Weird Universe Archive
January 2020
January 31, 2020
Name That List, #62
What is this a list of? The answer is below in extended.- Beittaga
- Gutagieg
- Guttieig
- Budaj Age
- Vutte Geig
- Bertigge
- Buttsbeg
- Guettiburg
- Gooligeg
- Buttig
- Buttage
- Butingear
- Buti
- Bugewues
- Bettirogh
More in extended >>
Posted By: Alex - Fri Jan 31, 2020 -
Comments (7)
Category: Name That List
The Beatlettes
Mystery queens of Beat music! No one knows who the Beattle-ettes were. They were one more answer record knocked off responding to the maelstrom of the Beatles' invasion of New York in 1964. (It was rushed out so fast, in fact, that they got the spelling of the boys' name wrong, with an extra 'T'!) But it is sure that they were produced by "Shadow" Morton just before his breakout success with the fabulous Shangri-La's. Because of this, and the definite New York moxie of the singers, many believe it might actually be the Shangs! This would be cool as all hell, of course, but no one knows for sure. What we do know is this is a rockin' two minutes of punky Beat music that sticks in your head all day.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Jan 31, 2020 -
Comments (1)
Category: Music, Homages, Pastiches, Tributes and Borrowings, 1960s
January 30, 2020
What was under Beetle Bailey’s cap?
According to Brian Chapman, over at the Legends & Rumors blog, Beetle Bailey was arguably “the syndicated comic strip most often copied in underground and anti-war papers during the Vietnam War era.” And the most-copied strip from Beetle Bailey was one that originated as a satire in Mad magazine. It was popular because it revealed what was under Beetle Bailey’s cap: a message written on his forehead saying, “Get out of Vietnam.”Brian traces the many publications that this particular strip appeared in. Along the way, the strip was frequently redrawn, and eventually new forehead messages were substituted, such as "Go to hell Lifer" or "FTAF" (F the Air Force).
The original strip, from Mad magazine (Apr 1969)
Posted By: Alex - Thu Jan 30, 2020 -
Comments (1)
Category: Comics, 1960s
Khrushchev’s Top Secret Coloring Book
Finally, some artwork that might amuse the Soviet dictator, from the great Jack Davis.Buy your copy through the link below.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Jan 30, 2020 -
Comments (0)
Category: Art, Dictators, Tyrants and Other Harsh Rulers, Books, 1960s
January 29, 2020
Fizz Bowling
A drinking game of the 1960s, invented at European ski lodges:
The Montana Standard - Feb 10, 1963
A few more details from the Akron Beacon Journal (Feb 6, 1963):
Latest sport catching on with the ski crowd at smart Winter spas is "fizz bowling." A large grapefruit serves as a bowling ball and the player bowls at full gin bottles instead of pins... player then drinks contents of all pins left standing. Each player is allowed a "handicap" number of bottles he must knock down.
Some googling reveals that it's now possible to buy gin bottles shaped like bowling pins. Available from Amazon for $18.99 (empty, you add your own gin). However, they're made of glass, so probably not great for fizz bowling.
I'm guessing the people back in the 60s were playing with minis, rather than full-size bottles.
Posted By: Alex - Wed Jan 29, 2020 -
Comments (1)
Category: Games, Sports, 1960s, Alcohol
Bring Back the Bush
Posted By: Paul - Wed Jan 29, 2020 -
Comments (2)
Category: Annoying Things, Antiques, Anachronisms and Throwbacks, Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Customs, Hygiene, Genitals
January 28, 2020
Dissuasive Cigarettes
Public health warnings have been printed on cigarette packs since 1966 (in the U.S.). But recently, public health researchers have been wondering whether altering the appearance of the cigarettes themselves might be more effective. In a study published in the 2016 issue of the journal Tobacco Control, New Zealand researchers tested the response of smokers to a variety of “dissuasive cigarettes.”One of these cigarettes had a “smoking kills” warning printed directly on it. Two others were unpleasant colors: "slimy green" and "faecal yellow-brown." The fourth was printed with a graphic depicting "15 minutes of life lost."
The researchers found that the smokers they surveyed reacted negatively to all four of the dissuasive cigarettes, but had the strongest negative reaction to the "15 minutes of life lost" cigarette:
Respondents were least likely to select an option where the stick featured the 'minutes of life lost' graphic. Relative to the 'typical' stick (the most common and most preferred stick), the 'minutes of life lost' stick was 80% less likely to be chosen (OR=0.21) and nearly four scale points less appealing (-1.32 cf. 2.66)
Posted By: Alex - Tue Jan 28, 2020 -
Comments (2)
Category: Psychology, Smoking and Tobacco
Follies of the Madmen #463
The most potent cosmic force in the multiverse approves of this floor polish.Source.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Jan 28, 2020 -
Comments (0)
Category: Anthropomorphism, Business, Advertising, Domestic, 1920s
January 27, 2020
Fire Alarm Trapper
False alarms are a big problem for fire departments, but Vincent DiPaula figured he had a solution. In 1973, he invented a fire alarm ‘trapper’. It looked like a phone booth. If someone wanted to pull the fire alarm, they first had to enter the booth and close the door. Then, when they pulled the alarm, they would be locked inside the booth until the fire department arrived.DiPaula figured this would deter pranksters. The obvious problem (which, I assume, is why his invention failed to be adopted) is that in the event of a real fire, it would also trap a legitimate alarm-ringer inside the burning building.
Fremont News-Messenger - Nov 27, 1973
Posted By: Alex - Mon Jan 27, 2020 -
Comments (3)
Category: Inventions, 1970s
Le Silence de la Rue
Posted By: Paul - Mon Jan 27, 2020 -
Comments (0)
Category: Ambiguity, Uncertainty and Deliberate Obscurity, Antisocial Activities, Urban Life, Surrealism, Cartoons
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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 |
