December 2021
December 17, 2021
Captain Santa Claus and His Reindeer Space Patrol
Never heard this one till yesterday.The singer's Wikipedia page.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Dec 17, 2021 -
Comments (2)
Category: Animals, Fads, Spaceflight, Astronautics, and Astronomy, Television, 1950s, Christmas
December 16, 2021
Bicycles in War
I had heard about Vietnamese soldiers using bicycles to transport supplies along the Ho Chi Minh trail, but other than that I was completely unaware of the role that bicycles have played in the history of war. Martin Caidin's book tells the story. You can read it at archive.org.
Posted By: Alex - Thu Dec 16, 2021 -
Comments (4)
Category: Bicycles and Other Human-powered Vehicles, War
Follies of the Madmen #522
Posted By: Paul - Thu Dec 16, 2021 -
Comments (1)
Category: Anthropomorphism, Body, Hygiene, Advertising, Surrealism, 1940s
December 15, 2021
Tomato calls 911 for help
Adding this to the 'vegetables' category, despite the controversy over whether tomatoes are fruits or vegetables.
Miami Herald - Nov 10, 1990
Posted By: Alex - Wed Dec 15, 2021 -
Comments (2)
Category: Vegetables, 1990s
The Living Christmas Tree
Alex and I will be making an announcement soon, about where all WU-vies can meet up to form such a seasonal tribute. Bring your own robe.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Dec 15, 2021 -
Comments (4)
Category: Excess, Overkill, Hyperbole and Too Much Is Not Enough, Holidays, Christmas, Human Marvels, Twentieth Century
December 14, 2021
Urohidrosis
Back in the 1960s, while observing wood storks in Florida, biologist M. Philip Kahl, Jr. noted that on hot days the storks "have the unusual habit of frequently excreting on their legs."He eventually concluded that, since storks don't sweat, they were doing this to cool themselves down "by means of evaporative cooling of the blood supply to the legs and feet." He named this phenomenon 'urohidrosis'.
His hypothesis is now accepted as true, and it's not only storks that cool themselves by pooping on their legs. Turkey vultures do it too.
Reference: Kahl, P.M., Jr. 1963. Thermoregulation in the Wood Stork, with special reference to the role of the legs. Physiol. Zool., 36: 141-151.
Posted By: Alex - Tue Dec 14, 2021 -
Comments (0)
Category: Animals, Science, Excrement
Odd Showers
Read it here.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Dec 14, 2021 -
Comments (3)
Category: Animals, Supernatural, Occult, Paranormal, Weird Facts, Weird Studies and Guides, Books, Natural Wonders, Nineteenth Century
December 13, 2021
The Beachette
Esther Brown was granted a patent (No. 2,266,684) in 1938 for the "beachette," which was a wearable beach umbrella. A beachgoer could wear the fabric of the umbrella as a skirt/cape/hat combo. The pole doubled as a cane. When they got to the beach it could all be assembled into an umbrella.The problems I see: a) you've still got to carry the pole; and b) I bet assembling/disassembling the thing was a nuisance.
Cincinnati Enquirer - Jul 8, 1938
Pittsburgh Press - Sep 25, 1938
Posted By: Alex - Mon Dec 13, 2021 -
Comments (1)
Category: Fashion, Inventions, Patents, 1930s
Unique Bus of the Future
Lots of swimming pool sloshing when you hit a speedbump.Source.
Posted By: Paul - Mon Dec 13, 2021 -
Comments (4)
Category: Excess, Overkill, Hyperbole and Too Much Is Not Enough, Motor Vehicles, 1930s
December 12, 2021
Social Distance Zapper
I'm assuming this is a gag gift, but nowadays it's hard to tell.I'm adding it to our list of weird social-distancing products (see social-distancing shoes and cooler).
Available from Kikkerland Design Inc.
Posted By: Alex - Sun Dec 12, 2021 -
Comments (4)
Category: Hygiene, Disease
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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 |
