Weird Universe Archive
May 2010
May 11, 2010
Which NEW YORK TIMES Do You Read?
Maybe you read Jane Brody's column for May 11, 2010.People of normal height or taller might be inclined to assume, as that silly Randy Newman song put it, that “Short people got no reason to live.... Short people got nobody to love.”
As someone who never broke the 5-foot mark, I can attest that most assumptions about short people are just that: assumptions. Here are a few facts.
¶ Children who are naturally short are no less socially competent or intelligent than taller ones.
¶ Being short was no deterrent to the likes of Yuri Gagarin, who, at 5-foot-1, was the first man in space; the actor Danny DeVito or the pop singer Prince, both 5-2; former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich, a mere 4-10; or George Stephanopoulos, TV correspondent and talk show host, just over 5 feet.
¶ Short people can run countries (though not necessarily well): Napoleon, Caesar, Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Franco.
¶ Being short is no impediment to financial success: Ross Perot and Michael Bloomberg.
¶ Even professional basketball is not out of reach: Spud Webb, 5-6, and Muggsy Bogues, just 5-3.
Or maybe you read "FOR CRIME, IS ANATOMY DESTINY?" printed just a few pages afterwards.
Poverty, greed, anger, jealousy, pride, revenge. These are the usual suspects when it comes to discussing the causes of crime. In recent years, however, economists have started to investigate a different explanation for criminal activity: physical attributes.
A small band of economists has been studying how height, weight and beauty affect the likelihood of committing — or being convicted of — a crime. Looking at records from the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries, they have found evidence that shorter men are 20 to 30 percent more likely to end up in prison than their taller counterparts, and that obesity and physical attractiveness are linked to crime.
There is already a sizable stack of research that examines the connections between physical characteristics and the labor market. Economists have found, for example, that every inch of additional height is associated with a nearly 2 percent increase in earnings...
Posted By: Paul - Tue May 11, 2010 -
Comments (11)
Category: Body, Newspapers, Screwups
Slang Riddle
What slang sentence is indicated by this rebus?
Answer after the jump!
More in extended >>
Posted By: Paul - Tue May 11, 2010 -
Comments (6)
Category: Money, Music, 1940s, Slang
May 10, 2010
Hope You’re Thirsty
Another great example from Engrish.com -- I wonder how much water they sell?
Here's the link for the page -- be careful in the adult section!!
http://www.engrish.com/category/drinks/page/2/
Posted By: gdanea - Mon May 10, 2010 -
Comments (10)
Category: Travel
News of the Weird / Pro Edition (May 10, 2010)
News of the Weird/Pro Edition"You're Still Not Cynical Enough"
Exceptionally Inexplicable Dispatches from Last Week
May 10, 2010
(datelines May 1-May 8) (links correct as of May 10)
Doctors Recommend Pricks, Plus Chimp Flashers, A Piggyback Pervert, and a PhD in Dreaming
★★★★★!
The American Academy of Pediatrics is trying to outthink those Africans and Asians now living in the U.S. who come from cultures that "require" de-clitorizing their daughters. The AAP is pushing physicians to advise the most-closed-minded of them to settle for jabbing the girls with a pinprick (equivalent to a pierced-ear) in the clitoral area rather than the much-worse organ-slicing. Some women's rights advocates disagree, e.g., do we teach husbands to settle for punching their wives once, rather than a full beatdown? New York Times /// press release of Equality Now
Britain's World of "Rights": On the one hand, there's no right to recite text from the Holy Bible if it's that part about homosexuality being an abomination, because that "incites public disorder." (A 42-year-old Baptist preacher in Workington, Cumbria, was arrested.) On the other hand, if a local council orders a teenager not to wear low-riding pants, you can bet that's a "human rights" violation. (A judge on the Bedford magistrates' court threw out part of a council's Anti-Social Behavior Order as "contrary to the Human Rights Act.") Daily Telegraph /// BBC News
Waiting for "Conceptual Art" to Jump the Shark: At the Ikon Gallery in Birmingham, England, opinions were mixed about Susan Collis's "Since I Fell For You" installation, which is, literally, a room with pieces of lumber on the floor, a broom, and an empty laundry bag. Said one visitor, "Conceptual art is one thing, but this is just ridiculous." Collis said it was a serious work and took her a long time to think up and to prepare. Birmingham Mail
It turns out that "Christian" sex shops are somewhat similar to "ordinary people's" sex shops except for lack of porn (and the constant reminders that the products are for "married couples only"). On the other hand, for the less-frisky wife's initial foray into all this, here's an "anatomically correct Christian diagram that pinpoints . . . the exact location" of that elusive G-spot! The Guardian (London) /// [Not Safe for Work] The MarriageBed.com
Miami New Times outed prominent anti-gay activist George Rekers, who liked "long stroke" massages from escort "Lucien" (for real name, see the Miami Herald link). Unlike the fallen Ted Haggard, Rekers did not take offerings from followers, but he was an academic and major behind-the-scenes collaborator on the homosexuality-is-evil issue, most recently telling the Florida legislature of the dangers of letting gays adopt. That's all foreplay, though. The heart of these stories is watching this gent of conflicted principles twist and contort, in violation of Commandment 9, in full view of a hungry press, day after day, through the various stages toward self-acceptance. Late last week, he was past the "Sex? What sex?" and the "I didn't know Lucien was gay" stages and was on the "I knew he was gay, and I was using our two-week vacation in Europe to bring him to God" stage. Miami New Times (May 5) /// (May 6) /// (May 7) /// Miami Herald (May 8)
More in extended >>
Posted By: Chuck - Mon May 10, 2010 -
Comments (4)
Category:
May 9, 2010
Professor Music’s Weird Links
The World's Most Bizarre CollectionsTime Traveler Caught in a Museum Photo?
A Scholarly Critique of the Style, Symbolism, and Socio-Political Relevance of Gilligan's Island
Professor Music's Favorite: Unwords
I . . . can't . . . stop . . . laughing, Part 2
Posted By: Professor Music - Sun May 09, 2010 -
Comments (2)
Category:
The High Heels Posse
Posted By: Paul - Sun May 09, 2010 -
Comments (11)
Category: Subcultures, Shoes
Mom’s words to William Tell Overture
Anita Renfroe tells us what a mom says in one day, condensed into the 2:55 William Tell Overture.Thank goodness for mothers -- it still makes me tired to hear all a mom has to say and do.
Posted By: gdanea - Sun May 09, 2010 -
Comments (4)
Category: Music
May 8, 2010
Love Knows No Bounds
A mother's heart is always full of love to give. So in honor of my mother, who God called home Wednesday, on her 77th birthday, here are some mother's who really went above and beyond. Obviously, babies are babies first and whatever else second in the eyes of a mother.
Posted By: Alex - Sat May 08, 2010 -
Comments (8)
Category:
Darth Vader is in control of your car
Very cool!! You can have the Dark Lord guide you to your destination with his new TomTom voice guidance system.Do not underestimate the power of people driving in a circle because they are lost!!
Posted By: gdanea - Sat May 08, 2010 -
Comments (3)
Category: Subcultures
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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 |
