Nineteenth Century
Kyphosis Bicyclistarum
In the late 19th century, bicyclists were warned that they were at risk of developing "kyphosis bicyclistarum," or cyclist's stoop.
Gloucester Citizen - June 10, 1893
source: "The Hygiene of the Wheel," by James C. Whorton in Bulletin of the History of Medicine (vol 52, 1978)
Posted By: Alex - Mon May 19, 2025 -
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Category: Bicycles and Other Human-powered Vehicles, Health, Nineteenth Century
The Anís del Mono Corporate Icon
The monkey who is the symbol of this Spanish anisette company bears the face of Charles Darwin.
Read more here.
Posted By: Paul - Mon Apr 21, 2025 -
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Category: Anthropomorphism, Science, Corporate Mascots, Icons and Spokesbeings, Historical Figure, Europe, Nineteenth Century, Alcohol
Common Sense Electric Belt
Similar in concept to the Electricura Shoes we've previously posted about.It generated electricity by the Galvanic method (having two different metals touching). So, hardly any electricity at all.
Price List of Physicians' Supplies, Chas. Truax & Co., 1890
Posted By: Alex - Fri Apr 18, 2025 -
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Category: Health, Patent Medicines, Nostrums and Snake Oil, Clothing, Nineteenth Century
Pope Pius IX and His Evil Eye
The Wikipedia page for the phenomenon known as the Evil Eye mentions:
The wielder of the evil eye, called the jettatore, is described as having a striking facial appearance, high arching brows with a stark stare that leaps from his eyes. He often has a reputation for clandestine involvement with dark powers and is the object of gossip about dealings in magic and other forbidden practices. Successful men having tremendous personal magnetism quickly gain notoriety as jettatori. Pope Pius IX [1846-1878] was dreaded for his evil eye, and a whole cycle of stories about the disasters that happened in his wake were current in Rome during the latter decades of the 19th century.
Could this be true? Well, we learn elsewhere...
And in this volume, we learn:
Posted By: Paul - Wed Mar 12, 2025 -
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Category: Death, Religion, Supernatural, Occult, Paranormal, Europe, Nineteenth Century
Unauthorized Dwellings 35
The Wikipedia entry on Harshaw, AZ, explains:In 1963, Harshaw ran afoul of the U.S. Forest Service. By this time, the town housed about 70 inhabitants, and consisted mostly of collapsed buildings, abandoned cars, and run down shacks. The only well-maintained structures in town were the Roman Catholic Church, and a small school.[6][16] The borders of the Coronado National Forest, established on July 1, 1953,[5] included the town of Harshaw, and because most of the residents never actually gained titles to their land, which could have been done starting in the 1880s, the government's property included the town.[29] Because no titles existed, and the land was then owned by the federal government, the residents were labeled as squatters. Further, once the National Forest was formed, obtaining titles to the land was no longer an option. Harshaw's rundown landscape proved to be an irritant to the Forest Service who, in 1963, tried to work with the residents to facilitate a plan to relocate the remaining families and clean up the town site.[6][16] The relocation efforts were not successful, however, as a few residents remained in Harshaw at least into the 1970s.[2]
Posted By: Paul - Tue Mar 11, 2025 -
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Category: Regionalism, Unauthorized Dwellings, Ruins and Other Abandoned or Shuttered Structures, Nineteenth Century, Twentieth Century
The New Liberty Bell
At the Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893, someone conceived of the notion of casting a second Liberty Bell (like the original famous one in Philadelphia) which could be safely struck and rung, having no crack. However, it ultimately had a sad fate, as you can read after the photos.
THE COLUMBIAN LIBERTY BELL.—Not least among the ideas natural to the Columbian year, and which finally embodied themselves, was that of casting a new Liberty Bell, one the very metal of which should have associations connected with the thought of liberty and a universal brotherhood. The plan of such a bell was conceived by Mr. William McDowell, of New Jersey, and it was he who carried it into execution. Correspondence was entered into on an extensive scale, contributions for the bell came from hundreds and thousands of sources, and it was cast in time to be one of the features of the Exposition, occupying a prominent place on the Plaza just west of the Administration Building, and being rung on different notable occasions. Unique gifts contributed to make the composition of the new Liberty Bell remarkable. The keys of Jefferson Davis’ house, pike heads used by John Brown at Harper’s Ferry, John C, Calhoun’s silver spoon and Lucretia Mott’s silver fruit knife, Simon Bolivar’s watch chain, hinges from the door of Abraham Lincoln’s house at Springfield, George Washington’s surveying chain, Thomas Jefferson’s copper kettle, Mrs. Parnell’s earrings and Whittier’s pen are all among the articles melted to make the bell. Surely if there be anything in association it should always ring strong and true for liberty. It was first sounded on the occasion of the opening of the World’s Congress of Religions, than which there could have been no better occasion for declaring the grandest liberty of all–liberty of thought. The bell is seven feet in height and weighs thirteen thousand pounds.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Feb 23, 2025 -
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Category: Homages, Pastiches, Tributes and Borrowings, Monuments, North America, Nineteenth Century
The Sea Serpent Polka
I accidentally discovered that Alex, at The Museum of Hoaxes, had already covered a topic I was interested in: The Gloucester Sea Serpent.But his very informative piece neglects one detail. The sighting also inspired a piece of music: "The Sea Serpent Polka."
Posted By: Paul - Wed Jan 08, 2025 -
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Category: Cryptozoology, Music, Nineteenth Century
The Twelve Tissues Remedies
Despite the opaque title, from what I can see, the book maintains that certain organic minerals, when deficient, cause many ills, and if you administer homeopathic doses of same, cures will be effected. Not too, too loony. But reading the symptoms of mineral deficiency is the best part of this volume.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Dec 10, 2024 -
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Category: Patent Medicines, Nostrums and Snake Oil, Nineteenth Century
The Calamities and Quarrels of Authors
Anyone who has ever romanticized the writing life should read this book. It's a kind of HOLLYWOOD BABYLON of its era. Disraeli pulls no punches, as seen in the excerpt below.Find it at the Internet Archive.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Nov 16, 2024 -
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Category: Literature, Nineteenth Century
The Cat Hat of Kate Fearing Strong
In 1883, William and Alva Vanderbilt spent $250,000 to throw a fancy dress ball. That's the equivalent of around $6 million in today's money. The most memorable outfit was worn by Kate Fearing Strong. Her nickname was 'Puss', so she came dressed as a cat. As reported by the New York Times:
New York Times - Mar 27, 1883
The cats on her dress and hat were real cats — skinned and taxidermied.
More info: "Vanderbilt Ball: How a costume ball changed New York elite society"
Kate Fearing Strong wearing her cat hat
Posted By: Alex - Mon Sep 30, 2024 -
Comments (4)
Category: Headgear, Cats, Nineteenth Century
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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 |