Weird Universe Archive
September 2017
September 30, 2017
Eight Minutes of 1979 Commercials
Talking dogs, dancing housewives, magical cleansers--plainly, we were all insane.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Sep 30, 2017 -
Comments (3)
Category: Advertising, Products, 1970s
September 29, 2017
Naked Chicken Research
1976: Drs. William Johnson and Robert Truax of Louisiana State University raised and studied featherless chickens.Aside from the physical problems, the chickens have social problems and psychological hangups, Johnson said.
"I guess 'embarrassed' is as good a word for it as any. You put one of them in with a flock of normal birds, and it huddles off in a corner by itself. The other birds won't have anything to do with it until they get used to it," he said.
"And then they're just not as active sexually. They will court and strut much more than the normal bird, but they don't mate as readily."
"I guess 'embarrassed' is as good a word for it as any. You put one of them in with a flock of normal birds, and it huddles off in a corner by itself. The other birds won't have anything to do with it until they get used to it," he said.
"And then they're just not as active sexually. They will court and strut much more than the normal bird, but they don't mate as readily."
The story reminds me of the old urban legend about KFC raising mutant, featherless chickens. Maybe this is where the story started.
Argus Leader - Aug 31, 1976
Salisbury Daily Times - Aug 31, 1976
Posted By: Alex - Fri Sep 29, 2017 -
Comments (4)
Category: Animals, Science, Psychology, 1970s
Joe Bailon, RIP
The inventor of "candy apple red."
Posted By: Paul - Fri Sep 29, 2017 -
Comments (1)
Category: Motor Vehicles, Pop Art, Obituaries
September 28, 2017
Lincoln-Scented Candle
When you want your room to smell like Abraham Lincoln.Other scents available include Theodore Roosevelt, Justin Trudeau, Ronald Reagan, Joe Biden, Vladimir Putin, and Rutherford B. Hayes.
Link: Amazon.com
via Worst Things For Sale
Posted By: Alex - Thu Sep 28, 2017 -
Comments (7)
Category: Perfume and Cologne and Other Scents
House Wrapped in Cellophane
Apparently, Christo had a predecessor.
Source of image.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Sep 28, 2017 -
Comments (3)
Category: Architecture, Domestic, Publicity Stunts, 1930s
September 27, 2017
Name That List, #42
What is this a list of? The answer is below in extended.- Fuzzy Pumper
- Count Creepyhead & Friends
- Doctor Drill 'n Fill
- Pumper No. 9
- Pinkie Pie Pretty Parlor
- Fix Me Up Doc
- Oddkins
- Barnyard Pals
- Press Outs
- Hunny Pumper
More in extended >>
Posted By: Alex - Wed Sep 27, 2017 -
Comments (5)
Category: Name That List
Dawn Langley Simmons
I believe every word that Dawn Langley Simmons says.
Source.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Sep 27, 2017 -
Comments (3)
Category: Children, Parents, 1960s, Gender-bending, LGBT
September 26, 2017
The Love Machine
Created in the late 1960s by Hollywood auto customizer George Barris, who's best known as the designer of the original Batmobile.The Love Machine featured velvet upholstery, a revolving circular bed, psychedelic lights, entertainment console, mirrored ceiling, and a crystal chandelier. It did the rounds at auto shows until the mid-1970s, where it was promoted as the "world's first x-rated car."
via lastgasp.com
Hillsdale Daily News - Mar 17, 1972
In the late '70s, the Love Machine was rebranded and it went on to have a career in Hollywood. From Hemmings Daily:
Barris, ever the opportunist, managed to get the Love Machine cast as the lead vehicle in the 1977 vansploitation flick SuperVan. To do so, he simply gave the Love Machine a repaint and redid the interior with even deeper plush carpeting. Though technically known as Vandora in the movie, the Super Van moniker stuck, thanks to Barris’s promotional efforts.
Nor would SuperVan be the van’s only screen appearance. It also showed up in the 1986 made-for-TV movie Condor, repainted gold and black; then in 1989’s Back to the Future II as a Hill Valley Transit bus, painted green; in the 1990 movie Solar Crisis, painted white; and then on an episode of the 1990s TV show SeaQuest DSV, still painted white. Then, in about 2003, the Guild of Automotive Restorers began a restoration on the van that brought it back to its Super Van configuration.
Nor would SuperVan be the van’s only screen appearance. It also showed up in the 1986 made-for-TV movie Condor, repainted gold and black; then in 1989’s Back to the Future II as a Hill Valley Transit bus, painted green; in the 1990 movie Solar Crisis, painted white; and then on an episode of the 1990s TV show SeaQuest DSV, still painted white. Then, in about 2003, the Guild of Automotive Restorers began a restoration on the van that brought it back to its Super Van configuration.
via vanning.com
You can check out more of Barris's creations in the recent book King of the Kustomizers: The Art of George Barris.
Posted By: Alex - Tue Sep 26, 2017 -
Comments (5)
Category: Motor Vehicles, Bus, 1970s
Mystery Illustration 58
What was the topic or theme of the article accompanying this illustration?
The answer is here.
And after the jump.
More in extended >>
Posted By: Paul - Tue Sep 26, 2017 -
Comments (6)
Category: Art, 1960s
September 25, 2017
Electroshoe
18-year-old Siddharth Mandala of Hyderabad has developed an "electroshoe" that will allow women to fend off attackers. One kick with the shoe and it'll deliver a powerful electric shock to an assailant. The shoe also automatically recharges itself through energy harvested from the wearer's footsteps.So far Mandala has only developed a prototype. And unfortunately there doesn't seem to be any footage of the electroshoe in action.
The idea reminds me of the spiked defense shoes from 1955.
More info: Deccan Chronicle
Posted By: Alex - Mon Sep 25, 2017 -
Comments (2)
Category: Fashion, Shoes, Weapons
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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 |
