Category:
Food

Mrs. Sparrow found a sparrow

1952: Mrs. Florence Sparrow found a sparrow in her loaf of bread.

Spokane Chronicle - Feb 29, 1952

Posted By: Alex - Fri Jun 17, 2022 - Comments (4)
Category: Food, Odd Names, 1950s

Burglary Party

Our Glorious Founder Chuck Shepherd frequently featured reports of housebreakers who a) did housework; b) drank themselves into a stupor; c) cooked a meal; d) had a bath or shower; etc. Here's a variation on the theme.

Source: Wichita Falls Times (Wichita Falls, Texas) 30 Jun 1953, Tue Page 1


Posted By: Paul - Tue May 31, 2022 - Comments (2)
Category: Dinners, Banquets, Parties, Tributes, Roasts and Other Celebrations, Food, Stupid Criminals, 1950s

Edible Tape

A group of students at Johns Hopkins recently invented edible tape for burritos. They're calling their invention Tastee Tape.



I thought edible tape was a pretty old idea, and some searching quickly pulled up prior examples of it. But despite the idea being around for a while, I've never seen edible tape in a supermarket. So perhaps the Johns Hopkins version of it will be the one to catch on.

San Luis Obispo Tribune - Apr 13, 1991



Honolulu Star Bulletin - Sep 2, 1950

Posted By: Alex - Mon May 16, 2022 - Comments (2)
Category: Food, Inventions

The Kitchen of the Unwanted Animal

According to its website, The Kitchen of the Unwanted Animal is "the kitchen that sells products from unwanted animal species. This installation makes a statement about the absurdity of meat production and socially unacceptable animals."

The website is in Dutch, so that quotation is via Google Translate.

The Kitchen is located in Amsterdam and, from what I can gather, it's primarily a food truck. Though it does cater some sit-down events.

The "unwanted species" on its menu include pigeon, goose, muskrat, crow, and horse.

More info: npr.org



Posted By: Alex - Tue May 03, 2022 - Comments (10)
Category: Food

House Bean Soup

The U.S Congress has some unusual traditions, one of which is that the U.S. House of Representatives Restaurant always has bean soup on the menu. Details from the Congressional Archives:

A common item in the U.S. House of Representatives even before the turn of the 20th century, bean soup became a permanent fixture in the institution when Speaker Joe Cannon of Illinois discovered that his favorite meal had not been prepared by the kitchen staff on a hot, summer day in 1904. Dismayed by the omission, the Speaker directed that bean soup be served in the House every day, regardless of the weather. More than a century after Speaker Cannon’s decree, bean soup remains on the menu in the House Restaurant, making it one of the more longstanding and famous traditions in the House.

Back page of the 1955 House Restaurant Menu

Posted By: Alex - Mon May 02, 2022 - Comments (2)
Category: Food, Politics

Miss Sauerkraut of 1947

Being named Miss Sauerkraut of 1947 seems to have been a high point of Alice Niesen's modeling career.

Ithaca Journal - Aug 1, 1947



The only other example of her work that I could find was a 1948 piece in which she modeled the "sock pocket".

The Frederick Leader - Jan 19, 1948

Posted By: Alex - Tue Apr 12, 2022 - Comments (1)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Food, 1940s

Recipes for the fallout shelter housewife

Marie Adams, food editor of the Charlotte News, felt that nuclear war shouldn't stop a "fallout shelter housewife" from providing her family with tasty meals and "appetizing snacks". In a 1961 column (Sep 7, 1961) she offered suggestions for fallout shelter meals that included deviled ham and parsley dip served with tomato juice, swedish fruit soup with cheeses, and vichyssoise with crackers.









A response from a reader of the Charlotte News:

Charlotte News - Sep 11, 1961

Posted By: Alex - Tue Mar 22, 2022 - Comments (3)
Category: Food, War, Atomic Power and Other Nuclear Matters, 1960s

A Device for Intercepting the Moisture running down the Hands and Wrists when Eating Crayfish

In 1933, the British patent office awarded Edgar Honig of Germany Patent No. 393,673 for this invention. From his patent:

This invention relates to a means for intercepting the liquid tending to run down the wrists and the arms when eating crayfish.

When eating crustacea of this nature, it is found very unpleasant that the liquid emerging therefrom tends to run down the wrists and into the sleeves, this liquid resulting in stains, which it is extremely difficult or impossible to remove.

According to the invention, this drawback is overcome by means of a ring which tightly encircles the wrist and consists of an absorbent material. As a material of this description it is convenient to employ rubber sponge. It is, however, also possible to use paper, fabric or similar materials, which intercept the moisture running over the wrists and absord the same.

I'm not a fan of shellfish, so I wasn't aware how messy crayfish (aka crawfish) could be. But evidently their messiness really bothered Honig.





Below: how to eat crawfish.

Posted By: Alex - Thu Mar 10, 2022 - Comments (3)
Category: Food, Patents, 1930s

Frank P. Reese, light-bulb eater

When they say that the food in prison is awful, I guess that depends on what you like to eat.

Detroit Free Press - Mar 26, 1972



El Paso Times - Mar 25, 1972



Binghamton Press and Sun-Bulletin - Mar 25, 1972

Posted By: Alex - Sun Mar 06, 2022 - Comments (2)
Category: Food, Prisons, 1970s

Potato Perfume

Created as a gimmick by the Idaho Potato Commission. Already out of stock.

Formulated from essential oils and distilled Idaho Potatoes, this fragrance embodies the irresistible essence of potatoes from Idaho.

More info: Idaho Potato Commission, Instagram, upi.com



Posted By: Alex - Wed Feb 16, 2022 - Comments (5)
Category: Food, Perfume and Cologne and Other Scents

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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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