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The Society for Insulting Women and Frightening Children
The Annual Report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution for the year 1873 includes an article about the mathematician/inventor Charles Babbage. In this article, there's a page-long footnote discussing some hoaxes, and at the end of this footnote, there's a brief reference to the existence of a curious group that called itself the "Society for Insulting Women and Frightening Children":
What is this Society? I haven't been able to find it mentioned anywhere except in this Smithsonian Report. But it sounds like a clandestine group of 19th-century pranksters.
The footnote is signed "J.H.", which I assume stands for Joseph Henry, the Secretary of the Smithsonian at the time. He's a pretty credible source, so I assume he wasn't simply making up this Society.
If anyone has any information about this Society, let me know.
What is this Society? I haven't been able to find it mentioned anywhere except in this Smithsonian Report. But it sounds like a clandestine group of 19th-century pranksters.
The footnote is signed "J.H.", which I assume stands for Joseph Henry, the Secretary of the Smithsonian at the time. He's a pretty credible source, so I assume he wasn't simply making up this Society.
If anyone has any information about this Society, let me know.
|
Categories: Pranks Posted by Alex on Wed Feb 15, 2012 |
Comments (2) |
| More from the Hoax Museum Archives: | |||
Why can't it be a joke unto itself (ie, The Ministry of Silly Walks from Monty Python)?
Posted by stopeatingmysesamecake on Wed Feb 15, 2012 at 11:56 AM
I think we should restart the group! I'd love to be part of it! 
Posted by Nettie in Perth, Western Australia on Mon Feb 20, 2012 at 04:33 AM
Comments: Page 1 of 1 pages