Category:
Motor Vehicles

Johnnie the Tractor-Driving Monkey

The 1977 video below features both Johnnie and his son, Johnnie II. But mostly Johnnie II.

The owner of both, Australian farmer Lindsay Schmidt, said of the original Johnnie:

"I trust him with my life driving the tractor. He can hold it on a hill and keep it from slowing down. You should see him holding that wheel as he skirts the hill and I work behind.

We take it in turns to drive and toss off the hay to the sheep and cattle."



Billings Gazette - Jan 17, 1965

Posted By: Alex - Fri Jul 24, 2020 - Comments (1)
Category: Animals, Farming, Motor Vehicles

Follies of the Madmen #456

Who knew gas pumps were such gossips?



Source.

Posted By: Paul - Tue Dec 10, 2019 - Comments (6)
Category: Anthropomorphism, Business, Advertising, Motor Vehicles, 1940s

A Queer Ferry



I would call this an aerial tramway for cars. Seems it would have been much easier just to build a bridge!

Posted By: Paul - Wed Nov 27, 2019 - Comments (8)
Category: Engineering and Construction, Motor Vehicles, Technology, 1930s

The Pedestrian Horn

We've posted before about Los Angeles auto dealer Hilton Tupman who, back in 1948, invented a "pedestrian horn" that he used to honk at motorists.



Great ideas like that tend to get recycled. So, recently artist Yosef Lerner unveiled a pedestrian horn for the 21st century. His intent was satirical. He wanted to make the point that honking at people can be obnoxious, whether you're on foot or in a car. But for a while he was actually offering his pedestrian horn for sale on his website, at $699 each. He decided to stop selling them because (as he told Gizmodo) he didn't want "to contribute to any more noise in this city!”





For the record, Tupman didn't invent the idea of a pedestrian horn. Actress Eleanor Whitney had rigged one up in 1932.

Chambersburg Public Opinion - Apr 9, 1932



And as early as 1927, there's a report in the NY Times about an unnamed man from Southampton, England who had attached a "miniature but noisy motorhorn" to his walking stick and then "sounded warning blasts to the more fortunate ones in automobiles when he was about to cross."

New York Times - Oct 7, 1927

Posted By: Alex - Tue Nov 19, 2019 - Comments (1)
Category: Motor Vehicles, Cars, Cacophony, Dissonance, White Noise and Other Sonic Assaults

Follies of the Madmen #441



Not sure how a different color motor oil is better for your car. Don't think the advertiser can tell us either.

Source.

Posted By: Paul - Mon Aug 26, 2019 - Comments (4)
Category: Business, Advertising, Motor Vehicles, 1950s

License-Plate T-Shirt

Available from AdversarialFashion.com, which explains:

The patterns on the goods in this shop are designed to trigger Automated License Plate Readers, injecting junk data in to the systems used by the State and its contractors to monitor and track civilians and their locations.





via Book of Joe

Posted By: Alex - Tue Aug 13, 2019 - Comments (0)
Category: Fashion, Motor Vehicles

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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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