Weird Universe Archive
April 2019
April 25, 2019
Captain Marvel, 116 times
It’s not official yet, but Steve Ruppel appears to have gained the Guinness world record for “most cinema productions attended - same film.” Put more clearly, that’s the record for watching the same film, again and again, in a cinema. Ruppel has watched Captain Marvel 116 times since its release on March 7.Ruppel said that when he first heard Guinness kept such a category "I thought it was the most insane thing ever, I thought it was impossible. I wasn't even sure why it was even a record, but I thought after a while, 'I should probably do that.'" I like how his thought process progressed from 'it's insane' to "I should do that."
The previous (and officially still current) holder of this record was Anthony ‘Nem’ Mitchell who watched Avengers: Infinity War 103 times when it came out in 2018. With Avengers: Endgame coming out this weekend, I wonder if Mitchell will take the opportunity to regain his title.
More details: wsaw.com
Steve Ruppel (via syfy.com)
Posted By: Alex - Thu Apr 25, 2019 -
Comments (3)
Category: Movies, World Records
Miss Los Angeles Teenager of the Year 1960
Source.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Apr 25, 2019 -
Comments (1)
Category: Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Contests, Races and Other Competitions, Regionalism, Teenagers, 1950s
April 24, 2019
Art Disposal Service, #2
A few months ago I posted about an art disposal service created in the 1960s by artist John Manno. Turns out that art disposal services are a recurring theme in the art world, because another one was created in the 1990s by Thomas O’Day who (evidently unaware of the earlier one) billed it as the world’s first.Some details from the LA Times (Feb 3, 1995):
When asked by a college art gallery in Spokane to do an exhibit, O’Day instead suggested that he bury some of his artwork near the gallery with the plan to dig it up 20 years later.
“I didn’t want to show the work,” he said. “The idea of burying it allowed the work to still be around and go through a process. The first law of conservation is: ‘The more things change, the more they stay the same.’”
That burial would eventually lead O’Day to establish the “Waste to Energy to Waste Project: The World’s First Art Disposal Service.” Any artist wishing to dispose of art can employ his service, which uses a variety of means, including burial and explosives, to eradicate the work or transform it into another form.”
“I didn’t want to show the work,” he said. “The idea of burying it allowed the work to still be around and go through a process. The first law of conservation is: ‘The more things change, the more they stay the same.’”
That burial would eventually lead O’Day to establish the “Waste to Energy to Waste Project: The World’s First Art Disposal Service.” Any artist wishing to dispose of art can employ his service, which uses a variety of means, including burial and explosives, to eradicate the work or transform it into another form.”
More details (including a video) at O'Day's site.
Some of his other artistic endeavors similarly involved the destruction of art, such as Flambé, “a 1990 performance in which, while a waiter flambéd a stew for a formal dinner party, O’Day flambéd one of his drawings.” And ik-splod, “1992, staged at a private airstrip in Ione, Wash. O’Day commissioned an explosives expert to blow up 50 of his pieces, dating from 1979 to 1992.”
Seems to me that O'Day can be categorized as part of the Destructivist Art Movement.
Posted By: Alex - Wed Apr 24, 2019 -
Comments (0)
Category: Art, 1990s
Vincent Price’s WITCHCRAFT AND MAGIC
Posted By: Paul - Wed Apr 24, 2019 -
Comments (0)
Category: Excess, Overkill, Hyperbole and Too Much Is Not Enough, Horror, Fantasy, Myths and Fairytales, 1960s, Actors
April 23, 2019
Most eye tests performed in 8 hours
While at the eye doctor yesterday for a routine check-up, I noticed a plaque on the wall of the lobby. It was the word 'Guinness' that happened to catch my eye, and looking closer I realized it was a certificate from Guinness World Records recognizing the ophthalmology department I was in for performing the most eye tests in an 8-hour period: a total of 1,109 tests!I hadn't known that speed eye testing was a thing.
However, some googling reveals that their record has subsequently been shattered. The Guinness website lists the current record holder as "V Senthilbalaji" of Karur, India, which performed 25,355 eye tests in 8 hours on April 4, 2015. (I'm assuming V Senthilbalaji must be the name of a hospital).
But what are the rules for gaining this record? Is there no limit on how many doctors can participate? In which case, speed isn't as important as just collecting a whole bunch of eye doctors in one place. And what exactly counts as an 'eye test'?
(My apologies for the lousy quality of the picture below. I'm blaming it on my phone's lousy camera. Or maybe I just need my eyes checked...)
Posted By: Alex - Tue Apr 23, 2019 -
Comments (1)
Category: World Records
Schenck’s Mandrake Pills
Source of ad.
Source of pic.
Click here for product brochure.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Apr 23, 2019 -
Comments (2)
Category: Patent Medicines, Nostrums and Snake Oil, Nineteenth Century, Twentieth Century
April 22, 2019
Eyedness
Just as people are right or left-handed, they're also right or left-eyed. They use their dominant eye to look through a viewfinder or to aim a rifle.What's your eyedness? Follow the instructions in the video below to find out.
(As noted previously on WU, people are also right or left nostriled.)
via petapixel.com
Posted By: Alex - Mon Apr 22, 2019 -
Comments (1)
Category: Eyes and Vision
Mystery Gadget 73
What is the very utilitarian purpose of this handsome tower?
The answer is here.
And after the jump.
More in extended >>
Posted By: Paul - Mon Apr 22, 2019 -
Comments (1)
Category: Technology, 1920s
April 21, 2019
Ultimate Tazer Ball
Another sport that, like mobile phone throwing, arose in the 21st century, flourished briefly, involved new technology, but then fizzled and disappeared.How the game was played, according to wikipedia:
Two teams compete to get a large (24-inch diameter) ball into goal at either end of the 200 x 85-foot field. Players on both teams are all armed with stun gun devices. Under the rules of the game players are allowed to use the stun guns on opposing players who are in possession of the ball.
The UTB website is now defunct, but can still be partially viewed via the Wayback Machine.
Posted By: Alex - Sun Apr 21, 2019 -
Comments (3)
Category: Sports
Happy Easter 2019!
Not sure if Jesus sanctions fairies and gnomes as part of His holiday.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Apr 21, 2019 -
Comments (0)
Category: Holidays, Easter, Religion, Fantasy, Fictional Monsters
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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 |
