Success & Failure
The Edsel Show
Even titanic star power could not save this famous automobile disaster. The interspersed commercials are great too.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Aug 01, 2023 -
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Category: Success & Failure, Television, Disgrace, Shame, Infamy and Downfalls, Advertising, 1950s, Cars
TV INTROS TO 18 SHORT-LIVED SITCOMS OF THE 70s
Wow, what a bunch of bizarre stinkers from an odd decade.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Nov 20, 2022 -
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Category: Success & Failure, Television, 1970s
Failed Suicide Champion
Posted By: Paul - Wed Oct 12, 2022 -
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Category: Success & Failure, Suicide, 1910s
Harley-Davidson Perfume
Classic business failure: "Hot Road," an eau de toilette released by Harley-Davidson in the mid-1990s and quietly discontinued a year or two later. It wasn't exactly an "on brand" product.More info: Milwaukee Magazine
image source: parfumo.net
Posted By: Alex - Sun Sep 18, 2022 -
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Category: Business, Products, Success & Failure, 1990s, Perfume and Cologne and Other Scents
The Palace of the Soviets
Take what metaphors and allegories you will from this famous failure.
The Wikipedia page tells us:
The Palace of the Soviets (Russian: Дворец Советов, Dvorets Sovetov) was a project to construct a political convention center in Moscow on the site of the demolished Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. The main function of the palace was to house sessions of the Supreme Soviet in its 130-metre (430 ft) wide and 100-metre (330 ft) tall grand hall seating over 20,000 people. If built, the 416-metre (1,365 ft) tall palace would have become the world's tallest structure, with an internal volume surpassing the combined volumes of the six tallest American skyscrapers.[10]
The music on this video is annoying--hit MUTE--but otherwise it's well done.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Apr 15, 2022 -
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Category: Architecture, Excess, Overkill, Hyperbole and Too Much Is Not Enough, Government, Success & Failure, Russia, Twentieth Century
Kentucky Roast Beef
Here's a neat article about this failed venture by Colonel Sanders.You won't find the image below at that page.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Oct 21, 2021 -
Comments (3)
Category: Business, Advertising, Food, Success & Failure, 1960s
Who’s Nobody in America
Back in 1979, when being in Who's Who still had some kind of cultural cachet, Derek Evans and Dave Fulwiler decided to create an anti-Who's-Who, which they called "Who's Nobody in America." To acquire entries, they placed the following ad in newspapers:Will your name be omitted from the 1980 edition of Who's Who?
Nobody Press is currently compiling the 1980 edition of Who's Nobody in America. This handsomely bound and widely distributed reference work will, for the first time, provide a comprehensive list of American nobodies.
If you think you might be a nobody, or know of one, at no cost or obligation, complete the attached request for applications."
Applicants included:
- A woman who complained she had been seeing her psychiatrist monthly for eight years and he often called her Evelyn. Her name was Mildred.
- An entire American Legion post in Newport, Ky.
More info: Washington Post
Posted By: Alex - Sat Aug 28, 2021 -
Comments (1)
Category: Clubs, Fraternities and Other Self-selecting Organizations, Success & Failure, Books, Satire
Tool or Weapon
And we made fun of the TSA for confiscating nail clippers as weapons, look what they can accomplish in the right hands.
Posted By: Alex - Sat Apr 11, 2015 -
Comments (2)
Category: Little People, Success & Failure, Tools, Torture, Weapons
Irish Car: The Shamrock
Why there is no Irish car industry today. From Wikipedia.
Shortly after production began, however, design flaws became apparent. Although the car was big and heavy, it used a relatively small Austin A55 1.5 litre engine, which limited performance. The A55 also provided the transmission and suspension. Another problem was that the rear wheels were shrouded by body panels and a rear wheel could not be removed (for puncture repair for example) without dropping its axle..... Production of up to 10,000 cars a year was talked about but as few as ten complete cars were produced during the six months before production ceased. After the factory closed, the unused parts were dumped into the local lake, Lough Muckno.
Posted By: Paul - Thu May 16, 2013 -
Comments (5)
Category: Regionalism, Success & Failure, 1950s, 1960s, Europe, Cars
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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 |