Weird Universe Archive
September 2015
September 5, 2015
What A Waste
In 2003 800,000 gallons of Jim Beam was spilled into a retention pond and ignited by a lightening strike causing a fire tornado to form. Not sure why UPI reran the story of the firenado except that it was the 12th anniversary of the event. The fire show is definitely worth a view though.
Posted By: Alex - Sat Sep 05, 2015 -
Comments (5)
Category: Destruction, 2000s, Alcohol, Sadness
Kite Boarding
Also known as kite surfing Is a popular if dangerous sport. It combines surfing with getting blown around while flying a kite. The main problem with it, as far as I can see, is not so much the flying/surfing as it is the starting and stopping. Another place for Darwin-esque culling of the herd to take place.
Posted By: Alex - Sat Sep 05, 2015 -
Comments (4)
Category: Accidents, Fads, Oceans and Maritime Pursuits, Recreation
Multirotor Super Drone
The high-tech equivalent of attaching helium balloons to a lawn chair. Except it doesn't work as well.
Posted By: Alex - Sat Sep 05, 2015 -
Comments (5)
Category: Inventions, Air Travel and Airlines
Shortest Man Who Ever Lived, RIP
Please mourn the passing of Chandra Bahadur Dangi, most miniscule male human ever recorded.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Sep 05, 2015 -
Comments (3)
Category: Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Death, Freaks, Oddities, Quirks of Nature, Asia
September 4, 2015
Insect Art
If you've seen an insect in a movie, there's a good chance it was a prop made by insect artist Graham Owen. He specializes in the "design and fabrication of intricate life-size insect replicas" that are frequently used in movies and TV shows. His most famous insect might be the fly that tormented Walter White in an episode of Breaking Bad.A recent article about him offers more details about his art and career. And the article included this piece of info, which was new to me:
While the nature of real insects makes them difficult to use, there is another reason Owen’s replicas are in high demand: American Humane Association guidelines prohibit dead insects from being filmed, he said.
Posted By: Alex - Fri Sep 04, 2015 -
Comments (6)
Category: Art, Insects and Spiders, Movies
The Continental-2 Stereo Round Jukebox
One sold for $2800.00 recently on eBay.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Sep 04, 2015 -
Comments (1)
Category: Space-age Bachelor Pad & Exotic, 1960s, Yesterday’s Tomorrows
September 3, 2015
Auroratone
Auroratone was a "process for translating music into color" invented circa 1940 by Englishman Cecil Stokes. The music vibrated an emulsion of crystallizing chemicals, and this was then photographed by a color movie camera, producing a kind of psychedelic movie of shifting colors synchronized with music (but this was the 1940s, before the concept of psychedelics was known in popular culture).The hope was that these auroratone films could be used to treat psychiatric patients, and they were experimentally shown to soldiers in an army hospital suffering from psychotic depressions. Conclusion: "Observation revealed that these patients were intensely absorbed in the films, that their span of attention to the films was appreciably lengthened after exposure to the films. Weeping and sobbing was observed in some patients. Many patients became more accessible to individual and group psychotherapy immediately folllowing exposure to these films."
Their effect was also tested on juvenile delinquents. One kid told the experimenter, "I think God must have painted those pictures."
A company was formed to commercialize Auroratones and guide their development. Investors in this company included the Crosby Brothers (Larry and his famous brother Bing). Bing sang the music for many of the auroratones.
Treating psychiatric patients wasn't very profitable, so there was hope to find more lucrative applications of the auroratone process. One idea was to transfer auroratone color patterns onto textiles and ceramics. Some silk scarfs printed with visualizations of Bing Crosby singing "Home on the Range" were apparently manufactured, but never sold.
Not many auroratones still survive, but an example of one can be viewed on YouTube:
The auroratone process reminds me of the Clavilux (or Color Organ) invented by Thomas Wilfred in 1919 (previously posted about here).
More info about auroratones: Wikipedia and Milwaukee Journal, Dec 6, 1948.
Also see: Rubin, HE & Katz, E. (Oct 1946). "Auroratone films for the treatment of psychotic depressions in an army general hospital," Journal of Clinical Psychology, 2(4): 333-340.
Posted By: Alex - Thu Sep 03, 2015 -
Comments (9)
Category: Movies, Photography and Photographers, Psychology, 1940s
The Bimini Road (or Wall)
Posted By: Paul - Thu Sep 03, 2015 -
Comments (4)
Category: New Age, Caribbean
September 2, 2015
The Pickle Wizard
The Pickle Wizard promises that if you pay him $5.99, he'll send a slice of pickle to a person of your choosing. He writes:What could be more satisfying than the confusion of a friend or foe when they receive a pickle in the mail with a mysterious note? The answer you ask? Nothing. So get on it, and send those expecto patronads a damn pickle!
Here on WU, we've previously posted about Feces by Mail and Mail-a-Spud, so the Pickle Wizard is the latest variation on that theme of Mail-a-Prank. The Pickle Wizard claims that, to date, he has mailed 520 pickles.
Posted By: Alex - Wed Sep 02, 2015 -
Comments (4)
Category: Pickles, Pranks, Postal Services
Stevie Staple-Freak
Original ad here.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Sep 02, 2015 -
Comments (8)
Category: Advertising, Corporate Mascots, Icons and Spokesbeings, Superheroes, Bohemians, Beatniks, Hippies and Slackers, 1970s
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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 |
