Travel
Owney, the Taxidermy Post Office Dog
Mail clerks raised money for preserving their mascot and he was taken to the Post Office Department's headquarters in Washington, DC, where he was on placed on display for the public. In 1904 the Department added Owney to their display at the St. Louis, Missouri, World’s Fair. In 1911, the department transferred Owney to the Smithsonian Institution. In 1926, the Institution allowed Owney to travel to the Post Office Department’s exhibit at the Sesquicentennial exhibit in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. From 1964-1992, he was displayed at the Smithsonian museum now known as the National Museum of American History and in 1993 he moved to the new National Postal Museum, where he remains on display next to a fabricated Railway Post Office train car.
Source.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Apr 28, 2021 -
Comments (0)
Category: Travel, Trains and Other Vehicles on Rails, Dogs, Nineteenth Century, Twentieth Century, Postal Services
The Traveling Candy Store
I must confess that the notion of a vehicle that brings candy directly to you had never occurred to me before. But what a great idea!Here's the tale of a modern incarnation.
Here's their website, with an itinerary.
And here's the tale of someone who had the idea 100 years ago! (Scroll up.)
Posted By: Paul - Tue Jan 19, 2021 -
Comments (3)
Category: Business, Retailing, Motor Vehicles, Travel, Candy, 1920s
Roy Mack’s milk-diet tour
Roy Mack set off from New York on May 2, 1939, intending to walk to San Francisco. To make this more of a challenge, he decided to do this while living on a diet of only milk — about six quarts of it a day. He said he wanted to "prove you can live on milk." The media dubbed him the "human milk bottle."By August he had reached Oklahoma City and had also lost 10 pounds in weight. He maintained this was due to all the exercise, not his milk diet.
I have no idea if he ever did reach San Francisco, because I can't find any news reports about him after Oklahoma City. Perhaps the milk diet got the better of him.
Pittsburgh Press - June 3, 1939
Posted By: Alex - Fri Oct 30, 2020 -
Comments (0)
Category: Food, Publicity Stunts, Travel, 1930s, Dieting and Weight Loss
Mystery Illustration 95
What type of craft was host to these scenes? Luxury railroad car perhaps? Ocean liner? What's your guess?The answer is here.
Or after the jump.
More in extended >>
Posted By: Paul - Fri Jun 05, 2020 -
Comments (6)
Category: Travel, 1920s
Turnpike Toll Gun
Introduced circa 1962 by Lyman Metal Products, the Turnpike Toll Gun allowed drivers to shoot quarters and nickels into toll baskets. I imagine that, nowadays, whipping one of these things out at a toll booth could get you in trouble. But it's still possible to pick one up on eBay if you gotta have one.
Source: airgunenthusiast.com
Cedar Rapids Gazette - Nov 4, 1965
Spokane Chronicle - Jan 23, 1963
Posted By: Alex - Wed Jan 22, 2020 -
Comments (2)
Category: Guns, Money, Travel
Ostrich Carts
Why these never caught on, I couldn't imagine.
Source.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Dec 04, 2018 -
Comments (0)
Category: Animals, Travel, 1910s
Life preserver suitcase
Just imagine if everyone on the Titanic had had one of these! (I'm guessing it must have been inspired by that disaster).
The Kiowa Journal - Oct 7, 1915
Posted By: Alex - Wed Aug 22, 2018 -
Comments (3)
Category: Boats, Inventions, Travel, 1910s
Extra Milers
The Extra Miler Club is a group of people whose goal is to visit every county (and equivalent jurisdiction) in every state of the United States. That's 3,143 counties. Indian reservations don't count, although some visit them anyway. Parishes do count, as do independent cities.If you finish the goal, you're called a "county completer." Only 51 people have joined this elite group, and they're all listed here.
More info: boston.com
Posted By: Alex - Sun Jul 09, 2017 -
Comments (1)
Category: Clubs, Fraternities and Other Self-selecting Organizations, Hobbies and DIY, Travel, Collectors
See-Through Luggage
Sold by Crumpler for AU$745 (about $564).If you buy this, it seems like it would be almost a crime not to pack something weird inside it, such as an inflatable love doll.
Posted By: Alex - Mon Aug 01, 2016 -
Comments (11)
Category: Travel
African Pygmy Thrills
Posted By: Paul - Sun Sep 27, 2015 -
Comments (2)
Category: Ethnic Groupings, Stereotypes and Cliches, Travel, 1930s, Africa
| 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 |