Weird Universe Archive
August 2020
August 26, 2020
Goldwater Fragrance
How many presidents and presidential candidates have had fragrances named after them? There was Donald: The Fragrance, which we've posted about before.And back in 1963, Vi-Jon Laboratories of St. Louis, Missouri released "Gold Water: A Cologne for Americans" — named after Arizona senator Barry Goldwater.
The company also said it would be releasing "JFK — A Family Cologne." But I haven't been able to find any evidence that it actually did.
It's not quite the same as a cologne, but as we've also previously posted about, JD and Kate Industries released a whole series of politician-scented candles including Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Obama, Justin Trudeau, and Joe Biden scents.
Posted By: Alex - Wed Aug 26, 2020 -
Comments (2)
Category: Perfume and Cologne and Other Scents
1969 Design Proposals for NYC
A 200-MPH transit system, a dome over Times Square, and other daydreams.Source.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Aug 26, 2020 -
Comments (3)
Category: Motor Vehicles, Urban Life, 1960s, Yesterday’s Tomorrows
August 25, 2020
Lobster Lovers Beer
I spotted this beer while visiting an international food market in my neighborhood and was intrigued both by the name and by the image of a woman with a giant lobster on her back.Further research reveals that it's a Lithuanian beer, and it receives pretty bad reviews on beeradvocate.com, such as the following:
The taste is of sweet grain. The 9.5% abv shows. It tastes like a mediocre cheap malt liquor (at best).
Somewhat creamy despite noticeable alcohol and rather unpleasant character,
I don't see any connection to lobster. Whatever.,,,
Somewhat creamy despite noticeable alcohol and rather unpleasant character,
I don't see any connection to lobster. Whatever.,,,
Posted By: Alex - Tue Aug 25, 2020 -
Comments (11)
Category: Inebriation and Intoxicants, Alcohol
UK’s Central Government War HQ
The Central Government War Headquarters (CGWHQ) is a 35-acre (14 ha)[1] complex built 120 feet (37 m) underground[2] as the United Kingdom's emergency government war headquarters – the hub of the country's alternative seat of power outside London during a nuclear war or conflict with the Soviet Union. It is located in Corsham, Wiltshire, in a former Bath stone quarry known as Spring Quarry, under the present-day MoD Corsham.[3]
The Wikipedia page.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Aug 25, 2020 -
Comments (3)
Category: War, 1960s, United Kingdom
August 24, 2020
Keep the mouth glands active
"unless we watch out, the mouth glands slow up and decay sets in. The formula to correct this was worked out in Pebeco Tooth Paste."
San Francisco Examiner - Aug 21, 1927
Posted By: Alex - Mon Aug 24, 2020 -
Comments (1)
Category: Hygiene, Advertising, 1920s, Teeth
Cherry Berry Wine
Biblical revisionism regarding the influence of alcohol on historical events.
Posted By: Paul - Mon Aug 24, 2020 -
Comments (0)
Category: Music, Religion, 1960s, Alcohol
August 23, 2020
The Holie Terra
Seeking a way to use technology to win the tunnel warfare in Vietnam, Nelson Frost of Byram, Connecticut invented the "Holie Terra." Although in the write-up for the patent he received (No. 3,395,641), he referred to it more formally as a "remotely controlled tunnel exploration and destroying means."
From his patent:
In certain types of warfare, for example, insurgency as practiced in Southeast Asia, enemy infiltrators and insurgents resort to extensive tunnel networks to hide from the established forces. The tunnel system in any one area may be elaborate and may traverse several levels and numerous branches with the arrangement being such that the insurgent forces are disposed in the system in such a position that a high explosive detonated at the tunnel entrance will have little effect on those hiding in the tunnels because of their labyrinthine construction whereby the direct force of an explosion is screened from the occupants. Because of the danger of booby traps or ambush it is not practical for attacking forces to enter the tunnels with the result that heretofore there has simply been no way to kill or dislodge insurgents hiding in the tunnels and the broad object of the present invention is to provide means for exploring tunnel networks by a self-propelled device which can be safely controlled from a remote position outside of the tunnel network.
More particularly, it is an object of the invention to provide a tunnel exploring device which may be maneuvered from a remote position deep into the tunnel network and there be detonated so that there is a much higher kill probability of the enemy forces with greater safety to the attackers than has been possible by any means employed heretofore.
More particularly, it is an object of the invention to provide a tunnel exploring device which may be maneuvered from a remote position deep into the tunnel network and there be detonated so that there is a much higher kill probability of the enemy forces with greater safety to the attackers than has been possible by any means employed heretofore.
Montgomery Advertiser - Aug 15, 1968
Posted By: Alex - Sun Aug 23, 2020 -
Comments (2)
Category: War, Weapons, Patents, 1960s
Futz!
First it was a play.Bestiality - oh final horror - has come to Off-Broadway. It came last night at the Theater de Lys in a play called "Futz!" The strange thing is - and is this a sign of the corruption of our society? - the crime, act, fact, or whatever you want to call it, of bestiality would have come to Broadway itself if another show, "Leda Had A Little Swan", had not been beastly enough, and sadly, boring enough, to collapse during previews before the scheduled opening. However, Rochelle Owens's "Futz!", which I saw at one of its final previews, has beaten its controversial path into our ken. And I must say I am glad it did...
Cyrus Futz is a simple farm boy who happens to be in love with his pig, Amanda. Indeed he regards Amanda as his wife. As he tells his pig: "We tried to go to church but they wouldn't let us in - so I read you the Bible at home." However, Cy and Amanda are no normal couple, and the seedy normality of the village turns upon them and Cy is murdered by vengeful villagers.
Source of quote.
Then it was a film.
The creator's Wikipedia page.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Aug 23, 2020 -
Comments (0)
Category: Animals, Hillbillies, Country Bumpkins, Ruralism and Flyover Country, Movies, Sexuality, Fetishes, Sex Lives Worse Than Yours
August 22, 2020
Want-Ad Wonders
Two weeks ago I posted about Dr. Clark Wells, who spent his career trying to figure out how to remove bugs from windshields. One of the sources for that post was a cartoon titled 'Want-Ad Wonders.'Some further research has revealed that 'Want-Ad Wonders' was a series, authored by Howard Parish, that ran irregularly in papers in the 1950s and '60s, with the goal of promoting the use of want-ads. Parish diligently collected together examples of odd ways in which want-ads had played a role in history. It's certainly one of the more narrowly focused cartoon series I've seen.
More in extended >>
Posted By: Alex - Sat Aug 22, 2020 -
Comments (0)
Category: Advertising, Cartoons
The Chelsea Flash Pistol
Source of first pic.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Aug 22, 2020 -
Comments (0)
Category: Death, Destruction, Photography and Photographers, Technology, Nineteenth Century
| Get WU Posts by Email | |
|---|---|
| Who We Are |
|---|
| 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 |
