Post by dmikester on Jan 22, 2017 17:09:57 GMT -5
This is part of a series of attempts to catalog all of the real-world references made in the various Curios and Conundrums issues. In general, this is meant to be read after you’ve gone through and read/solved everything in a given issue of Curios and Conundrums, as this will take a big picture approach and will discuss all elements of an issue and will, when appropriate and necessary for discussion, spoil answers to puzzles in the Curios and Conundrums issues (these specifically will be enclosed in spoiler tags).
My hope with this is that we can have some enlightening discussion about non-puzzle specific items and that you can appreciate the hard work and effort that went into creating these issues by the MPC. I especially hope that you feel free to add to this list (respond with something to add and I will edit the original post), as I’m only one person and will likely miss some references and/or not research something closely enough. If I leave something off entirely here, like say a crossword puzzle, that’s because there are no real-world references included, only the usual puns and fun wordplay, or it's a fictional article created by the MPC. Enjoy!
How and What To Tell A Communist
This is a real article and picture from the Times Recorder of Zanesville, Ohio, specifically the March 19th, 1950 issue. Here are links to both the paper and the actual article as a PDF.
www.newspapers.com/newspage/19631581/
woosteramericanlit.wikispaces.com/file/view/tell+a+Communist-WHS+ybook.pdf
Male Help Wanted
The second ad, specifically the “Satan After The Fall” one, is a quote from a real movie called The Penalty. Here’s an essay with the direct quote included in it.
filmmakermagazine.com/83303-hidden-horror-wallace-worselys-the-penalty/#.WIRJTrYrJ-U
The other two are, as far as I can tell, just filler.
A Horrible Discovery
This is a copy of an actual article from the July 22nd, 1874 edition of the Lucerne Union, a Mormon newspaper. Here’s a link to the article.
contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/19CMNI/id/9315
Russia: Beyond the Headlines
This is a real article published online here:
rbth.com/science_and_tech/2013/04/12/former_kgb_agent_reveals_soviet_ufo_studies_24927.html
The Des Moines Register
Another real article, though strangely, despite being from 2013, this one doesn’t exist in its original form online. However, there’s an expanded version of it that was published in 2015 from the same author located here:
www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/2015/07/01/van-meter-remembers-1903-visit-from-winged-monster/29583469/
Dallas Morning News, April 19th, 1897
This article is the original reporting of one of the most famous UFO sightings, the Aurora, Texas “UFO crash.” The article included in the issue is an edited version of the original article, which can be found both here and here (I’m including two links due to Wikipedia not being a fully reliable source, though in this case it has the clearest picture of the original article):
www.auroratexas.gov/board-of-commisions/historic-preservation/ned/
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurora,_Texas,_UFO_incident
Mysterious Travel: The Giant’s Causeway
This is more just for completion’s sake, but the Giant’s Causeway is a very real and extraordinary site in North Ireland. Here’s its official page:
www.giantscausewayofficialguide.com/
Nebraska Nugget, 1884
This is another real article and one of the earlier UFO sightings on record. I couldn’t find a link to the original article, but here’s a link with more detail than most of the ones I could find:
www.unmuseum.org/crash19.htm
Hiking Couple Claim New Footage
Here’s a link to the real article, which as a fun bonus includes the video “evidence” mentioned in the article:
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2380787/Hiking-couple-claim-new-footage-shows-Bigfoot-walk-wilds-Canada.html
Bestiary: The Alerion
Here’s a link to a description and table of content of sorts for Pierre de Beauvais’ Bestiary, which eerily includes mostly real but some (hopefully) fictional creatures such as the Alerion:
bestiary.ca/prisources/psdetail1886.htm
J.P. Biggins Ad
Here’s a fun one. This is indeed a real ad, and in doing a Google Image search for it, I came across an article that describes J.P. Biggins as a total quack, and includes the original ad. Here’s the link:
natlib.govt.nz/blog/posts/great-grandpa-quack
Eye Strain Relief
The Neu-Vita Oculizer was a very real, very sketchy eye massager from the 1920s and 1930s. Included below is a a link to the image shown in the C&C article, another with one that was actually sold presumably through Ebay, and a third article that goes in-depth on the history of the Oculizer and other instruments of its kind:
www.americanartifacts.com/smma/eyemass/e2.jpg
www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/vintage-medical-quackery-eye-testing-270029598
www.reviewofoptometry.com/article/a-walk-on-the-wild-side
Horoscopes (Heavy Spoilers below- only read after completing the first volume's puzzles)
Hyak Steamboat Ticket
This was one of the curios included with the issue. The Hyak steamboat was a real steamboat that operated on Puget Sound and was owned by the Puget Sound Navigation Company, otherwise known as the Black Ball Line. Wikipedia has the most straightforward info about the Hyak, though I’m including another link below if you really want to deep-dive into the history of the Black Ball Line:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyak_(steamboat_1909)
www.tacomascene.com/kalakala/black_ball_line/black_ball_line.html
My hope with this is that we can have some enlightening discussion about non-puzzle specific items and that you can appreciate the hard work and effort that went into creating these issues by the MPC. I especially hope that you feel free to add to this list (respond with something to add and I will edit the original post), as I’m only one person and will likely miss some references and/or not research something closely enough. If I leave something off entirely here, like say a crossword puzzle, that’s because there are no real-world references included, only the usual puns and fun wordplay, or it's a fictional article created by the MPC. Enjoy!
How and What To Tell A Communist
This is a real article and picture from the Times Recorder of Zanesville, Ohio, specifically the March 19th, 1950 issue. Here are links to both the paper and the actual article as a PDF.
www.newspapers.com/newspage/19631581/
woosteramericanlit.wikispaces.com/file/view/tell+a+Communist-WHS+ybook.pdf
Male Help Wanted
The second ad, specifically the “Satan After The Fall” one, is a quote from a real movie called The Penalty. Here’s an essay with the direct quote included in it.
filmmakermagazine.com/83303-hidden-horror-wallace-worselys-the-penalty/#.WIRJTrYrJ-U
The other two are, as far as I can tell, just filler.
A Horrible Discovery
This is a copy of an actual article from the July 22nd, 1874 edition of the Lucerne Union, a Mormon newspaper. Here’s a link to the article.
contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/19CMNI/id/9315
Russia: Beyond the Headlines
This is a real article published online here:
rbth.com/science_and_tech/2013/04/12/former_kgb_agent_reveals_soviet_ufo_studies_24927.html
The Des Moines Register
Another real article, though strangely, despite being from 2013, this one doesn’t exist in its original form online. However, there’s an expanded version of it that was published in 2015 from the same author located here:
www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/2015/07/01/van-meter-remembers-1903-visit-from-winged-monster/29583469/
Dallas Morning News, April 19th, 1897
This article is the original reporting of one of the most famous UFO sightings, the Aurora, Texas “UFO crash.” The article included in the issue is an edited version of the original article, which can be found both here and here (I’m including two links due to Wikipedia not being a fully reliable source, though in this case it has the clearest picture of the original article):
www.auroratexas.gov/board-of-commisions/historic-preservation/ned/
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurora,_Texas,_UFO_incident
Mysterious Travel: The Giant’s Causeway
This is more just for completion’s sake, but the Giant’s Causeway is a very real and extraordinary site in North Ireland. Here’s its official page:
www.giantscausewayofficialguide.com/
Nebraska Nugget, 1884
This is another real article and one of the earlier UFO sightings on record. I couldn’t find a link to the original article, but here’s a link with more detail than most of the ones I could find:
www.unmuseum.org/crash19.htm
Hiking Couple Claim New Footage
Here’s a link to the real article, which as a fun bonus includes the video “evidence” mentioned in the article:
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2380787/Hiking-couple-claim-new-footage-shows-Bigfoot-walk-wilds-Canada.html
Bestiary: The Alerion
Here’s a link to a description and table of content of sorts for Pierre de Beauvais’ Bestiary, which eerily includes mostly real but some (hopefully) fictional creatures such as the Alerion:
bestiary.ca/prisources/psdetail1886.htm
J.P. Biggins Ad
Here’s a fun one. This is indeed a real ad, and in doing a Google Image search for it, I came across an article that describes J.P. Biggins as a total quack, and includes the original ad. Here’s the link:
natlib.govt.nz/blog/posts/great-grandpa-quack
Eye Strain Relief
The Neu-Vita Oculizer was a very real, very sketchy eye massager from the 1920s and 1930s. Included below is a a link to the image shown in the C&C article, another with one that was actually sold presumably through Ebay, and a third article that goes in-depth on the history of the Oculizer and other instruments of its kind:
www.americanartifacts.com/smma/eyemass/e2.jpg
www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/vintage-medical-quackery-eye-testing-270029598
www.reviewofoptometry.com/article/a-walk-on-the-wild-side
Horoscopes (Heavy Spoilers below- only read after completing the first volume's puzzles)
Each of these horoscopes refers mostly to stories by H.P. Lovecraft, a deeply influential American horror writer who is one of the first ever “weird fiction” authors. Lovecraft is a huge influence on the MPC, so reading these may give you a firm grounding in the general atmosphere and mood of a number of the offerings from them. The one story that is not by Lovecraft here is from Robert Chambers, and was also a very large influence on the MPC considering they created an entire experience around the story. Lovecraft is known for many of his stories existing in the same universe, and occasionally it's important to read one before another for plot purposes. Thankfully, this particular selection of stories can be read in any order. Here they are:
- The King in Yellow (this is by Robert Chambers and not Lovecraft, and is in reference to three short stories that all relate to each other and are found in a short story collection called The King in Yellow)
- Herbert West, Reanimator (this inspired a famous cult classic movie called Reanimator)
- The Rats in the Walls
- The Whisperer in the Darkness
- At The Mountains of Madness (this is a personal favorite of mine)
- The Haunter of the Dark
- The Dreams in the Witch House
- In The Vault
- Cool Air (this is a very disturbing horror story that deeply unsettled me when I read it)
- The Thing on the Doorstep
- The Lurking Fear
- On The Pyramids (some amazing imagery in this story, and it features Houdini!)
- The King in Yellow (this is by Robert Chambers and not Lovecraft, and is in reference to three short stories that all relate to each other and are found in a short story collection called The King in Yellow)
- Herbert West, Reanimator (this inspired a famous cult classic movie called Reanimator)
- The Rats in the Walls
- The Whisperer in the Darkness
- At The Mountains of Madness (this is a personal favorite of mine)
- The Haunter of the Dark
- The Dreams in the Witch House
- In The Vault
- Cool Air (this is a very disturbing horror story that deeply unsettled me when I read it)
- The Thing on the Doorstep
- The Lurking Fear
- On The Pyramids (some amazing imagery in this story, and it features Houdini!)
Hyak Steamboat Ticket
This was one of the curios included with the issue. The Hyak steamboat was a real steamboat that operated on Puget Sound and was owned by the Puget Sound Navigation Company, otherwise known as the Black Ball Line. Wikipedia has the most straightforward info about the Hyak, though I’m including another link below if you really want to deep-dive into the history of the Black Ball Line:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyak_(steamboat_1909)
www.tacomascene.com/kalakala/black_ball_line/black_ball_line.html