Weird Universe Archive
December 2012
December 18, 2012
The Ear Pull (and other painful Inuit sports)
Quoting from wikipedia:The ear pull is a traditional Inuit game which tests the competitors' ability to endure pain. In the ear pull, two competitors sit facing each other, their legs straddled and interlocked. A two-foot-long loop of string, similar to a thick, waxed dental floss, is looped behind their ears, connecting right ear to right ear, or left to left. The competitors then pull upon the opposing ear using their own ear until the cord comes free or one player quits from the pain. The game has been omitted from some Arctic sports competitions due to safety concerns and the squeamishness of spectators; the event can cause bleeding and competitors sometimes require stitches.
The ear weight is a related competition. The goal is to walk as far as possible with lead weights (16 pounds) hanging from your ears. For many years, the reigning champion was Joshua Okpik, Jr. (shown below) who went half a mile with the weights. From People magazine (Aug 11, 1986):
As Okpik entered his fifth circuit of the Big Dipper Arena in Fairbanks, the crowd of 2,000 picked up a clapping beat. Around and around he padded, his ear darkening from purple to black, his neck muscles straining like cables. Six, seven, eight circuits he went, face contorted in pain, the audience now rocking and bellowing in support. Okpik was starting his tenth lap when his twine loop slipped and the 16 pounds thudded to the floor. He had walked 1,813 feet and five inches, more than a third of a mile. What drove him? As pain tested his limits, Okpik later said, "I told myself, 'Just be tough like a man.'"
Or there's the Knuckle Hop, which tests how far contestants can hop on their knuckles on a hardwood floor. Apparently you lose feeling in your hands after the first few hoops. So no worries!
Posted By: Alex - Tue Dec 18, 2012 -
Comments (2)
Category: Sports
December 17, 2012
Bacon Emergency Tear Sheet
Just in case you are in trouble during the holidays, you may want to prepare this bacon tear sheet.
Here's the source:
http://www.pleated-jeans.com/2012/08/09/funny-pic-dump-8-9-12/pickmeupandshakeme/
What will you use your emergency bacon for?
Posted By: gdanea - Mon Dec 17, 2012 -
Comments (3)
Category: Bacon
Ranger Rick
Is Ranger Rick more ghastly and scary than Woodsy Owl? Your call!
You just know, of course, when he's seated at that computer he's surfing for furry porn.
Posted By: Paul - Mon Dec 17, 2012 -
Comments (7)
Category: Animals, Anthropomorphism, Nature, Children, 1960s
December 16, 2012
Stanley Steemer variations
You may have heard the Stanley Steemer commercials. But what started out as a voice-over demo evolved into variations on a theme -- the Stanley Steemer song. Mia Gentile worked with a friend, Roger Klug, on the piece.There is a great summary of characters, styles and a high-energy conclusion at about 2:30.
Here's the link to the story:
http://todayentertainment.today.com/_news/2012/12/13/15842111-singer-turns-stanley-steemer-jingle-into-dazzling-romp-through-musical-genres?lite
It certainly shows a wide vocal range and a great imagination!!
Posted By: gdanea - Sun Dec 16, 2012 -
Comments (2)
Category: ShowBiz
Why The World Didn’t End Yesterday
NASA Is so sure the world will not end on Dec.21 2012 that they already released a video for the day after!!
Posted By: Tyrusguy - Sun Dec 16, 2012 -
Comments (18)
Category:
Paco Rabanne Bathing Suits: 1966
[Click to enlarge. From Playboy for November 1966.]
Alex has begun a "weird bathing suit" meme, with his WOODEN BATHING SUITS post. I fear I shall have to see him his wood and raise him some plastic.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Dec 16, 2012 -
Comments (9)
Category: Fashion, Oceans and Maritime Pursuits, 1960s
Driver’s License Photo as Art
Art is usually hung on walls, but the art of Fredrik Saker is now displayed on his driver's license, because he submitted a painted self-portrait of himself to the Swedish Transport Board for them to use as his license photo. And because it's a good likeness of him, the officials at the Transport Board accepted it. The self-portrait and his license are below. Saker has titled the portrait "This is not me." The BBC News suggests that Saker's work recalls "the art of the 16th Century miniaturists like Nicholas Hilliard" as well as "the Norwegian-born artist, Kjartan Slettemark, who made a career through questions of identity and travelled round Europe in the 1970s on a passport in which his head and beard had been superimposed on a photograph of the US president, Richard Nixon."
Saker couldn't have done this in the U.S. because the state Department of Motor Vehicles don't let you submit your own photo. (At least, they don't in California, which is the one I'm familiar with.) Though it might work for a passport application.
Posted By: Alex - Sun Dec 16, 2012 -
Comments (6)
Category: Art, Face and Facial Expressions
Santa Claus Conquers the Martians
It's that time of year again when we roll out those holiday movies, pop mountains of corn, and gather the whole family in front of the TV to enjoy them yet again.Here's one of the (ahem) better offerings from 1964.
Posted By: Expat47 - Sun Dec 16, 2012 -
Comments (3)
Category: Movies, 1960s
December 15, 2012
Follies of the Madmen #195
This one comes courtesy of longtime WU-vie Expat47.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Dec 15, 2012 -
Comments (2)
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, Junk Food, Reader Recommendation, 1950s
December 14, 2012
Trust Issues
Married for 30 years, this poor woman became a widow in February 2011. But wait, did I say widow? Not so much, as her husband secretly divorced her 8 years before. Then he continued to live with her as always but upon his death she was left with nothing. The man's grown children from a previous marriage are fighting her for everything. I guess we women will have to start checking the county records periodically if it is that easy to divorce someone without their knowlege. What a dirty rotten trick.
Posted By: Alex - Fri Dec 14, 2012 -
Comments (12)
Category: Divorce
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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 |
