August 2018
August 31, 2018
Falling Sheep
Yesterday, Paul mentioned the threat posed by cows. It's worth remembering that sheep can be pretty dangerous too. As this hiker in Ireland recently found out when, out of the blue, he was hit by a falling sheep. Both the hiker and the sheep seem to have survived the incident.
Posted By: Alex - Fri Aug 31, 2018 -
Comments (3)
Category: Accidents, Animals
Potato Candy
Which recipe do you prefer? In either case, be sure to whip some up for St. Patrick's Day--or anytime you want tuber-based sweets!Source.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Aug 31, 2018 -
Comments (2)
Category: Candy, 1930s
August 30, 2018
Gibbon Diet
In order to raise awareness and funds for the Gibbon Protection Society of Malaysia, Grace Watson is spending a month eating only what a gibbon would eat. From stuff.co.nz:Lunch is usually a variation of apples, bananas, mandarin, and edible insects, while dinner is limited to vegetable soups, salads or slaws of grated beetroot, carrot, apple, with a squeeze of lime and some seeds...
Although she would like to entirely commit to the animals' diet in order to draw attention to the endangered primates, she cannot consume leaves like they can. "I'm unable to do that as part of my diet because humans can't break down nutrients like gibbons do from leaves," Watson conceded.
While it seems like a fine cause, it seems to me like it's cheating just a bit to eat cooked food.
Posted By: Alex - Thu Aug 30, 2018 -
Comments (2)
Category: Animals, Food, Dieting and Weight Loss
Hero Dog of the Year
In 1954, Ken-L Ration Dog Food began awarding a prize to the "Hero Dog of the Year." Sponsorship switched to Kibbles 'n' Bits at some point.Here is a list of some winners.
The latest year I can find when the award was given was 2004.
The American Humane Society seems to have taken over, or rebooted the award.
In any case, the award gives us a chance here at WU to carry forward one of our earliest missions: proving that cows are the most evil and deadly creature on the planet.
Article behind NYT paywall, alas.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Aug 30, 2018 -
Comments (1)
Category: Animals, Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Dogs, 1950s, 1980s
August 29, 2018
Richard Nixon Eggplants
In May 1973, New York magazine ran a photo of an eggplant that looked like Richard Nixon. In 2017, the magazine's blog remembered it as "Maybe the funniest page New York has ever published."But it turns out that there were quite a few other Nixon-resembling eggplants reported in the news in '73 and '74. For a while it was quite the thing to do. I think there are just a lot of eggplants that look like Nixon.
New York Magazine - May 14, 1973
Philadelphia Inquirer - Sep 6, 1974
Gastonia Gazette - Aug 15, 1973
Hartford Courant - July 24, 1973
Denton Record Chronicle - Dec 10, 1973
Posted By: Alex - Wed Aug 29, 2018 -
Comments (3)
Category: Politics, Vegetables, 1970s
Burt Reynolds in HAWK
Portraying a "full-blooded Iroquois." Lasted 17 episodes.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Aug 29, 2018 -
Comments (0)
Category: Ineptness, Crudity, Talentlessness, Kitsch, and Bad Art, Law, Television, 1960s
August 28, 2018
Name That List, #48
What is this a list of? The answer is below in extended.- tar acid
- ammonia
- glycerin
- zinc sulphate
- seaweed
- banana paste
- citric acid
- lactic acid
- a pungent liquid dredged from the bottom of banana boats
- ox blood
More in extended >>
Posted By: Alex - Tue Aug 28, 2018 -
Comments (3)
Category: Name That List
Miss Cold Potato of 1966
All will be explained at the link.Many many thanks to WU-vie Fred Goebel for this charming discovery.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Aug 28, 2018 -
Comments (4)
Category: Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Contests, Races and Other Competitions, Food, 1960s
August 27, 2018
Behind the Burly Q
Trailer is Safe For Work. Link to book or DVD below.
Posted By: Paul - Mon Aug 27, 2018 -
Comments (1)
Category: Costumes and Masks, Entertainment, Public Indecency, Sex Symbols, Books, Documentaries, Twentieth Century
Solid Gold Dumbbells
Moda Operandi sells a pair of solid gold dumbbells for $125,000. (Though they're currently sold out). From their website:Each dumbbell contains 2kg of 18K gold. So that's 4kg of 18K gold that you'd be buying.
The current market value of 1kg of 18K gold is $29,079.14. So, 4kg of it would be worth $116,316.56. That would represent the base value of the dumbbells -- what you could get if you melted them down. Which means that you'd be paying $8683.44 just for the design of the dumbbells, outside of their gold value.
Posted By: Alex - Mon Aug 27, 2018 -
Comments (7)
Category: Overpriced Merchandise
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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 |
