Weird Universe Archive
May 2021
May 6, 2021
Electric Chest Weights
Sold by the Electric Exercising Machine Company, circa 1890. It seemed to be like a nineteenth-century version of one of those Tonal machines that are always being advertised on TV, but electrified.Although I'm curious about how it produced electricity, given that the advertisement claimed it used "no chemicals," that "its electricity is permanent," and that "it has no battery."
My guess is that it contained a dynamo which would have been spun when a user pulled on the cords, producing an electric current.
The Wellesley Prelude - May 10, 1890
Posted By: Alex - Thu May 06, 2021 -
Comments (6)
Category: Exercise and Fitness, Advertising, Nineteenth Century
2 A.M. in the Subway
Some daring female leg action here.
Posted By: Paul - Thu May 06, 2021 -
Comments (0)
Category: Mass Transit, Movies, Police and Other Law Enforcement, Public Indecency, Twentieth Century
May 5, 2021
The Sacred Chickens of Rome
Strange custom: The ancient Romans were reportedly loath to embark on any major undertaking, particularly battles, before they had consulted sacred chickens. As told by HistoryCollection.com:The pullarius [keeper of the sacred chickens] was responsible for keeping sacred chickens and using them to make divinations or "predictions." These holy birds, which had been sourced from the island of Negreponte (now Euboea, near Athens), were kept unfed in their cages for a predetermined amount of time before being released and presented with some grain. If they ate the grain, the venture upon which the Romans were consulting them was deemed favourable. If they didn't touch it, however, the venture lacked the god's backing and was therefore to be abandoned.
Publius Claudius Pulcher And The Sacred Chickens
However, the advice of the sacred chickens wasn't always followed. As told by the Anecdotes from Antiquity blog:
During the First Punic War, Publius Claudius Pulcher turned to the sacred chickens for approval of his plan to launch a surprise attack on the Carthaginian fleet at the harbour of Drepana. When the chicken watcher notified Pulcher that they were not eating, which constituted a bad omen, he replied, ‘Since they do not want to eat, let them drink!’ and had them hurled into the sea. The naval battle which ensued saw the near annihilation of the Roman fleet.
Posted By: Alex - Wed May 05, 2021 -
Comments (4)
Category: Animals, Customs, Religion
Dannie Druehyld, Only Official Witch of Denmark, Has Passed
Some interesting videos, not in English, at the obituary.
Dannie Druehyld knew every single plant and stone in Rold Skov, after calling the forest [her] home for more than 30 years. Now Denmark has lost its only officially registered witch. Dannie Druehyld died on Monday, aged 74. She leaves behind a daughter and a granddaughter.
According to Dannie Druehyld, she was a witch before she was born, and in Rold Skov she has over the years taught children and adults about the forest's magic, folk beliefs and ancient wisdom through her workshop in the Rebild Center. She has also published several books, including "The Witch's Handbook", which tells about witch life all year round.
Posted By: Paul - Wed May 05, 2021 -
Comments (0)
Category: Eccentrics, New Age, Religion, Rituals and Superstitions, Supernatural, Occult, Paranormal, Europe
May 4, 2021
Downsizing the human race
I never saw the 2017 movie Downsizing, but I understand that it involved the premise of shrinking people so that they would use fewer resources.Perhaps the speculations of "theoretical biologist" Thomas Easton, published in Omni magazine in January 1983, may have inspired the movie:
The burgeoning birthrate will cease to be a problem once we've bred a race of humans half normal size. That at least is the prediction of Thomas Easton, a theoretical biologist and technical writing teacher at the University of Maine.
"Cut people down to about three feet in height and they won't eat as much food," Easton says. "Cars could then be the size of little red wagons, with all the old gas guzzlers converted to buses. In fact man's appetite for open space and raw materials would decrease to match his stature.
"This new breed of human," Easton says, "would have far more muscle, with the ability to run and jump almost like a cat. Reduced weight would ease the wear in joints, cutting the prevalence of arthritis. Since less blood would be pumped through a small circulatory system, the heart's work load would be diminished and there would be fewer cardiac arrests.
"The technology to shrink humans," Easton says, "will probably be available within a decade. A genetically engineered virus, carrying genes coded to create small people, could be placed in a reservoir or released in the air. Then everyone infected would absorb the genes and produce lilliputian offspring."
"Cut people down to about three feet in height and they won't eat as much food," Easton says. "Cars could then be the size of little red wagons, with all the old gas guzzlers converted to buses. In fact man's appetite for open space and raw materials would decrease to match his stature.
"This new breed of human," Easton says, "would have far more muscle, with the ability to run and jump almost like a cat. Reduced weight would ease the wear in joints, cutting the prevalence of arthritis. Since less blood would be pumped through a small circulatory system, the heart's work load would be diminished and there would be fewer cardiac arrests.
"The technology to shrink humans," Easton says, "will probably be available within a decade. A genetically engineered virus, carrying genes coded to create small people, could be placed in a reservoir or released in the air. Then everyone infected would absorb the genes and produce lilliputian offspring."
Posted By: Alex - Tue May 04, 2021 -
Comments (7)
Category: Body Modifications, Futurism, 1980s
Follies of the Madmen #506
Not sure how a cigar-smoking toddler promotes coffee...
Posted By: Paul - Tue May 04, 2021 -
Comments (2)
Category: Business, Advertising, Tobacco and Smoking, Children, Coffee and other Legal Stimulants, Nineteenth Century
May 3, 2021
Compost Fence
A dispute between neighbors in Lodi Township, Michigan has resulted in one of them (a farmer) creating a 250-foot wall of cow manure along the property divide. The non-farmers are calling it a "poop wall" and complain that it smells awful. The farmer disagrees, saying that it's merely a "compost fence". Plus, it turns out that it's perfectly legal since it's on his property.More info: mlive, fox detroit
Posted By: Alex - Mon May 03, 2021 -
Comments (3)
Category: Pranks and Revenge
The Creeping Devil Cactus
The Wikipedia page.
In cool maritime climate of Baja California Sur, creeping devil cacti can grow at a rate of up to two feet per year, forming large, sometimes impenetrable colonies of thorny stems, but when transplanted to more arid climates, their growth rate drops to two feet per decade. But even in their endemic environment, these succulents are isolated from pollinators so they rely on self-cloning for survival.
As it grows parallel to the ground, the stem of the creeping devil cactus will start to take roots toward their tip, and once it is solidly fixed into the sandy soil, the old body dies, rotting and eventually turning into nutrients that help the new stem grow. It is this process that also allows the cactus to creep through the desert over time. In a way, the cactus has to die in order to survive.
Posted By: Paul - Mon May 03, 2021 -
Comments (0)
Category: Freaks, Oddities, Quirks of Nature, Nature, Natural Wonders, Regionalism, North America
May 2, 2021
Combined hat and comb
In 1920, Alva Dawson of Florida was granted a patent for a "combined head covering and hair comb". In his patent he explained:Among the objects of the invention is to provide a combined head covering and comb so constructed and arranged that the wearer of the head covering may comb up his hair coincidentally with the removal of the head covering from his head, and hence without rendering himself conspicuous in so doing.
I'm pretty sure it wasn't possible to use this hat-comb without rendering yourself very conspicuous.
Popular Science - Oct 1920
Posted By: Alex - Sun May 02, 2021 -
Comments (0)
Category: Patents, Headgear, 1920s, Hair and Hairstyling
Jan Švankmajer’s “Lunch”
Creator's Wikipedia page.
Posted By: Paul - Sun May 02, 2021 -
Comments (2)
Category: Food, Movies, Surrealism, 1990s, Eating
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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 |
