August 2024
August 31, 2024
Rats as music critics
According to German researcher Otto Nieschulz, when rats listen to music they prefer to listen to French chansons.But when Nieschulz says 'chansons' does he mean "secular polyphonic French songs of late medieval and Renaissance music" or the "style of French pop music which emerged in the 1950s and 1960s"? According to wikipedia, both are known as chansons.
I haven't been able to track down Nieschulz's original paper, so there's no way to know. I'm guessing the rats might enjoy both.
Indianapolis Star - May 16, 1966
Victoria Times Colonist - Apr 29, 1966
Posted By: Alex - Sat Aug 31, 2024 -
Comments (1)
Category: Animals, Music, Experiments
The Kids from C.A.P.E.R.
Wikipedia entry here.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Aug 31, 2024 -
Comments (3)
Category: Ineptness, Crudity, Talentlessness, Kitsch, and Bad Art, Music, Television, Homages, Pastiches, Tributes and Borrowings, 1970s, Comedians
August 30, 2024
The Singing Sculpture
The Singing Sculpture by the art duo Gilbert & George is well known, though I just discovered it recently. Info from wikipedia:It is also unusual for one of the pair to be seen without the other. The pair regard themselves as "living sculptures". They refuse to dissociate their art from their everyday lives, insisting that everything they do is art. They were listed as among the fifty best-dressed over-50s by The Guardian in March 2013.
It's now become common to see street performers painted in metallic paint. They pretend to be unmoving statues until someone gives them some money, and then they may move abruptly. You can find them in the downtown areas of many big cities, wherever there are a lot of tourists.
I wonder if Gilbert & George's Singing Sculpture was the original inspiration for this form of performance art? I haven't been able to find any direct confirmation of this, but nor have I been able to find any examples of 'Bronze Man' performers before 1969.
More info: "Gilbert & George's Singing sculpture"
Posted By: Alex - Fri Aug 30, 2024 -
Comments (1)
Category: Performance Art, 1960s
Magoo in Hi-Fi
Once you get past the daft spoken word bits with Mr McGoo, this gets excellent, almost avant-garde in places, with incredible work by Dennis Farnon and Marni Nixon. The Very Contrary Mary track is stunning.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Aug 30, 2024 -
Comments (1)
Category: Music, Vinyl Albums and Other Media Recordings, Avant Garde, Cartoons, 1950s
August 29, 2024
The egg on the head scam
San Francisco Examiner - Dec 22, 1974
Posted By: Alex - Thu Aug 29, 2024 -
Comments (0)
Category: Frauds, Cons and Scams, 1970s
Follies of the Madmen #604
"No more washee, washee! Melican man wear celluloid collar and cuff!"
Posted By: Paul - Thu Aug 29, 2024 -
Comments (1)
Category: Fashion, Stereotypes and Cliches, Advertising, Asia, Nineteenth Century
August 28, 2024
In three weeks he may be dead…
Look at Bambi lying in a field. Bambi will be dead soon.
Sports Illustrated - July 1970
Coincidentally, this ad appeared within a year of the release of the classic animated short "Bambi Meets Godzilla." Perhaps the ad men had seen Marv Newland's film. Newland went into advertising after making his film, so it's at least possible.
Posted By: Alex - Wed Aug 28, 2024 -
Comments (3)
Category: Advertising, Cartoons, 1960s, 1970s
Hundreds of Beavers
The Wikipedia page.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Aug 28, 2024 -
Comments (2)
Category: Costumes and Masks, Freaks, Oddities, Quirks of Nature, Humor, Movies, Twenty-first Century
August 27, 2024
Mystery Flesh Pit National Park
Located near Gumption, Texas, the Mystery Flesh Pit National Park is a must-see for all curiosity-seekers.
Of course, it's an elaborate satire. A mash-up of upbeat National Park merchandising and Lovecraftian horror. But apparently not everyone realizes that. Its creator, artist Trevor Roberts, reports:
More info: outdoorswire.usatoday.com
Posted By: Alex - Tue Aug 27, 2024 -
Comments (2)
Category: Freaks, Oddities, Quirks of Nature, Satire
Atomic Car
Posted By: Paul - Tue Aug 27, 2024 -
Comments (1)
Category: Atomic Power and Other Nuclear Matters, 1960s, Europe, Cars
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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 |
