Weird Universe Archive
July 2022
July 21, 2022
Perfume for Ice Cream
Ice-cream chain Salt & Straw is coming out with "culinary perfume" that's designed to be sprayed on ice cream. It'll come in three varieties: "A Cloud of Cocoa," "A Plume of Blooms," and "A Swoon of Citrus."I'll stick with chocolate sauce.
More info: instagram
Posted By: Alex - Thu Jul 21, 2022 -
Comments (0)
Category: Junk Food, Perfume and Cologne and Other Scents
Black Hole Symphony
Black Hole Symphony, which was penned by composer David Ibbett and is due to be performed by an orchestra at the Museum of Science in Boston, Massachusetts, blends real science into the creative mix.
The work cleverly translates cutting-edge research on black holes into an electro-symphonic score with five movements and includes visuals based on images taken by scientific instruments, including the Event Horizon Telescope, a large array made from a global network of radio telescopes, which took the first image of a black hole.
Not to be confused with "Black Hole Sun."
Posted By: Paul - Thu Jul 21, 2022 -
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Category: Music, Science, Spaceflight, Astronautics, and Astronomy, Cacophony, Dissonance, White Noise and Other Sonic Assaults
July 20, 2022
Cook with your own biogas
The HomeBiogas Bio-Toilet collects your poop and uses anaerobic digestion to decompose it, transforming it into biogas (methane) that you can use for cooking. The kit comes with everything you need: the toilet, the tent in which the methane conversion/collection happens, and the stove for cooking.I'm intrigued by the idea, but I wonder if the methane would have any lingering smell. Can't find this addressed on the product website.
More info: HomeBiogas.com
Along similar lines, here's an article about a university in South Korea that's using human biowaste to power a building. People who contribute their poop, by using the toilet in the building, earn "a virtual currency called Ggool, which means honey in Korean." This currency can be used to buy goods on campus.
Posted By: Alex - Wed Jul 20, 2022 -
Comments (4)
Category: Excrement, Power Generation
The Tonight Shirt
NOTE: Positively not endorsed by Johnny Carson!
Posted By: Paul - Wed Jul 20, 2022 -
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Category: Fashion, Television, Advertising, Twentieth Century
July 19, 2022
Terry Riley’s In C
According to Wikipedia, the musical piece "In C," composed by Terry Riley in 1964, was one of the first minimalist compositions. It consisted of "53 short numbered musical phrases, lasting from half a beat to 32 beats... repeated an arbitrary number of times at the discretion of each musician in the ensemble."Wikipedia also notes:
As detailed in some editions of the score, it is customary for one musician ("traditionally… a beautiful girl," Riley notes in the score) to play the note C in repeated eighth notes, typically on a piano or pitched-percussion instrument (e.g. marimba). This functions as a metronome and is referred to as "The Pulse".
At one performance of "In C," in 1971, as the pianist repeatedly hit the same C key, the rest of the orchestra and the audience simply left the room until she was done. Supposedly she didn't notice until they had returned.
Birmingham Post - Jan 16, 1971
According to music historian Alex Ross, in his book The Rest is Noise, Terry Riley's "In C" was quite controversial when it first came out and some initial performances "elicited lusty boos". So I'm guessing that what happened in 1971 was that the audience and orchestra left the room in protest, leaving the pianist to continue playing alone. I'm sure she must have noticed that everyone was gone.
Posted By: Alex - Tue Jul 19, 2022 -
Comments (4)
Category: Music
The Mozambique Dance
The ladies don't come onstage soon enough in the video, but that's my only complaint.
Source: The Province (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada)18 Feb 1965, Thu Page 29
Posted By: Paul - Tue Jul 19, 2022 -
Comments (0)
Category: Fads, Music, 1960s, Dance, Caribbean
July 18, 2022
Miss Watermelon Bust
A 'watermelon bust' is a watermelon-themed party. Having a watermelon bust is an old, mostly Southern tradition, dating back to the nineteenth century.Around the beginning of the twentieth century, college fraternities started hosting watermelon busts, usually at the start of the school year. The events would include activities such as seed-spitting and watermelon-eating contests.
Around the mid-twentieth century, with the introduction of co-education, young college women began attending these watermelon busts, and so it soon occurred to their organizers to add a new activity: a Miss Watermelon Bust pageant.
Chinook 1955 - of Washington State University Yearbook
During the 1950s, these pageants seem to have been innocent enough. But in the 1960s, they acquired a more salacious character. Inspired by the possible double meaning of the title 'Miss Watermelon Bust,' they became focused on selecting the sorority member with the largest bust.
Usually this involved having the contestants parade back and forth in front of the judges. But on a few campuses, such as at the University of Evansville, the contestant who came closest to matching a cutout profile of a buxom woman was declared the winner.
LinC 1966 - University of Evansville Yearbook
Indianapolis News - Sep 25, 1967
Miss Watermelon Bust pageants were held on multiple campuses, but it was mostly chapters of the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity that sponsored them. The pageant at Butler University in Indianapolis received the most attention.
Indianapolis News - Sep 21, 1968
Galion Inquirer - Sep 26, 1970
During the 1960s, the young sorority women seem to have gone along with the pageant willingly enough. But during the 1970s objections began to be voiced, noting that the pageant had a definite "male chauvinist flavor."
The pageant continued on for a number of years, but by the 1980s it had mostly been eliminated, replaced by pageants with less suggestive titles such as "Miss Melon Mania" or "Miss Spring Fling."
However, some googling reveals that, as late as 2019, a Miss Watermelon Bust pageant continued to be held on some campuses, such as at Culver-Stockton College, again hosted by Lambda Chi Alpha. I have no idea if the pageant still had an anatomical focus.
Harlingen Valley Morning Star - Sep 30, 1973
Chicago Tribune - Sep 24, 1974
On a final note, the most famous Miss Watermelon Bust was Cissy Colpitts, who won the title at Butler University in 1967 (shown above). She went on to minor fame as an actress, later adopting the name Cisse Cameron, appearing in movies such as Porky's II and Space Mutiny, and with a recurring role as Graziella on The Ted Knight Show. You can find a lot more info about her at Booksteve's Library.
Posted By: Alex - Mon Jul 18, 2022 -
Comments (1)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests
Mystery Illustration 108
What's extra-special about this submarine?The answer is here.
Or after the jump.
More in extended >>
Posted By: Paul - Mon Jul 18, 2022 -
Comments (2)
Category: Oceans and Maritime Pursuits, Technology, 1950s, Weapons
July 17, 2022
Failed Driving Test
There's flunking your driving test... and then there's really flunking the test.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram - Apr 26, 1978
Posted By: Alex - Sun Jul 17, 2022 -
Comments (1)
Category: 1970s, Cars
The Umbrella Man of Seattle
A great eccentric figure from the past.Good long article here with many illos.
The shorter Wikipedia page.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Jul 17, 2022 -
Comments (0)
Category: Eccentrics, Regionalism, Weather, Nineteenth Century, Twentieth Century
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