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"Hiding the babies": a precursor to the Easter egg hunt? From A Pair of Originals by Evelyn Everett-Green (1891). |
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An illustration from a 1922 issue of The Delineator magazine, proving that Easter was a bigger holiday in times past.
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| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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 "The answer is simple: people like other people who evoke a pleasant emotional response in them; they like to be around people who make them feel good, safe and comfortable.” —Elize Hattin, The Naked Truth About You (2011)
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An illustration from a 1900 issue of Wide World magazine.
|
| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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Did you know that the classic sitcom Bewitched's biggest feat of magic was turning its entire audience into practitioners of modern witchcraft? It all happens in episode two (1964), with a clever set-up and a breaking of the fourth wall. We begin with the witchy mother Endora deciding to get a look at her new son-in-law without him seeing her:  The son-in-law senses an invisible presence and asks, "Who's here in this room with us?":  In the final scene of episode two, Endora breaks the fourth wall and addresses the audience directly. Indeed, we've been invisibly eavesdropping on the household along with Endora, and it's fitting that she looks right at us -- her fellow witches, floating in the air alongside her at roof-level.  And may we add, what better place to break the fourth wall than on the roof! |
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An illustration from an 1897 issue of The Idler magazine. The caption reads: "From An Ultimate Dim Thule. (A Record of Dreams.) By S.H. Sime. 'I sat on the back of the Oonrouff-Wuff: he paused: sadness overcame him as he gazed fixedly into the fourth dimension and his tears dropped into the abyss. Then another Brain-cell broke, and something else became me.'"
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| If you have a strange dream to share, send it along! |
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From Prof. Oddfellow's sketchbook:
The text reads, "Outside of the cow of our knowledge. Inspired by Gary Barwin."
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Printed collections of Forgotten Wisdom diagrams are available: Volume I from Mindful Greetings and Volumes II, III and IV from Amazon. Selected posters are also available via Zazzle. |
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| Did You Hear the One I Just Made Up? |
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Courtesy of literary scalawag Jonathan Caws-Elwitt: "What the Dickens-comma-Charles do you think you're doing!" Here's our rendition of a Dickens comma: |
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An illustration from a 1919 issue of Wide World magazine. The caption reads: "My glance drifted to the wall above it, and, horror of horrors I saw it distinctly bulge inwards!"
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| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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An illustration from an 1894 issue of The Idler magazine. The caption reads: "Is this a bottled ghost?"
There was a bottled ghost in the old dark house we recently explored. See the remarkable bottle (and what happened with it) in our video.
|
| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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An illustration from a 1907 issue of The Idler magazine. The caption reads: "Shadowy forms seemed to be dancing round it."
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| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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An illustration from a 1904 issue of Metropolitan magazine. The caption reads: "I walked through the wall before his amazed eyes, and walked back again."
|
| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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Midnight Oil: an illustration from an 1899 issue of The Idler magazine.
|
| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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An illustration from an 1895 issue of The Idler magazine.
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| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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An illustration from a 1908 issue of The Idler magazine. The caption reads: "A large blackbird dashed its wings against the window."
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| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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An illustration from a 1908 issue of Wide World magazine. The caption reads: "It was going, and—I fired, and then fired again."
|
| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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Is there a name for the phenomenon of one language being identified but another being transcribed? For example: "'You are going to kill him?' she cried in German." (From The Man Who Couldn't Sleep by Arthur Stringer.) And: "[Men speaking Spanish] Last night I had an ugly nightmare."
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An illustration from an 1892 issue of The Idler magazine. The caption reads: "He began to sling the whole French language at me."
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| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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An illustration from an 1898 issue of The Idler magazine.
|
| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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Ken shares a dream that we're honored to figure into: I woke up and looked at the clock. It was 8:50 AM. My daily class started at 8:30, so I wondered why the alarm hadn't gone off. I looked at another clock, but the hands were all scrunched up in one corner of the clock face. Then I realized that I could float in the air, and was excited because I was fully conscious and would be able to remember it to tell Craig Conley.
I floated around from room to room, looking for something to"test". But everything was normal, other than the fact I was floating in the air.
I floated down to my other bedroom in the opposite corner of that floor of the house. The bed there was a single mattress on the floor, with a burgundy bedspread. I noticed how it matched the burgundy carpet on the floor. I floated over to the desk and looked for some object to take back to my other bedroom, to prove I'd actually physically transported something via floating. I had two black clay Incan figures, and so took one of them. When I picked it up, the head fell off, and I remembered that it had previously been cracked. I tried to remember if I had any glue in my other bedroom, to fix it.
I then floated back towards my other bedroom, and was still trying to come up with some "test" to try out, to tell Craig about. I floated over to a wall to see if I could float thru it, but it was completely solid. So I just floated back to the bed where I'd woken up.
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| If you have a strange dream to share, send it along! |
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An illustration from a 1906 issue of The Idler magazine.
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| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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An illustration from an 1892 issue of The Idler magazine. The caption reads: "I'd make a better phantom with a sheet and a turnip."
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| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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"Cats' Ghosts": an illustration from an 1895 issue of The Idler magazine.
|
| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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An exclamation mark from Life, 1912.
I dreamed about a mouse.
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First the good news: We just noticed a lovely review of One-Letter Words: A Dictionary, courtesy of Virginia Durksen over at Goodreads: "What's not to love? I confess to being a reader of dictionaries. Not a regular reader, but a frequent browser, when the sun is shining and a word has caught my eye. Conley pulls together a list—this inspires more lists in me. I want to add things to this dictionary. The publisher should create a volume with spaces to add things, for word collectors. And, goodreads should add an option for re-reading, never stop reading, use it all the time. That would be this book." But it's not all good news. An unrefined person over at Goodreads ripped our dictionary of one-letter words 26 new anal cavities. (Googling "does a book have an anus?" delivers zero results, so ours may be a world first!) Forget the fact that our dictionary has been remaindered for years and was, in fact, dead in the marketplace before it ever debuted (see our interview with Janet Boyer for the lurid backstory). Why condemn when you can create? This gauche person stated that he's pretty sure he could do a better job. So why doesn't he? The more dictionaries of one-letter words, the better! But actual creators and innovators are few and far between. We don't have time to write paragraphs of derision toward other people's work -- we're too busy marching to rain on someone else's parade.
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An illustration from an 1892 issue of The Idler magazine. The caption reads: "Mr. Presterton seemed to be swelling."
|
| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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This auroral priestess, the "Siren of the Pole," appears in The Idler, 1897.
|
| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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An illustration from a 1907 issue of The Windsor magazine.
|
| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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Thanks, poet rob mclennan, for saying that our Franzlations "read like an illustrated translation or even continuation of Kafka’s work. ... The three authors work absurd movement, incredible wisdom and clarity, reading nearly as an extended essay-as-response on the work of Franz Kafka." |
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An illustration from a 1906 issue of The Idler magazine. The caption reads: "'The transmigration of souls,' he said, 'is now no longer a puzzle to me.'"
|
| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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An illustration from an 1896 issue of The Idler magazine. The caption reads: "Waiter, this Gorgonzola has eaten all my bread!"
|
| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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"But wait!" A detail of a comic strip from Life, 1920.
|
| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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Here's a precursor to a Hitler imitation: an illustration from an 1892 issue of The Idler magazine.
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From Prof. Oddfellow's sketchbook:
The text reads: "There's the vein within which flows the blood of kings, the heart that beats a reign of truth and honor, the lungs that breathe free fire. — Tom Howe"
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An illustration from an 1895 issue of The Idler magazine.
|
| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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Surely the word like in this caption alerts a figure of speech, but we do respect an adventurer who recoils from exaggeration. The illustration is from The Wide World Magazine, 1899.
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An illustration from a 1906 issue of Punch magazine. |
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An illustration from a 1901 issue of The Idler magazine.
|
| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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"What Followed a Knock": an illustration from an 1892 issue of The Idler magazine.
|
| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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Cupid as the Devil's ventriloquist dummy, from Life, 1920.
|
| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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An illustration from a 1920 issue of Life magazine. The caption reads: "The house haunters' union decides to strike for a four-hour night."
|
| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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Twenty years before George Vernon Hudson proposed daylight saving time, Father Time advanced the clock in Father Time's Story Book by Kathleen Knox (1873). |
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An illustration from an 1893 issue of The Idler magazine.
|
| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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An illustration from a 1918 issue of Life magazine.
|
| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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From Prof. Oddfellow's sketchbook, inspired by Jeff Hawkins:
The text reads: "The 'humble fork' does not refer to any dessert utensil. Dainty forks are servile to no one."
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Printed collections of Forgotten Wisdom diagrams are available: Volume I from Mindful Greetings and Volumes II, III and IV from Amazon. Selected posters are also available via Zazzle. |
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"The Down Express": an illustration from a 1901 issue of The Idler magazine.
|
| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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An illustration from a 1906 issue of Wide World magazine. The caption reads: "I walked right off the train."
|
| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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A surrealist illustration from a 1906 issue of Cosmopolitan magazine. The caption reads: "The great sphere I recognized after closer scrutiny as an orange."
|
| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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A giraffe whispers the secret to a bunny in Life, 1921.
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From Prof. Oddfellow's sketchbook:
The text reads, "Like gingivitis, the root of sustainable agriculture lies just below the gumline. — Jeff Hawkins."
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Printed collections of Forgotten Wisdom diagrams are available: Volume I from Mindful Greetings and Volumes II, III and IV from Amazon. Selected posters are also available via Zazzle. |
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"How an Eagle Carried Off the Baby": an illustration from a 1900 issue of Wide World magazine.
|
| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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"Do you always read in the original French?"
"Yes, translations are so indecent."
From Life Magazine, 1922.
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An illustration from an 1895 issue of The Idler magazine.
|
| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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"The answer is simple: we don't have the time to make people guess what we want to tell them.” —Nancy Graham Holm
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An illustration from a 1903 issue of Life magazine.
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| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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Here's a 46-ton potato eaten at sea, from Harmsworth Magazine, 1899. It is followed by another extraordinary potato, from The Tin Drum.
|
| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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An illustration from a 1906 issue of Wide World magazine. The caption reads: "She remained standing mute as a statue, pointing with her finger towards me."
|
| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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"A rip in the lining." A detail of a comic strip from Life, 1920.
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| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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Original Content Copyright © 2025 by Craig Conley. All rights reserved.
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"This may surprise you: Peanuts aren't technically nuts!"
"It bears repeating: read broadly."
clothes?"
