When the term diathermy is used in beauty culture it usually refers to ‘surgical diathermy.’ Diathermy treatments of this type – also known a thermolysis – were used from the 1930s onwards in beauty culture as an alternative to electrolysis for the permanent removal of superfluous hair, spider veins (telangiectasia), acne, warts, moles and otherContinue reading “Diathermy in Beauty Culture From From the 1930s”
Category Archives: strange and wtf
Portrait of Jacob C. Miller, a Civil War Veteran Who Lived With an Open Bullet Wound in His Forehead for Decades
Jacob C. Miller (August 4, 1840 – January 13, 1917) was a private in company K, 9th Indiana Infantry Regiment, and was wounded in the head near the Brock Field at the Battle of Chickamauga on the morning of September 19, 1863. The ball impacted in Miller’s head during the Civil War, but luckily theContinue reading “Portrait of Jacob C. Miller, a Civil War Veteran Who Lived With an Open Bullet Wound in His Forehead for Decades”
The Flagpole Sitting Trend of the 1920s Was Widely Popularized in the U.S by Alvin “Shipwreck” Kelly
Alvin “Shipwreck” Kelly (May 11, 1893 – October 11, 1952), a prolific pole sitter who first publicized flagpole sitting in the country, attracted massive crowds and set off national adoration for the trend. Peculiar as it may seem to audiences today, the 1920s was ablaze with pole sitting fever, and the fad became especially popularContinue reading “The Flagpole Sitting Trend of the 1920s Was Widely Popularized in the U.S by Alvin “Shipwreck” Kelly”
The Story of the Cardiff Giant, the Greatest Hoax in American History
The Cardiff Giant was one of the most famous hoaxes in American history. It was a 10-foot-tall (3.0 m), 3,000 pound purported “petrified man” uncovered on October 16, 1869, by workers digging a well behind the barn of William C. “Stub” Newell in Cardiff, New York. He covered the giant with a tent and itContinue reading “The Story of the Cardiff Giant, the Greatest Hoax in American History”
The Story of Baba Anujka, the World’s Oldest Serial Killer
Known variously as the Banat Witch or the Witch of Vladimirovac, but best known as Baba Anujka, Ana di Pištonja was an accomplished amateur chemist and a convicted killer from the village of Vladimirovac, Yugoslavia (in Serbia). She poisoned at least 50 people and possibly as many as 150 in the late 19th and earlyContinue reading “The Story of Baba Anujka, the World’s Oldest Serial Killer”
25 Amazing Photos Of “Freak Shows” From The Past
The idea of a spectacle that exploits people with severe physical deformities and abnormalities, better known as a “freak show,” has existed for centuries. However, these shows only really started to take off as the traveling shows that most of us now recognize in the 1800s, when they traveled to towns with lurid banners advertisingContinue reading “25 Amazing Photos Of “Freak Shows” From The Past”
40 Awful Asian Album Covers
Art is a strange creature. Ever mutating, evolving, and forever changing. Often the most obvious is overlooked. Often the over-looked is the most obvious in how we view the world around us. Often that which is overlooked is over shadowed by a more imposing medium. We identify so much with what we listen to andContinue reading “40 Awful Asian Album Covers”
Reliant Robin, a Three-Wheeled Car That Was Voted the Worst British Car of All Time!
The Reliant Robin is a small three-wheeled car produced by the Reliant Motor Company in Tamworth, England. It was offered in several versions (Mk1, Mk2 and Mk3) over a period of 30 years. It is the second-most popular fibreglass car in history, with Reliant being the second-biggest UK-owned car manufacturer for a time. Its steeringContinue reading “Reliant Robin, a Three-Wheeled Car That Was Voted the Worst British Car of All Time!”
30 Awful Album Covers Volume 6
Ota Benga: The Man Who Was Caged In A Zoo
Ota Benga was a Mbuti (Congo pygmy) man born in the Ituri Rainforest of the Belgian Congo in 1883. His village was attacked by the Force Publique, established by King Leopold II of Belgium as a militia to enslave the natives for labor in order to utilize the large supply of rubber in the Congo.Continue reading “Ota Benga: The Man Who Was Caged In A Zoo”
