Category:
Eccentrics

The Far-out Costumes of Dancer Nina Payne

Read her story here.

Source of advertisement.















Dancer Nina Payne (USA) Nina Payne doing exercises in the Elizabeth Arden beauty parlor, Paris (to prepare for her performance in the Folies-Bergere) - undated, probably 1925

Posted By: Paul - Sat Jan 20, 2024 - Comments (1)
Category: Eccentrics, Bohemians, Beatniks, Hippies and Slackers, 1920s, Dance, Europe

Doris Munday, the woman who controlled the weather

When she was in her forties, Doris Munday realized that she had the power to control the weather. All she had to do was look at a location on a map, visualize what kind of weather it needed, and then concentrate hard. The weather would obey her command.

Shepherds Bush Gazette - Oct 7, 1971



This power came with a cost. Controlling the weather would leave her feeling fatigued, and it also seemed to cause her bad luck. After she had sent rain somewhere, her washing machine might blow up, or someone would run into her car.

She also felt that she didn't get enough credit for her powers. She complained, "Everyone always says when the rain falls, 'Oh well, it is a coincidence isn't it', and I don't even get a thank you for my time and trouble."

Hounslow Middlesex Chronicle - Jan 26, 1973



Daily Mail - Jan 24, 1973



And on occasion she made mistakes. She once wanted to send rain to South Africa, but accidentally sent it to Rhodesia instead.

Hamilton Spectator - Jan 22, 1973



She confessed that she didn't know why her powers worked, they just did. She speculated, "I think I have stumbled on some kind of electrical force which is rarely known."

The Guardian - Dec 23, 1968

Posted By: Alex - Thu Dec 28, 2023 - Comments (1)
Category: Eccentrics, Paranormal, Weather

One Hundred Proofs That the Earth Is Not a Globe

Bone up on your arguments for this perennial topic!

Read the 32-page book here.





Posted By: Paul - Tue Dec 19, 2023 - Comments (5)
Category: Eccentrics, Gonzo, Demento, Kooky, Wacky and Out-there, Pseudoscience, Books, Nineteenth Century

John Pecinovsky, the Half-and-Half Man




Posted By: Paul - Thu Nov 09, 2023 - Comments (2)
Category: Eccentrics, Human Marvels, Twentieth Century

Harrison Dyar, Amateur Tunneler

Earlier this year, I posted about THE MOLE MAN OF LONDON, an eccentric British fellow who liked to dig tunnels. Well, the USA can hold its own in this category, thanks to Harrison Dyar of Washington, DC. Wikipedia gives a short account of his habit. This long account is much richer.

Dyar told the Washington Star that the urge started when he dug a flowerbed for his wife around 1906. "When I was down perhaps 6 or 7 feet, surrounded only by the damp brown walls of old Mother Earth, I was seized by an undeniable fancy to keep on going."


Posted By: Paul - Sun Aug 27, 2023 - Comments (2)
Category: Eccentrics, Caves, Caverns, Tunnels and Other Subterranean Venues, North America, Twentieth Century

Chrome

Let us all know if/when you bail.

The band's Wikipedia page.


Chrome is an American rock band founded in San Francisco in 1976 by musician Damon Edge and associated with the 1970s post-punk movement.[3] The group's raw sound blended elements of punk, psychedelia, and early industrial music,[4] incorporating science-fiction themes, tape experimentation, distorted acid rock guitar, and electronic noise.[5] They have been cited as forerunners of the 1980s industrial music boom.[6] They found little commercial success as part of San Francisco's 1970s music scene...


Posted By: Paul - Wed Aug 16, 2023 - Comments (4)
Category: Eccentrics, Music, 1970s, Cacophony, Dissonance, White Noise and Other Sonic Assaults

Cycle Ball

Call me a Sports Dummy, but I had never previously heard of Cycle Ball.



Posted By: Paul - Thu Aug 10, 2023 - Comments (0)
Category: Bicycles and Other Human-powered Vehicles, Eccentrics, Sports

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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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