Weird Universe Archive
May 2022
May 21, 2022
The Eleven Commandments of Revenge
From Spite, Malice & Revenge: The Complete Guide to Getting Even, by M. Nelson Chunder and George Hayduke (1988).These commandments seem like they would be broadly applicable to many types of criminal activity.
Posted By: Alex - Sat May 21, 2022 -
Comments (1)
Category: Pranks and Revenge
The Witch Dance
I am a little late to this fad, initiated in 2016. But since it is still currently surging (this article ((possibly paywalled))) cites a current instance in my native state, I thought we needed to know about it.This older article explains.
But at the end of April, the women of Wolfshäger Hexenbrut (in English: The Wolf Hunter's Coven), located in Wolfshagen im Harz, Germany, do something a little different.
They get together to celebrate Walpurgis, a holiday celebrating fertility, celebrations including lots of dancing, foods, and drinking, which usually occurs every year on April 30th.
However, in 2016, their celebrations included a choreographed dance to Schüttel deinen Speck, in English: Shake Your Bacon, by German Reggae-Pop artist, Peter Fox, in 2008.
The dance went viral once posted to YouTube -
Posted By: Paul - Sat May 21, 2022 -
Comments (0)
Category: Holidays, Supernatural, Occult, Paranormal, Bohemians, Beatniks, Hippies and Slackers, Europe, Twenty-first Century
May 20, 2022
Charles Davis, collector of elephant hairs
Charles Davis collected elephant hairs — in particular the long hairs that grow from their tails. By the time he was 83, in 1962, he had hairs from 357 different elephants.
Cincinnati Enquirer - June 14, 1959
Details from a syndicated article by Ramon J. Geremia (Weirton Daily Times - Mar 24, 1962)
Davis, 83, who uses the title "Elephant Biographer," lives alone in a six-room house surrounded by mementoes of circuses and of elephants he has known, loved and pulled hair from. There are statues of elephants, elephant-shaped lamps, pieces of ivory, elephant bull hooks, even a tooth garnered in 1933 from an elephant named "Vera."...
But the elephant hairs make up the bulk of the collection of elephantiana. The longest one is 13 inches, the shortest, plucked from a 200 pound baby elephant, is one and one-half inches long. They include colors ranging from black to white with a few red chin whiskers.
Most of them were plucked from elephant tails — some were cut from the more belligerent behemoths. Every zoo in the nation is represented, except the Bronx Zoo in New York...
Davis started his unusual hobby as an elephantphile in 1928. He asked a circus elephant trainer to suggest something he could collect from or about elephants and the trainer suggested hair. Davis, a retired optometrist, says his collection "took my mind off business."
But the elephant hairs make up the bulk of the collection of elephantiana. The longest one is 13 inches, the shortest, plucked from a 200 pound baby elephant, is one and one-half inches long. They include colors ranging from black to white with a few red chin whiskers.
Most of them were plucked from elephant tails — some were cut from the more belligerent behemoths. Every zoo in the nation is represented, except the Bronx Zoo in New York...
Davis started his unusual hobby as an elephantphile in 1928. He asked a circus elephant trainer to suggest something he could collect from or about elephants and the trainer suggested hair. Davis, a retired optometrist, says his collection "took my mind off business."
Posted By: Alex - Fri May 20, 2022 -
Comments (0)
Category: Animals, Collectors, Hair and Hairstyling
Pucci Ski Mask
B&W source: The Evening Sun (Baltimore, Maryland) 01 Jan 1963, Tue Page 4
Posted By: Paul - Fri May 20, 2022 -
Comments (1)
Category: Fashion, Skating, Sledding, Skiing and Other Wintertime Pursuits, Surrealism, 1960s
May 19, 2022
Unsuspecting drug dealer
July 1973: Two undercover agents approached Eduardo Bazua at a gas station and attempted to buy heroin from him. However, he was reluctant to make the sale there and asked if there was somewhere more private they could go. So the agents took him to their nearby office at the Drug Enforcement Agency. Once in the office, Bazua proceeded to make the sale, and the agents promptly arrested him.In Bazua's defense, there was no lettering on the door identifying it as the DEA, but even so, the fact that the office was on the 12th floor of the downtown federal building should have been a clue.
Los Angeles Times - July 27, 1973
San Bernardino County Sun - July 26, 1973
Posted By: Alex - Thu May 19, 2022 -
Comments (0)
Category: Drugs, Stupid Criminals, 1970s
Each Child Is Different
Posted By: Paul - Thu May 19, 2022 -
Comments (5)
Category: Education, Family, Children, PSA’s, 1950s
May 18, 2022
The Tweter, sweater for two
The tweter was a fashion gimmick introduced in 1963. It continued to be sold for about a year before the public lost interest.
Lexington Herald - Nov 1, 1963
Life - Oct 25, 1963
For young women, the tweter apparently posed some challenges. If they agreed to wear it, were they implicitly agreeing to do more than just holding hands? Molly Mayfield thought so.
Tucson Daily Citizen - Dec 5, 1963
Posted By: Alex - Wed May 18, 2022 -
Comments (2)
Category: Fashion, 1960s, Love & Romance
Canary Sing-along
Pet birds making their traditional sonic calls while classical music plays.
This little player starts at track one and goes through the whole album. But if you'd like to skip right to your favorite, go here.
Posted By: Paul - Wed May 18, 2022 -
Comments (2)
Category: Animals, Music, 1960s
May 17, 2022
Cannery Row in a can
Created by artists Peter and Donna Thomas in 2003.Info from UW Milwaukee library:
To see the book, the can must be opened with a can opener, presenting the owner with a dilemma: do they want their artwork to be ‘original’ and leave the can sealed, or do they open the can to see the book inside. We had hoped to use a sardine tin, with the little key to open it, but could not find a source. During the search we found a local business, Dave’s Albacore, which had an old canning machine salvaged from Cannery Row. They were willing to can the book for us, saying ‘drop it off on a Friday and we will can the books first thing Monday morning, and hopefully that way they won’t smell too much like fish.’
Posted By: Alex - Tue May 17, 2022 -
Comments (3)
Category: Art, Books
The Artist’s Dream
The quality of the film is less than perfect, but I think it's still enjoyable--and weird!
Posted By: Paul - Tue May 17, 2022 -
Comments (2)
Category: Dreams and Nightmares, Cartoons, Dogs, 1910s
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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 |
