Weird Universe Archive
June 2012
June 8, 2012
William Harrison, the wax-carving dentist
William P. Harrison was a professor of dentistry at the University of Southern California between 1929 and 1963. He had an unusual way of teaching dentistry skills. He made his students create tiny wax carvings. He figured that if the students had the manual dexterity to make a good miniature carving, they also would have the skill to be a good dentist. Over the years, he amassed a collection of hundreds of wax carvings made by his students. I have no idea what became of them all. It's the kind of thing I'd like to see in a museum, if they were on display. Some text and images below, and more info here:
1955 image of one of Harrison's students making a carving.
Posted By: Alex - Fri Jun 08, 2012 -
Comments (7)
Category: Art
The Blacky Pictures Test
What kind of kids' book is this? A Freudian one, to elicit psychosexual reactions from unsuspecting youngsters. Kids would be asked to interpret these loaded pictures, telling stories that revealed their supposed neuroses. Poor Oedipal Blacky, chewing up "Mama's" collar!
The Blacky Pictures were developed in 1950. They have been described as ‘a technique for the exploration of personality dynamics’ in children. They were developed by G. S. Blum in 1949. Each of the 12 cards making up the test feature a dog named ‘Blacky’. Each cartoon represents a different stage of psychosexual development (the way sexual behaviour develops, according to psychoanalysts). The test also looks at family relationships.
These five images are the only ones I have been able to find on the web, out of the 12 originals.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Jun 08, 2012 -
Comments (8)
Category: Sexuality, Psychology, Children, Dogs, 1950s
June 7, 2012
News of the Weird 2.0 (June 7, 2012)
News of the Weird 2.0(Almost) Daily, Since May 21, 2012
Underreported News, Hand-Picked and Lightly Seasoned by Chuck Shepherd
June 7, 2012
(datelines from May 31 or later) (links correct as of June 7)
★ ★ ★ ★!
Movie Cliche Come to Life: In Poplar Bluff, Mo., five teenagers sat in a car parked on railroad tracks, at night, playing "Ghost Train," i.e., telling scary stories. Then what? Anyone? Right, a train comes along. Then what? Anyone? Right, car won't start. Five went out that evening, three came home. St. Louis Post-Dispatch
People Different From Us
Chutzpah! Detroit's chutzpahtic former mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, now on parole after being convicted of lying repeatedly in court, objected to the part of his sentence that requires 16 hours' community service a month. Gee, he wrote (as he awaits his federal corruption trial), "16" is really gonna mess my schedule up, what with all the paid speeches I'm booked for. Associated Press via Statesman.com (Austin, Tex.)
Stillwater, Minn.: Yikes. Supposedly, Nicholas Doyle and Ashley Brooker got all their blemishes from days-long meth use. Ewwww! City Pages (Minneapolis)
More in extended >>
Posted By: Chuck - Thu Jun 07, 2012 -
Comments (6)
Category:
Early Example of Godwin’s Law
When stumped for a putdown regarding body odor, you can always invoke Hitler.
Original ad here.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Jun 07, 2012 -
Comments (4)
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, Dictators, Tyrants and Other Harsh Rulers, Hygiene, 1940s
Painless Withers Dental Laboratory
Great name for a dentist! You could have visited Dr. Withers if you lived in Salt Lake City, Utah during the 1930s.
From the Utah State History Digital Collection.
Posted By: Alex - Thu Jun 07, 2012 -
Comments (9)
Category: Buildings and Other Structures, 1930s
A Murmuration Of Starlings
While following links about Expat's great English lesson I came across the above fascinating clip here.
Posted By: Alex - Thu Jun 07, 2012 -
Comments (3)
Category:
June 6, 2012
Famous Cat
Why was this cat once famous? Hint: it involves a mode of transport.
Take your best guess, then find out after the jump.
More in extended >>
Posted By: Paul - Wed Jun 06, 2012 -
Comments (7)
Category: Celebrities, Cats, 1910s
Burbank Beard
Vern Sion took home the prize in a beard contest judged May 21, 1951. I think he earned it.
(Found in the LA Examiner archive at usc.edu.)
Posted By: Alex - Wed Jun 06, 2012 -
Comments (7)
Category: Fashion, Hair Styling, Facial Hair
English as a Weird Language
Over the decades, being married to a teacher of English as a Foreign Language, I've had to search out some pretty weird stuff about our language but some of the terms on this list blew my mind!This is a list of .....
Siege * Peep * Brood * Clattering * Covert * Herd * Sedge * Murder * Herd * Trip * Dole/dule * Flight * Badling * Raft * Dinner * Box Social * Charm * Gaggle * Skein * Flight * Rasp * Cast * Lease * Sedge * Train * Deceit * Desert * Exaltation * Tidings * Suit * Sord * Watch * Parliament * Pandemonium * Covey * Muster * Nide * Nye * Kit * Congregation * Bevy * Drift * Unkindness * Building * Parliament * Walk * Wisp * Host * Murmuration * Flight * Game * Wedge * Spring * Dole/dule * Fall * Herd
Answers on the next page
More in extended >>
Posted By: Expat47 - Wed Jun 06, 2012 -
Comments (13)
Category:
June 5, 2012
News of the Weird 2.0 (June 5, 2012)
News of the Weird 2.0(Almost) Daily, Since May 21, 2012
Underreported News, Hand-Picked and Lightly Seasoned by Chuck Shepherd
June 5, 2012
(datelines from June 1 or later) (links correct as of June 5)
People
The aberrant aberrant: The latest alleged massive child pornography distributor is a mansion-dwelling 41-yr-old Dallas, Tex., socialite. WFAA-TV (Dallas-Fort Worth)
Channeling Andy Kaufman: Former British politician Lembit Opik, 46, tried to be a professional wrestler (tag team match) but lasted only 2 minutes (except for the suspected broken ribs, expected to take a while to heal). Daily Telegraph
Medical Marvels: The World's Greatest Newspaper continues to drop its trawl to snare the unfortunate. Here's a 2-yr-old girl born with half her skull missing (Adams-Oliver Syndrome, n=130 in the world). And this Pakistani gentleman has a particularly severe Proteus syndrome (giant head, feet, hands). World's Greatest Newspaper /// World's Greatest Newspaper
From a book review in Sunday's New York Times: Annabel Chong, "famous" for a 1995 sex film in which she took on at least 70 men at one
More in extended >>
Posted By: Chuck - Tue Jun 05, 2012 -
Comments (4)
Category:
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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 |
