Nineteenth Century
The Rose Percy Doll
Read here the whole history of a very expensive doll that became the Junior Red Cross's icon.Under Bertha [Peter’s] care, Rose Percy aided worthy causes for a sixty-year period. In 1919, near the end of her life, Bertha placed Rose on temporary loan to the American Red Cross Museum in Washington D.C. The very next year, Bertha gifted Rose to the organization, and with that gift, she became the official mascot of the Junior Red Cross. Rose served in that capacity for over eighty years, and during that time greeted visitors from all over the world.
The year 2010 found the American Red Cross facing deficits, so the decision was made to sell off valuable assets in order to reduce their debt. Countless historic artifacts were sent to the auction block, including Rose Percy, who is in fact, older than the Red Cross itself.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Aug 04, 2023 -
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Category: Charities and Philanthropy, Medicine, Dolls and Stuffed Animals, Nineteenth Century, Twentieth Century, Twenty-first Century
Non-Stop Smoking
Posted By: Alex - Thu Aug 03, 2023 -
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Category: Excess, Overkill, Hyperbole and Too Much Is Not Enough, Advertising, Smoking and Tobacco, Nineteenth Century
Cocoaine for the hair
I'm sure cocaine would soothe an irritated scalp, but I can't imagine why it would cure dandruff.
Posted By: Alex - Sun Jul 30, 2023 -
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Category: Drugs, Nineteenth Century, Hair and Hairstyling
The Great Cheiro
The late part of the 19th century and the early part of the 20th century were filled with occult types, most famously Aleister Crowley. But I had not previously encountered Cheiro.His Wikipedia page is here.
You can read his palmistry book here.
And luckily, in 1979, Cheiro (died 1936) conducted a long conversation with another medium. Read it here.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Jul 27, 2023 -
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Category: Frauds, Cons and Scams, New Age, Supernatural, Occult, Paranormal, Nineteenth Century, Twentieth Century
Hoosier Poet Canned Goods
Very few--if any other--poets have a line of canned goods named after them, as did James Whitcomb Riley.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Jul 14, 2023 -
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Category: Food, Poetry, Nineteenth Century, Twentieth Century
The Scatalogic Rites of All Nations
Read it here.
Posted By: Paul - Mon Jul 10, 2023 -
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Category: Hygiene, Excrement, Regionalism, Anthropology, Nineteenth Century
Miss America 1886 (Contest of 1936)
Posted By: Paul - Fri Jun 30, 2023 -
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Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Elderly and Seniors, 1930s, Nineteenth Century
True Crime Podcast on Vinyl
Well, not exactly, but close enough. Use embedded player below.History of the case here.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Jun 25, 2023 -
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Category: Crime, Death, Vinyl Albums and Other Media Recordings, United Kingdom, Nineteenth Century, Twentieth Century
UPenn Gargoyles
Read about these weird architectural embellishments here, with more pix.And also here.
In the 1890s and the first couple decades of the twentieth century, Penn engaged Philadelphia architects Cope and Stewardson to design several University buildings. With their design for the Quadrangle, whose first section opened in 1896, Cope and Stewardson emulated several vintage eras of English architecture in a style that became known as Collegiate Gothic. In a delightful homage to Elizabethan architecture, they incorporated several dozen bosses into their design. They worked with sculptors Henry Plasschaert and John Joseph Borie (a Penn architecture alumnus) and stone carvers Edmund Wright, Edward Maene and assistants to turn these uncut stones into sculpted figures. Cope and Stewardson approved elevation views and clay models of each proposed boss, which was then carved over a period of three to four days from a fourteen-inch square piece of Indiana limestone that had been incorporated into the Quadrangle.
Mr. Plasschaert and his carvers kept the mood of these bosses whimsical. Parodic figures are abundant, such as a grotesque animal biting the corner of a block of stone, or an architect dressed in an elf costume carrying a basket of fruit. A variety of mythical creatures and bizarre monsters are on display, as is the occasional reference to academic activity, like the creatures brandishing tragedy and comedy masks atop the Mask and Wig clubhouse, or a monkey clutching a scroll labeled “diploma.”
Posted By: Paul - Wed Jun 07, 2023 -
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Category: Architecture, Regionalism, Nineteenth Century, Twentieth Century
Bust Cream or Food
If it doesn't enlarge your bust, you can serve it for dinner.Source: 1897 Sear Roebuck Catalogue
Posted By: Alex - Fri May 26, 2023 -
Comments (4)
Category: Body Modifications, Advertising, Patent Medicines, Nostrums and Snake Oil, Nineteenth Century
| Who We Are |
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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. Contact Us |