Category:
Middle East

Murad Cigarette Ads

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[Click either to enlarge]

Surely one of the most gorgeously over-the-top ad campaigns for any cigarette was the long-running series for Murad brand. What a realm of fantasy!

Read a small history of the brand and see a large gallery of images here.

Posted By: Paul - Mon Aug 12, 2013 - Comments (6)
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, Fantasy, Smoking and Tobacco, Middle East, Twentieth Century

Johnson Smith Catalog Item #30

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[From the 1950 catalog. Click to enlarge.]

I can see this prank being really popular in the Middle East nowadays. "Gotcha, Ahmed [Isaac]! You really thought the Israelis [al Qaeda] had rigged your car!"

Posted By: Paul - Wed Aug 07, 2013 - Comments (4)
Category: Death, Destruction, Explosives, Fireworks and Pyrotechnics, Johnson Smith Catalog, 1950s, Pranks, Middle East

The Smallest Sheikh in Islam

Ahmed Salem was known as the "smallest sheikh in Islam." He made it into international news in June 1955 when he was able to walk into the office of Egyptian Prime Minister Nasser undetected because of his size. The AP ran this blurb, with the accompanying photos:

Egyptian Prime Minister Gamal Abdel Nasser lends an ear to the complaints of 62-year-old midget Ahmed Salem who was able to enter the premier's office without being seen because he's so little. He asked for help when his relatives stole his savings. Nasser promised to investigate.




Four months later, Salem was back in the news, but this time for taking other people's money. He tricked three U.S. senators into giving him a donation to help buy Russian weapons for the Egyptian army. (NY Times, Oct 19 1955). Senator Saltonstall, one of the senators deceived, later offered this explanation:

"When we went to see Premier Nasser yesterday there were twenty or thirty people crowded onto the front steps. Among them was this dwarf pestering us, talking a blue streak in Arabic and jingling this tin box.
What were we going to do? The thought went through my mind that it was an Egyptian charity and that a polite way to get out of this difficulty was to drop some coins in the box. I did not have any coins but Senator Stennis had three coins in his hand.
Like a good Yankee, I did not take the biggest one and I did not take the littlest one. I took one plaster, worth 3 cents, and put it into the box and we went on in to see the Prime Minister.
When we came out, there must have been forty or fifty people crowding around and this dwarf was trying to get us to give some more and pushing into every picture. By then we knew what the dwarf wanted and none of us dropped a penny into the box."

Posted By: Alex - Fri Mar 15, 2013 - Comments (1)
Category: 1950s, Middle East

Camel or Horse?



One of these things is not like the other. The more exotic moves come past the halfway mark.

Posted By: Paul - Thu Jul 28, 2011 - Comments (4)
Category: Animals, Contests, Races and Other Competitions, Europe, Middle East

Candleabra Dance



C'mon, now, be honest: what male audience member is going to be looking at the candles?

Posted By: Paul - Fri Mar 04, 2011 - Comments (1)
Category: Daredevils, Stuntpeople and Thrillseekers, Dance, Middle East

Roasted Camel Hump

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Would you eat camel's hump? Well this woman would--and did. Visit the link for horrifying pictures.




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For myself, I'd rather have a Camel Hump Cocktail.

Posted By: Paul - Thu Apr 15, 2010 - Comments (5)
Category: Animals, Food, Regionalism, Middle East

Jackie Chan Will Protect Your Computer

Posted By: mdb777 - Wed Jul 29, 2009 - Comments (5)
Category: Advertising, Middle East

Iran:  Between Two Worlds

Peaceful, Western-loving, totalitarian Iran! How we miss you!

Posted By: Paul - Tue May 26, 2009 - Comments (0)
Category: Documentaries, 1950s, Middle East

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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.

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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