slackers, 1960s

Mrs. America Contest of 1950



Source of first clip below: Florence Morning News (Florence, South Carolina) 21 Aug 1950, Mon Page 6



Source of main article below (also photo above): The Daily Record (Long Branch, New Jersey) 08 Sep 1950, Fri Page 7



Posted By: Paul - Mon Sep 20, 2021 - Comments (2)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Domestic, 1950s

Italian Hobbit Village





Their home page.

Video below in Italian only.


Super Hobbit from simone zuccarini on Vimeo.





Posted By: Paul - Wed Sep 08, 2021 - Comments (2)
Category: Domestic, Real Estate, Fantasy, Europe

Seelye’s Wasa Tusa

Patent medicine earned Dr. A. B. Seelye a fortune that allowed him to build a fine mansion that is open to the public today.



What was in his fabled Wasa Tusa?



A.B. Seelye made his fortune in patent medicines with the A.B. Seelye Medical Company. At one time he had over 500 salesmen traveling through 14 states. The Wasa Tusa they sold contained 65 percent “non-beverage alcohol, chloroform and sulphuric ether.”


Source of quote.

You can read his digitized ALMANAC, HEALTH GUIDE AND COOKBOOK here.




Posted By: Paul - Tue Sep 07, 2021 - Comments (0)
Category: Domestic, Money, Patent Medicines, Nostrums and Snake Oil, Nineteenth Century, Twentieth Century

X-Radium Cooking Utensils



Here is a fascinating short monograph (a PDF) about the Radium craze, including a discussion of the product above.

Posted By: Paul - Mon Jul 19, 2021 - Comments (6)
Category: Death, Domestic, Really Bad Ideas, Twentieth Century

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Who We Are
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.

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