Weird Universe Archive
January 2025
January 3, 2025
Can the beauty queen make a batter pudding?
1950: E.W. Wyer, a councillor in Hunstanton (Norfolk), proposed that beauty contests should focus on brains as well as beauty. He suggested:A few questions like 'How do you make a batter pudding?' or 'How do you get stains out of tablecloths?' would soon show if beauty was backed by brains.
London Daily Mirror - Oct 18, 1950
Posted By: Alex - Fri Jan 03, 2025 -
Comments (1)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Intelligence, Gender, 1950s
I Live in a Split-Level Head
Posted By: Paul - Fri Jan 03, 2025 -
Comments (0)
Category: Music, 1960s, Mental Health and Insanity
January 2, 2025
Dancing with Robots
Catie Cuan has carved out a niche for herself as a pioneer of choreorobotics (dancing with robots). Through her dancing she hopes to help "dispel fears of a robot takeover."More info: CatieCuan.com, sfchronicle.com
Posted By: Alex - Thu Jan 02, 2025 -
Comments (0)
Category: Robots, Dance
The Order of Christian Mystics
Wikipedia entry here.The Order of Christian Mystics was a 20th-century spiritual order that was promulgated to give to the Western world advanced Christian mysticism based on the Western mystery school tradition.[1][2]
The order was founded in Philadelphia in 1908 by Harriette Augusta and Frank Homer Curtiss. Its original name was The Order of the Fifteen, but it was later changed to The Order of Christian Mystics. Their intent was to combine Theosophy with traditional Christian doctrine. Their teachings were transmitted through Harriette by the Founder of the Theosophical Society, Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, otherwise simply referred to as The Teacher of the Order.
The teachings of the order were promulgated mainly through a system of correspondence, extensive publishing of books and delivering of lectures at many centres. Their pupils numbered many thousands in over 70 countries. Mainly their works were aimed at the American esoteric fraternity, for it was believed that America would remain the spiritually dominant nation regarding Western mysticism for many years to come.
The spiritual philosophy as espoused by this Order was based on a system of personal regeneration, otherwise called spiritual alchemy, by transmuting the base creative energy, through Divine purity, prayer, devotion, study and meditation. This was put forth in the Western mystical tradition, a system of mysticism suitable for the Western culture and mindset, encompassing a new interpretation on all former teachings given under the names of Rosicrucianism, Gnosticism and the Western mystery school teachings.
I am fond of their advice book to youngsters. No mere admonitions about washing behind your ears!
Posted By: Paul - Thu Jan 02, 2025 -
Comments (0)
Category: New Age, Religion, Supernatural, Occult, Paranormal, Books, Twentieth Century
January 1, 2025
The Year 2025, as foreseen in 1925
Welcome to 2025!The scientist Archibald Montgomery Low (1888-1956) is remembered as a pioneer of drone aircraft. He also liked to make predictions about the future. Back in the early 1920s he published a book titled The Future in which he speculated about what the world would look like in 1925, as well as in the year 3000.
Some of his predictions were quite accurate. Others were more bizarre.
What I judge to be his accurate predictions:
"Signatures to checks may be sent by wireless to the bank while the cashier watches by 'television'"
"The average man of 2025 will be awakened by a radio alarm clock."
"At breakfast... a loud speaker will take the place of a morning paper, giving him all the news, while a 'television' machine will replace the daily pictorial newspapers."
"automatic telephones will be everywhere and will get the right number at all times"
"In the evening when a business man goes to the movies he will see half a dozen films being shown at the same time on the same screen. He will glance at the program and by setting his observation apparatus to the key number of the film he wishes to see, he will cut out all but that one."
"The average man of 2025 will be awakened by a radio alarm clock."
"At breakfast... a loud speaker will take the place of a morning paper, giving him all the news, while a 'television' machine will replace the daily pictorial newspapers."
"automatic telephones will be everywhere and will get the right number at all times"
"In the evening when a business man goes to the movies he will see half a dozen films being shown at the same time on the same screen. He will glance at the program and by setting his observation apparatus to the key number of the film he wishes to see, he will cut out all but that one."
And his inaccurate ones:
"women will at last dress logically in a one-piece hygienic suit, warmed by wireless"
"baldness will be almost universal"
"[The man of 2025] will then go to his office in his own car, which will be carried by an elevator to the door of his office. If he has to go anywhere on foot moving sidewalks will convey him without exertion."
"baldness will be almost universal"
"[The man of 2025] will then go to his office in his own car, which will be carried by an elevator to the door of his office. If he has to go anywhere on foot moving sidewalks will convey him without exertion."
News of Cumberland County - Sep 15, 1925
You can read Low's book at the Internet Archive. I think he would have liked the fact that his book is available on-demand via "wireless."
Below are some illustrations from the book.
More info: "Scientist's 'ruthlessly imaginative' 1925 predictions for the future come true – mostly" (The Guardian)
Posted By: Alex - Wed Jan 01, 2025 -
Comments (3)
Category: 1920s, New Year, Yesterday’s Tomorrows
Happy New Year’s Day 2025!
Posted By: Paul - Wed Jan 01, 2025 -
Comments (0)
Category: Holidays, Hollywood, Correspondence, Telegrams, Letters, and Other Written Communications
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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 |
