Weird Universe Blog — December 27, 2024
Miss Kansas Turnpike
I found two holders of the 'Miss Kansas Turnpike' title. The first was Theo Tautfest, who won the title in 1960. The second was Lois Rhodus, who held the title in 1961, while simultaneously being 'Miss Kansas City'.Some info about the Kansas Turnpike from Wikipedia:
Because it predates the Interstate Highway System, the road is not engineered to current Interstate Highway standards and notably lacks a regulation-width median. To reduce the risk of head-on collisions, the Kansas Turnpike now has a continuous, permanent Jersey barrier in the median over its entire length. On opening, there was no fixed speed limit on the highway; drivers were merely asked to keep to a "reasonable and proper" limit, although, shortly afterward, signs were erected in certain stretches indicating a maximum speed of 80 mph (130 km/h).
Clinton Daily Democrat - May 31, 1960
"Lois Rhodus, Miss Kansas Turnpike, poses in a convertible at the Kansas City Athletics American League ballpark in 1961." Source: Pageant, by Keith Lovegrove
Posted By: Alex - Fri Dec 27, 2024 -
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Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests | Highways, Roads, Streets and Traffic | Transportation | 1960s
The Newbeats
Quite a shocking falsetto there!
Posted By: Paul - Fri Dec 27, 2024 -
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Category: Food | Music | 1960s
December 26, 2024
The Children who turned blue without cabbage
In 1951, The Lancet reported the odd case of siblings who would turn blue unless they regularly ate cabbage. It turned out that the kids suffered from a genetically caused deficiency of ascorbic acid. Knowing this freed them from a lifetime of having to eat cabbage. Though they had to take ascorbic acid supplements instead.I'm pretty sure that the relevant Lancet article is "Familial Idiopathic Methæmoglobinæmia" (Apr 28, 1951), although I haven't been able to find a non-paywalled copy of it to confirm this.
Santa Ana Register - Aug 26, 1951
Posted By: Alex - Thu Dec 26, 2024 -
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Category: Vegetables | 1950s | Disease
The Citrus Queens
Posted By: Paul - Thu Dec 26, 2024 -
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Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests | Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues | Food | 1940s
December 25, 2024
Christmas as a symbolic re-enactment of giving birth
In his 1944 article "On Christmas" (Psychoanalytic Quarterly, Vol. XIII), Richard Sterba noted the similarities between the celebration of Christmas and the act of giving birth to a baby:
Merry Christmas!
Posted By: Alex - Wed Dec 25, 2024 -
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Category: Christmas | Pregnancy
Merry Xmas 2024!
Posted By: Paul - Wed Dec 25, 2024 -
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Category: Anthropomorphism | Holidays | Love & Romance
December 24, 2024
Nyquil Chicken
In Sep 2022, The FDA published a statement warning people that they shouldn't cook chicken in Nyquil:The challenge sounds silly and unappetizing — and it is. But it could also be very unsafe. Boiling a medication can make it much more concentrated and change its properties in other ways. Even if you don’t eat the chicken, inhaling the medication’s vapors while cooking could cause high levels of the drugs to enter your body. It could also hurt your lungs. Put simply: Someone could take a dangerously high amount of the cough and cold medicine without even realizing it.
Social media searches for 'Nyquil Chicken' subsequently skyrocketed.
I believe the idea of Nyquil Chicken predates social media. David Letterman made a joke about it on his show back in Feb 1997. In response to viewer mail asking what to do to get rid of a cold, Dave pulled out a bucket of what he claimed was KFC's new "Nyquil-roasted chicken."
Unfortunately I can't find an embeddable clip of this segment. But if you subscribe to Plex's streaming service (which I don't), you can watch it.
Detroit Free Press - Oct 1, 2022
Posted By: Alex - Tue Dec 24, 2024 -
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Category: Food | Cures for the common cold
Santa Done Got Hip
Posted By: Paul - Tue Dec 24, 2024 -
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Category: Holidays | Music | Bohemians, Beatniks, Hippies and Slackers
December 23, 2024
Corporate Conformity, 1960
Mar 1960: Executives at Hiram Walker Inc. all wore masks of the company's president to honor his 25 years at the firm.
(click to enlarge)
image source: Life - Mar 7, 1960
Posted By: Alex - Mon Dec 23, 2024 -
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Category: Business | 1960s
