Weird Universe Archive
December 2021
December 7, 2021
Uranium Rush Board Game
More pics and info at Board Game Geek.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Dec 07, 2021 -
Comments (3)
Category: Games, Atomic Power and Other Nuclear Matters, 1950s
December 6, 2021
Dolls the wide world over
A book that could be shelved in either Art or Horror.Available for loan at the Internet Archive.
Posted By: Alex - Mon Dec 06, 2021 -
Comments (0)
Category: Books, Dolls and Stuffed Animals
Little Clowns of Happytown
The Wikipedia page.
Posted By: Paul - Mon Dec 06, 2021 -
Comments (2)
Category: Clowns, Fey, Twee, Whimsical, Naive and Sadsack, Ineptness, Crudity, Talentlessness, Kitsch, and Bad Art, Television, Cartoons, 1980s
December 5, 2021
Lambs in a wind tunnel
Controversial experiments in which British government scientists subjected newborn lambs to prolonged periods in a wind tunnel and baths of cold water to test their weather resistance have been stopped by the Agricultural Research Council.
After spending more than $40,000 on the experiments the scientists concluded that lambs with short wool got cold faster than lambs with long wool.
After spending more than $40,000 on the experiments the scientists concluded that lambs with short wool got cold faster than lambs with long wool.
Sounds like Nobel Prize material there.
San Francisco Examiner - Dec 9, 1979
I'm not entirely sure, but Deborah Samson's research at the University of Edinburgh seems like it was the original study: "Genetic and physiological aspects of resistance to hypothermia in relation to neonatal lamb survival".
You can download at this link (pdf file) her doctoral thesis describing the research. As usual with things like this, the actual scientific study doesn't seem as wacky as the media report of it.
Update: While browsing through Samson's thesis, I discovered that she had a picture of the lamb "wind tunnel apparatus".
Posted By: Alex - Sun Dec 05, 2021 -
Comments (2)
Category: Experiments, Farming, 1970s
The Onstage Death of Leonard Warren
Article source: Wilkes-Barre Times Leader (Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania) 05 Mar 1960, Sat Page 2As his Wikipedia page summarizes:
on March 4, during a performance of La forza del destino with Renata Tebaldi as Leonora and Thomas Schippers conducting, Warren suddenly collapsed and died on stage. Eyewitnesses including Rudolf Bing reported that Warren had completed Don Carlo's Act III aria, which begins Morir, tremenda cosa ("to die, a momentous thing"), and was supposed to open a sealed wallet, examine the contents and cry out "È salvo, o gioia" (He is safe, oh joy), before launching into the vigorous cabaletta. While Bing reports that Warren simply went silent and fell face-forward to the floor,[3] others state that he started coughing and gasping, and that he cried out "Help me, help me!" before falling to the floor, remaining motionless. Roald Reitan, singing the Surgeon, was on stage with Warren at the time of his death, and attempted to render aid.[1]
Posted By: Paul - Sun Dec 05, 2021 -
Comments (3)
Category: Death, Music, Noises and Other Public Disturbances of the Peace, 1960s
December 4, 2021
Sinkles
I posted a few days ago about the International Association of People Who Dine Over the Kitchen Sink, aka 'Sinkies'.And then yesterday, by chance, I came across this Portlandia sketch about Sinkles, the restaurant for people who dine over the kitchen sink.
Posted By: Alex - Sat Dec 04, 2021 -
Comments (1)
Category: Humor, Restaurants
Follies of the Madmen #521
Our candy is the only thing that offers solace to this hideous cyborg who lives a life of eternal anguish and pain.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Dec 04, 2021 -
Comments (4)
Category: Advertising, Candy
December 3, 2021
Whiffy’s Club
Because Marilyn Meissler had always wondered if she was the only person who liked the smell of skunks, in 1989 she placed an ad in USA Today seeking out other skunk lovers:Calling all Skunk Lovers. My family and friends think I am the only person in the world that likes the skunk scent. I would like to prove them wrong, so if you or anyone you know likes the scent, please reply.
She got such a positive response that a year later she founded "Whiffy's Club" — a club for people who like the odor of skunks. For $35 members got a t-shirt, button, membership card, and newsletter. And for an extra $11, they got a bottle of skunk aroma.
Montreal Gazette - July 3, 1989
Sequoyah County Times - Jan 31, 1991
Posted By: Alex - Fri Dec 03, 2021 -
Comments (3)
Category: Clubs, Fraternities and Other Self-selecting Organizations, Perfume and Cologne and Other Scents
Tinkerbell’s Mind
Bob Crewe had a master plan for the group, 'the Glitterhouse', who had been on his payroll for almost a year at the time that their first recordings came out. Crewe envisioned a one-two punch! Hit them with the 'Barbarella soundtrack album and then two months later, the Glitterhouse album, 'Color Blind'! Superstardom was surely around the corner at last for the now warehoused Glitterhouse. Big hits and big concerts? Barbarella' the single, did not happen for the Glitterhouse. The soundtrack album had some success but didn't seem to translate into any recognition for the band. The presence of the Glitterhouse was downplayed on the record and it seemed mostly a showcase for Bob Crewe and Charles Fox. The release of 'Color Blind - First Edition' was quick & quiet. A single from the album, 'Tinkerbell's Mind' made the top 50 in NYC, but died elsewhere. Any publicity was small indeed, and the band was never put out on the road or to play live. About four weeks after the release of 'Color Blind', when it was clear that the single had bombed, the Glitterhouse were taken off their meager salary, given no gigs and told to make do. Crewe had the band do some new demo's but there was also tension in the band. So, the Glitterhouse, attacked from without and within soon broke up and were readily released from their record label. One can only theorize about why the Glitterhouse were treated so shoddily by Crewe and his label. The Glitterhouse were a great live band that was never given an opportunity to play live. Crewe's company also managed them. Perhaps the label couldn't deal with a white sounding pop band fronted by a Black man. Who knows?
Posted By: Paul - Fri Dec 03, 2021 -
Comments (0)
Category: Forgotten Figures and Where Are They Now?, Music, Psychedelic, 1960s
December 2, 2021
Miss Drumsticks
The Miss Drumsticks contest began as a companion to the Arkansas Turkey Trot festival which, in turn, is famous for the tradition (now discontinued) of hurling live turkeys out of a plane.Contestants concealed their upper half behind a picture of a turkey so they could be judged on their 'drumsticks' alone.
I believe the contest continues to this day.
image source: Google arts and culture
Posted By: Alex - Thu Dec 02, 2021 -
Comments (2)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests
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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 |
