Weird Universe Archive
January 2009
January 31, 2009
The Korn Kobblers
Once upon a time, this was considered amusing.[The second video comes courtesy of Deborah Newton.]
Posted By: Paul - Sat Jan 31, 2009 -
Comments (5)
Category: Humor, Music, Regionalism, Reader Recommendation, 1930s, 1940s
Shoe-Smell and Epilepsy
An article in Clinical Neurology and Neurosurgery examines whether "shoe-smell" is an effective treatment for epilepsy. The authors note:Some Eastern parts of the world like India have witnessed since time immemorial, a practice of application of “shoe-smelling” in an attempt to arrest the seizures. The practice consisted of bringing the sole of shoe near the nostrils of the patient during the epileptic attack by near-by attendants or passers-by in the event of the attack occurring in a public place. The practice has continued and still remains a form of first-aid treatment in developing countries especially in countryside and rural areas. Although today, this age-old practice of “shoe-smell” may sound ridiculous apart from being most unscientific, its persistence as a remedy does tempt researchers to provide an insight to the reasons and basis for this continuing practice.
I wondered what kind of shoe-smell they were talking about. Apparently it's stinky shoe smell. The stinkier the better. The authors were skeptical that shoe-smell could work, but they end up concluding that it probably did help:
strong olfaction can aid in halting the progress of an epileptic seizure and/or abort the generalization of a partial seizure especially of temporal origin although more prospective studies are required to establish a clear and firm relation between the two, i.e. strong odor and seizure control. It may not therefore be incorrect to believe that in olden days too, strong olfaction applied in the form of “shoe-smell” did definitely play a suppressive role and thus exerted an inhibitory influence on epilepsy.
Posted By: Alex - Sat Jan 31, 2009 -
Comments (4)
Category: Medicine
January 30, 2009
Faith, the Two-legged Dog
This should silence all doubters in the Comments Section about the viability of two-legged dogs!
Posted By: Paul - Fri Jan 30, 2009 -
Comments (5)
Category: Dogs, Natural Wonders
The Ride
Posted By: Paul - Fri Jan 30, 2009 -
Comments (2)
Category: Surrealism, 1960s, Cars
“U”: The Klingon Opera
Posted By: Paul - Fri Jan 30, 2009 -
Comments (7)
Category: Eccentrics, Geeks, Nerds and Pointdexters, Languages, Science Fiction, Opera
Caylee Sunshine Doll
Chuck has posted a couple of times about slain F state toddler Caylee Marie Anthony. Now a Jacksonville company is coming out with a Caylee tribute doll. It's called the Caylee Sunshine Doll. On sale for only $29.99. It sings the song "You Are My Sunshine" when you push her belly button.But the company doesn't want anyone to think it's trying to profit from tragedy, or that producing such a doll is kind of sick and twisted. After all, the company points out that the doll doesn't look exactly like Caylee. If it did, that would be "too morbid and difficult for the public."
Posted By: Alex - Fri Jan 30, 2009 -
Comments (9)
Category: Babies
January 29, 2009
23 Skidoo
Civilization without any humans is pretty darn weird.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Jan 29, 2009 -
Comments (13)
Category: Destruction, Disasters, Movies, Science Fiction, 1960s, Yesterday’s Tomorrows
The King of Kong
Surely there's not a lot of things weirder than obsessive videogame world-record competitions...
Posted By: Paul - Thu Jan 29, 2009 -
Comments (9)
Category: Contests, Races and Other Competitions, Eccentrics, Games, Geeks, Nerds and Pointdexters, Documentaries, 1980s
Scrotal News, Plus Scooby Doo, Plus Marion Barry in Trouble Again
News of the Weird DailyThursday, January 29, 2009
Readers' Choice
As a rule, I don't like to mention stuff that's too widely reported. It looks now like the Cello Scrotum caper might be such a story. Nonetheless, I have another rule that requires me to report all news involving the search term SCROT*. Hence, a painful condition reported 35 yrs ago in the British Medical Journal, involving damage to the jewel area of male cellists, has just now been revealed as a hoax. (Bonus story: Seven people in Tsuruoka, Japan, were hospitalized after eating improperly prepared fugu [blowfish] balls.) BBC News /// Australian Associated Press via Herald Sun (Melbourne)
Comments 'readers_choice'
More Things to Worry About
To attract Israeli voters' attention on issues other than security, two specialty political parties have merged into one for the coming elections: Holocaust survivors and marijuana legalizers. Agence France-Presse via Yahoo
Speaking of drugs, a United Nations official said that in the international banking-liquidity crisis late last year, thank goodness for one source of cash that didn't dry up, or else we really would have been screwed: drug money needing to be laundered. Reuters
Crystal Keith, charged with killing her 1-yr-old nephew, told a shrink that she just had to stop him because she could see in his eyes that he wanted her sexually. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Baron Moore, on trial now in Miami, Fla., for a 2001 murder, was linked to the crime after an item from the 28-yr-old victim's extensive collection of Scooby Doo memorabilia was found in Moore's house. Associated Press via Palm Beach Post
They tried to move a 60-ton house across a supposedly-frozen White Bear Lake in Minnesota, but you can guess how it turned out . . er, actually, no, they pulled it off flawlessly [see photos]. Star Tribune
Updates: (1) Larry Swearingen, scheduled to be executed in Texas on Tuesday [NOTW Daily, 1-26-2008], was given a stay, but by a federal court, of course, because Texas judges have said, We're done here. (2) Five of the "Beatrice 6" (who confessed, or pleaded guilty, to a murder DNA said they probably didn't commit [NOTW M091, 1-4-2009]) were exonerated and released. The sixth defendant, not so much. (3) The Hon. Marion Barry, who largely put the "Calamity" in the District of Calamity, and who is still on probation for not filing income tax returns for 1999-2004 (and who then immediately violated probation by not filing them for 2005), has now failed to file them for 2007. KOLN-TV (Lincoln, Neb.) [Beatrice] /// Washington Post [Barry]
Comments on Things to Worry About?
Comments 'worry_090129'
Your Daily Loser
A 17-yr-old boy in Latrobe, Pa., made the questionable decision, once he realized he couldn't extinguish that M-80 firecracker, of putting it between his legs to muffle the explosion (and now, of course, he's not all there). [Ed.: So far, though, it doesn't turn up under a SCROT* search.] Associated Press via Fox News
Comments 'm80_firecracker'
People Whose Sex Lives Are Worse Than Yours
It sounds similar to a long-running NOTW story meme, but this is a different perp altogether. Richard Minch, 48, of the city of Wyoming, Mich., was charged with 60 counts of telephoning women and convincing them that he was going to hurt them unless they did some perverted things to themselves during the phone call. He was arrested in 1994 in a similar incident, but that time, cops found him in the act of the call, in a phone booth, making himself feel good. Green Bay Press-Gazette
Comments 'richard_minch'
Your Daily Jury Duty
["In America, a person is presumed innocent until the mug shot is released"]
To perform your jury duty properly, you always want to try to ignore what the alleged crimes actually were (as irrelevant to the perps' guilt or innocence), but you especially want to look away this time. Ewww! Just focus on the mug shots of Richard Roach, Randall Blaylock, and Geffery Fuller. WTVC-TV (Chattanooga) [Mug shots must be clicked on separately]
Comments 'roach_blaylock'
Today's Newsrangers: Rebecca Kilps, Sandy Pearlman, Scott Langill, David Carter, Casey Burns, Sam Gaines, Lance Ellisor, Bill McCarthy, Hal Dunham, Deb Mundro
Posted By: Chuck - Thu Jan 29, 2009 -
Comments (0)
Category:
Eye Worms
Ear Worms is the term for those annoying songs that get stuck in your head. Eye Worms, on the other hand, are simply worms that burrow through your eye. Their scientific name is Loa loa filaria. You get them from fly bites. All About Worms has some more info:When the Loa Loa worm reaches the eye tissue, it can be easily seen and felt within the eyeball for up to an hour. It is usually removed under local anesthesia if the patient is within proximity of a qualified physician. When an adult worm dies, the surrounding tissue may abscess and require excision. Encephalitis can occur if the worm reaches the brain.
The video below seems to be an attempt to combine ear worms and eye worms. It shows the removal of an eye worm from a patient, set to a cover version of Top of the World by the Carpenters:
Posted By: Alex - Thu Jan 29, 2009 -
Comments (7)
Category: Medicine
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| Alex Boese Alex is the creator and curator of the Museum of Hoaxes. He's also the author of various weird, non-fiction books such as Elephants on Acid. Paul Di Filippo Paul has been paid to put weird ideas into fictional form for over thirty years, in his career as a noted science fiction writer. He has recently begun blogging on many curious topics with three fellow writers at The Inferior 4+1. Chuck Shepherd Chuck is the purveyor of News of the Weird, the syndicated column which for decades has set the gold-standard for reporting on oddities and the bizarre. Our banner was drawn by the legendary underground cartoonist Rick Altergott. Contact Us |
