Weird Universe Archive
November 2024
November 20, 2024
Crisco Sandwich
Domestic science consultant Sarah Field Splint introduced the world to the Crisco sandwich in her 1926 book The Art of Cooking and Serving. As the name implies, a Crisco sandwich is a sandwich made primarily from Crisco vegetable shortening (mixed with some salt, mustard, and other seasonings).More recently, the world was reintroduced to the sandwich by Instagram celebrity Barry Enderwick (aka the "sandwiches of history" guy). He includes it in his new book, Sandwiches of History: The Cookbook.
Posted By: Alex - Wed Nov 20, 2024 -
Comments (3)
Category: Food, Cookbooks
RIP Fratello Metallo, Heavy Metal Monk
His Wikipedia page.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Nov 20, 2024 -
Comments (0)
Category: Music, Religion, Europe
November 19, 2024
The Forsaken Army—lost, rewritten, then found
Heinrich Gerlach's semi-autobiographical novel, The Forsaken Army, recounts events at the Battle of Stalingrad, which he participated in as an officer in the 14th Panzer Division. But what sets the novel apart as a literary curiosity is that Gerlach wrote much of it while under hypnosis.
The story goes that Gerlach wrote the book while he was being held prisoner by the Soviets after the battle. However, the Soviets then confiscated his manuscript.
Years later, after he had been freed and was back in Germany, Gerlach used hypnosis to reconstruct his lost manuscript. When it was published in 1957, it became a bestseller.
Life - Mar 7, 1960
In 2012, after Gerlach was dead, his original manuscript was found in Russian military archives. It was published a few years later as Breakout at Stalingrad (or, sometimes, Breakthrough at Stalingrad). So, if you want, you can read both versions.
Somewhat related, the Guardian has a list of 10 famous lost manuscripts.
More info: wikipedia; The Forsaken Army (archive.org link)
Posted By: Alex - Tue Nov 19, 2024 -
Comments (0)
Category: Hypnotism, Mesmerism and Mind Control, War, Books
The Snowball Church
I scope out daily the list of deaths that Wikipedia curates, where I often see intriguing tidbits. Recently I came across a death notice for Apóstolo Rina (in Portuguese), and was intrigued to see that he was both the church founder and a surfer. ("Bola de Neve" translates to "Snow Ball," by the way, but I remain uncertain of its pertinence.)
Inquiring further, I learned from their entry on Portuguese Wikipedia:
Unlike most churches, it initially appealed to a young and informal audience. The church also seeks to maintain its image associated with extreme sports, such as surfing , skateboarding , running and cycling , and many of its temples have decorations based on these sports.... The first meetings took place in a surf shop and, with no pulpit or table available to support the Bible, the option was to use the surfboard , a trademark of the Bola de Neve Churches.
You can see their groovy surfboard altar in the video.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Nov 19, 2024 -
Comments (0)
Category: Eccentrics, Religion, Sports, South America
November 18, 2024
Plastic Gravestones
Back in the 1980s, Edgar Dakin hoped to revolutionize the funeral industry by introducing cheap, plastic gravestones. Though he acknowledged that he was opposed by powerful interest groups:"Stonemasons are very powerful people," he says darkly. "Stone masons, Freemasons. You know what I mean? The people with funny hand-shakes."
I'm not familiar enough with the funeral industry to know if plastic gravestones are available today. Googling 'plastic gravestones' only brings up the kind that you put in your front yard for Halloween.
London Independent - Jan 9, 1988
Dakin was granted a patent (GB2210080) in 1989 by the British patent office for his plastic gravestone.
Posted By: Alex - Mon Nov 18, 2024 -
Comments (9)
Category: Death, Patents, 1980s
The Great Comic Switcheroo
Read about this excellent April Fool's Day prank at Wikipedia.Here are some representative strips.
Posted By: Paul - Mon Nov 18, 2024 -
Comments (1)
Category: Newspapers, Identity Mistakes, Thefts and Mix-ups, Comics, 1990s
November 17, 2024
Green Thunderstorms
I can't say that I've ever seen a green thunderstorm (i.e. the sky appearing to turn green during a storm), but apparently a lot of people have. The phenomenon was the subject of a 1997 PhD dissertation written by Frank Gallagher at the University of Oklahoma School of Meteorology. Gallagher wrote:Many people around the world have observed green light apparently emanating from severe thunderstorms, but until recently there has been no scientific study of the phenomenon. Green thunderstorms have been observed from time to time in association with deep convection or severe weather events. Some skeptics who have not personally observed a green thunderstorm suggest that they are some kind of illusion.
Gallagher concluded that green thunderstorms are real:
The existence of green thunderstorms has been objectively demonstrated by recording spectra of light from thunderstorms using a handheld spectrophotometer. During the spring and summer of 1995 and the spring of 1996 numerous storms were observed and spectra of the light emanating from these storms were recorded. Observations were made both at the ground and aboard research aircraft.
And why do thunderstorms sometimes turn green?
Bohren believes that reddened sunlight in combination with filtering done by naturally blue-colored water creates green light. Given our observations, this is the most likely explanation for the green light. Our observations and calculations indicate that, depending on the microphysical parameters of the cloud, sunlight transmitted by the cloud may appear green.
A famous example in art of a green sky during a severe weather event can be seen in John Steuart Curry's 1929 painting Tornado over Kansas.
Posted By: Alex - Sun Nov 17, 2024 -
Comments (3)
Category: Weather
Louise Lecavalier
The first video is about her, the other two illustrate her style. Are you down for an hour or so of this?
Posted By: Paul - Sun Nov 17, 2024 -
Comments (0)
Category: Spastic, Uncontrolled, Awkward and Herky-Jerky Movements, Avant Garde, Dance
November 16, 2024
Three Ronald Legendres
When Ronald Legendre got married in 1995, his best man was also named Ronald Legendre, as was the judge who performed the service.None of this was exactly a coincidence. The best man and groom had met years before due to having the same last name (but they were genuinely best friends), and then they deliberately sought out the judge for the wedding.
Like Ronald Legendre, I have an uncommon last name. Thanks to Google, I know there are other Alex Boeses out there, but I've never met any of them. In fact, I've never met anyone (outside of family) who shares my last name. Though I recently discovered that there's a Boese Brothers Brewery in Albuquerque. I plan to check it out next time I'm in that neck of the woods.
Athol Daily News - Aug 14, 1995
Posted By: Alex - Sat Nov 16, 2024 -
Comments (2)
Category: Odd Names, 1990s, Weddings
The Calamities and Quarrels of Authors
Anyone who has ever romanticized the writing life should read this book. It's a kind of HOLLYWOOD BABYLON of its era. Disraeli pulls no punches, as seen in the excerpt below.Find it at the Internet Archive.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Nov 16, 2024 -
Comments (2)
Category: Literature, Nineteenth Century
| Get WU Posts by Email | |
|---|---|
| Who We Are |
|---|
| 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 |
