Weird Universe Archive
May 2020
May 6, 2020
Marriage ruined by Rod Stewart’s soccer ball
Rod Stewart is known to be a huge soccer fan, and at his concerts he often kicks soccer balls out into the audience.At a 1989 concert, a ball struck the hand of a woman in the audience, Patricia Boughton, who subsequently sued Stewart claiming the incident had permanently injured her middle finger.
Her husband later also filed suit, on the grounds that his wife's hand injury had led to the breakup of their marriage. He explained, "If she hit that hand on something it was all over. To get into sexual activity, it was very difficult... It was like walking around trying not to break something."
Stewart eventually settled the suit for $17,000, which was less than the Boughtons had been hoping for.
Lansing State Journal - Oct 11, 1992
However, Stewart didn't stop kicking balls at his concerts. And as UltimateClassicRock.com reports, the injuries continued. At a 2002 concert, a man suffered a broken little finger after shielding his face from one of Stewart's balls. And another fan had his nose broken when it was hit by a soccer ball at a 2012 concert in Las Vegas.
In response to the lawsuits, Stewart has said that fans should know that his concerts are a "contact sport."
The video below shows Stewart kicking soccer balls at a concert.
Posted By: Alex - Wed May 06, 2020 -
Comments (4)
Category: Lawsuits
One Brave Dog
Source.
Posted By: Paul - Wed May 06, 2020 -
Comments (0)
Category: Animals, Parents, Dogs, Courage, Bravery, Heroism and Valor
May 5, 2020
Howard Obesity Ointment
The application is simplicity itself. You merely apply the ointment to the part you wish reduced, then literally, "wash the fat away" without injury to the most delicate skin.
I can't find any description of what was in this ointment, but it sounds like something out of a horror story.
Munsey's Magazine - vol 29, 1903
Posted By: Alex - Tue May 05, 2020 -
Comments (4)
Category: Health, Advertising, 1900s, Dieting and Weight Loss
Jungle Yachts
Our hero's Wikipedia page.
Posted By: Paul - Tue May 05, 2020 -
Comments (2)
Category: Explorers, Frontiersmen, and Conquerors, Motor Vehicles, Africa
May 4, 2020
Staring Hitchhikers
Will hitchhikers get more rides if they stare at oncoming drivers or if they look away? A 1974 study published in the Journal of Applied Social Psychology attempted to answer this question:A field experiment was conducted in which a single male, a single female, or a male-female couple attempted to hitch rides at four different traffic locations, under conditions in which the hitchhikers either stared at or looked away from oncoming drivers...
In the stare conditions, E stared at the driver of the target vehicle and attempted to fixate on the driver's gaze and maintain this gaze as long as possible until the driver either stopped his vehicle or drove on. In the comparison conditions, E looked anywhere else but at the driver. Thus, on some trials E looked in the general direction of the car; on other trials E looked at his feet, the road, the sky, etc. Es were specifically instructed to neither smile nor frown, and to maintain a casual (neither rigid nor slouching) body postural orientation while soliciting rides.
In the stare conditions, E stared at the driver of the target vehicle and attempted to fixate on the driver's gaze and maintain this gaze as long as possible until the driver either stopped his vehicle or drove on. In the comparison conditions, E looked anywhere else but at the driver. Thus, on some trials E looked in the general direction of the car; on other trials E looked at his feet, the road, the sky, etc. Es were specifically instructed to neither smile nor frown, and to maintain a casual (neither rigid nor slouching) body postural orientation while soliciting rides.
The two hitchhikers were described as, "both 20 years of age and both dressed in bluejeans and dark coats. The male had short, curly blond hair, and the female, straight, shoulder length blond hair. Both could be described as neat, collegiate, attractive in physical appearance, and of an appropriate age to be hitchhiking."
A hitchhiker in Luxembourg - Aug 1977 (source: wiktionary.org)
(not one of the hitchhikers in the study)
Staring is often interpreted as a threat. So the researchers anticipated that staring at oncoming drivers might result in fewer rides. But the opposite turned out to be true. Which is a useful tip to know if you ever need to hitchhike. But what really helped get a lot of rides was being a single female. From the study:
it seems that the effect of attempted eye contact and sex of hitchhikers were such that a staring female got the most rides and a nonstaring male the least, with a staring male and a nonstaring female in between.
Contrary to popular belief and hitchhiking folklore , it was no easier for a male-female couple to hitch a ride than a single male, and a mixed sex couple was less successful at soliciting rides than a single female hitchhiker. Although the generality of this conclusion is limited by the fact that it is based upon results obtained by one male and one female E, it is probably the case that couples are less successful hitching rides because of space limitations in the cars they approach. That is, it is more likely that the driver will have room for one additional passenger than that he will have room for two or more additional passengers in his car.
Contrary to popular belief and hitchhiking folklore , it was no easier for a male-female couple to hitch a ride than a single male, and a mixed sex couple was less successful at soliciting rides than a single female hitchhiker. Although the generality of this conclusion is limited by the fact that it is based upon results obtained by one male and one female E, it is probably the case that couples are less successful hitching rides because of space limitations in the cars they approach. That is, it is more likely that the driver will have room for one additional passenger than that he will have room for two or more additional passengers in his car.
Incidentally, the experimenters never actually ever got in a car with anyone: "After a motorist stopped to pick up one of the hitchhikers, he was politely thanked and given a printed description of the nature of the experiment. No driver expressed any discomfort when he learned that the hitchhiker did not actually want a ride."
Posted By: Alex - Mon May 04, 2020 -
Comments (5)
Category: Science, Experiments, Psychology, 1970s, Cars
Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs, “High Blood Pressure”
Medical intervention is definitely required for this singer and his gyno-pathic disease.
Posted By: Paul - Mon May 04, 2020 -
Comments (0)
Category: Music, 1960s, Disease
May 3, 2020
Water-Dispensing Furniture
Thomas Mullenaux of San Pedro, CA was recently granted a patent (No. 10,626,581) for furniture that gathers water from the air via a dehumidifier, collects it in a built-in reservoir, and then allows a person to drink it through a retractable hose.However, in his patent application, Mullenaux never explains why anyone would want or need 'water-dispensing furniture'. I guess it might be useful for those who are too lazy to walk to their kitchen to get a glass of water.
The water dispensing system for furniture includes a water dispensing system that is built into or attached onto an item of furniture. Water is stored within a reservoir within a water system housing and may be pumped through a first filter to one of two retractable hoses. The water is provided via a dehumidifier and second filter that draw moisture from the air and purify the resulting water. At least one retractable hose is provided, and includes a mouthpiece. When the at least one retractable hose is released, said hose is pulled back into the item of furniture to stay out of the way. When not in use, the retractable hoses are wound around spring-loaded reels.
Posted By: Alex - Sun May 03, 2020 -
Comments (2)
Category: Furniture, Inventions, Patents
Follies of the Madmen #475
Makes you smell like half a horse.
Source. (Featuring more similar ads.)
Posted By: Paul - Sun May 03, 2020 -
Comments (2)
Category: Animals, Advertising, 1960s, Fictional Monsters, Perfume and Cologne and Other Scents
May 2, 2020
Aspic Aquarium
I agree with Hellmann's that this would look cool as a centerpiece at a party. But serving it with mayonnaise? Even as a mayonnaise lover, I'm not sure about that.
Posted By: Alex - Sat May 02, 2020 -
Comments (7)
Category: Mayonnaise, Jello, 1960s
Miss Sputnik
Posted By: Paul - Sat May 02, 2020 -
Comments (2)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Spaceflight, Astronautics, and Astronomy, 1950s
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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 |
