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  2. Pseudoscience in the Press of the Past | 07/09/2007

Pseudoscience in the Press of the Past | 07/09/2007

By omnibrain on July 9, 2007.

i-27120efef9c4c65702ea00c008ce9a14-beaverhats_small.jpgThis weeks Pseudoscience of the past is brought to you once again by the New York Times from November 21, 1851. In this episode we demonstrate how you can tell nearly everything about a person from...wait for it.... wait..... yes! Their Hat!

Now this isn't something you can tell from how fashionable the hat is - but instead, people's hats conform to the shape of their skulls. So basically if you have a sloping head of a certain shape you are a revolutionary and all that one would need to do to determine if you have a treasonous head is to do a little hat measuring!

I'm seeing it now...
"Sir, this is a hat checkpoint. Please remove your hat for measurements"

And don't miss the greatest line in the article, "and with a scientific zeal worthy of all encouragement, have followed up the system so effectually as to arrive at a man's political views, by examining his beaver."

Here's the wonderful article in full:

i-1656fd160f79fdb4466d6f23be58f11a-phren1.gif

I do get the idea that perhaps the author might be making fun of this whole idea a bit - but I'm not really sure. What do you guys think? does the journalist take this seriously?

Don't forget... you can find previous weeks Issues of Pseudoscience in the Press of the Past right here as well as some other hilarious historical science silliness.

Tags
History
Popular Culture
Psychology

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Yes, I believe the author is doing nothing, if not speaking the eternal truth. A true gentleman ALWAYS takes his beaver seriously.

I suspect that Brother Jonathan's free press has been plagiarizing Mr. Punch again. The style and the tenure of the piece are more than vaguely familiar. I'd know Mr. Punch anywhere, as easily as I'd recognize my hat.