Category:
Wrestling

Conehead Sumo Wrestlers

1994: The Japan Sumo Association finally got around to banning the practice, apparently quite common among young sumo wrestlers, of implanting lumps of silicone beneath their scalp in order to meet the minimum height requirement of 5 feet 8 inches. The Association probably wouldn't have done anything if they hadn't become embarrassed by media reports of conehead wrestlers.

Before the silicone technique became popular, some wrestlers used to hit themselves on top of their head to raise large bumps before being measured.

Morristown Daily Record - July 13, 1994



Sumo wrestler Mainoumi, before and after scalp implant

Posted By: Alex - Tue Jun 27, 2017 - Comments (3)
Category: Sports, Wrestling, 1990s

Lord Littlebrook, RIP





Obituary here.


Posted By: Paul - Wed Sep 14, 2016 - Comments (1)
Category: Entertainment, Human Marvels, Wrestling, 1980s, 1990s

El Santo vs. la Invasion de los Marcianos



I regret that I cannot find English-language versions for you. But the visuals are everything.

Complete film below. Wikipedia page for Santo.

Posted By: Paul - Mon May 25, 2015 - Comments (2)
Category: Aliens, Daredevils, Stuntpeople and Thrillseekers, Movies, Wrestling, Foreign Customs, Science Fiction, 1960s

Midget Wrestling



I don't follow contemporary wrestling, but some cursory googling seems to reveal that there are still "little people" active in the sport.

But nothing like these glory days, I imagine...

Posted By: Paul - Sun Sep 07, 2014 - Comments (2)
Category: Little People, Wrestling, 1950s, Europe

East German Rally, 1950

"Rally posters contrast U.S. girl wrestlers with pure and healthful communistic sports."

I wonder how many people at this rally were thinking that the U.S. girl wrestling looks a lot more fun.

Posted By: Alex - Fri Dec 20, 2013 - Comments (6)
Category: Sports, Wrestling, 1950s

Octopus Wrestling

According to wikipedia, octopus wrestling "involves a diver grappling with a large octopus in shallow water and dragging it to the surface."

Popular Mechanics (May 1966) provides some more details:

Two things work for the hunters. The octopus is basically timid, and divers work in teams. One man goes down (about 50 feet) and tries to force an octopus from his cave. When he comes up for air, the second man goes down and tries to pry the octopus loose from the rocks. If he's not up in 30 seconds, the third man goes down. They don't harm the animals. They just weigh them and throw them back in. Why do they do it? Well, why not?




Posted By: Alex - Sat Feb 23, 2013 - Comments (7)
Category: Sports, Wrestling, 1960s

Patrick O’Connor, Wrestler and Artist

There aren't that many people who seriously pursue art and wrestling at the same time, but Patrick O'Connor was one of them. Back in the 1940s, he was heavyweight wrestling champion of Ireland, but also had a Greenwich Village art studio. He was an artist of the "conservative Realist and Romantic school." Apparently he viewed art as his true passion. Wrestling was just a way to make money. From The Evening Independent, Sep. 9, 1944:

His portraits were too realistic. If a rich dowager had three chins, he refused to conveniently omit two of them. As a result there was no rush of customers, so the painter turned to wrestling as a means of earning an honest dollar.

Unfortunately I haven't been able to find any examples of his art, except for the ones that can be seen behind him in the pictures below. O'Connor is the one with the beard. The pictures were taken in his art studio.





Posted By: Alex - Wed Jan 02, 2013 - Comments (3)
Category: Art, Sports, Wrestling, 1940s

Over The Top





Best--if only--movie about arm-wrestling ever? Watch the trailer, then the whole thing, then decide.

Or save a painful 90 minutes by reading this review.


Posted By: Paul - Sat Jun 16, 2012 - Comments (2)
Category: Family, Ineptness, Crudity, Talentlessness, Kitsch, and Bad Art, Movies, Wrestling, 1980s

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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.

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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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