Animals
Hendrik Coetzee
Kadoma_teaser from Ben Stookesberry on Vimeo.
Do African explorers still get eaten by crocodiles in the 21st century? It seems a highly Victorian fate.
But it happened to Hendrik Coetzee just a little over a year ago. And now there's a documentary about him, the trailer for which is above.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Apr 04, 2012 -
Comments (4)
Category: Animals, Death, Eccentrics, Documentaries, Africa
Sunglasses for Chickens
Invented in 1937 to control cannibalism among chickens. Apparently chickens have a natural instinct to peck each other, but the sight of blood intensifies this instinct. So much so that if one chicken has blood on its feathers, all the others in the flock will peck it to death. This was a real problem for farmers until these rose-colored chicken sunglasses came along, which made it hard for the chickens to see the sight of blood. Nowadays, farmers must have other solutions to the problem of chicken cannibalism, because these glasses are no longer manufactured and are considered collector's items. (National Band and Tag via Feathered Forager)
Posted By: Alex - Mon Apr 02, 2012 -
Comments (6)
Category: Animals, Farming, Cannibalism, Fashion
Win Miniature Dog
I wonder what you actually got in the mail if you completed all the requirements for winning one of these things? Or was it impossible to ever complete the requirements?
(via jbcurio on flickr)
Posted By: Alex - Fri Mar 30, 2012 -
Comments (3)
Category: Animals
Simulated Horse Ride
From my pal, Sherry Mowbray.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Mar 24, 2012 -
Comments (6)
Category: Animals, Technology, Reader Recommendation, Asia, Double Entendres and Nudge-Nudge, Wink-Wink
March 15: Space Bat Memorial Day
On March 15, 2009, the Space Shuttle Discovery launched from Kennedy Space Center without any issues, except one. From Wikipedia:
Posted By: Alex - Thu Mar 15, 2012 -
Comments (5)
Category: Animals, Spaceflight, Astronautics, and Astronomy
Tentacle Grape
Old-hand WU-vies know all about the fascination of the Japanese for "tentacle sex." But did you know you could buy the matching soft drink?
One question remains: is the English-only pun with "tentacle rape" intentional or accidental?
Buy yours here.
Posted By: Paul - Mon Mar 12, 2012 -
Comments (8)
Category: Animals, Oceans and Maritime Pursuits, Junk Food, Asia
Mystery Gadget 8
What is this gadget doing to the poor goat?
Find out here.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Mar 11, 2012 -
Comments (5)
Category: Animals, Technology, 1930s
The Bat Bomb
A few weeks ago, Paul posted about a plan the U.S. military cooked up during WWII to destroy Japan by triggering volcanic explosions. The article below describes a similarly mad plan -- the Bat Bomb. The idea was to strap incendiary devices to bats, and then drop the bats on Japanese cities.I scanned the article from the Atlantic Monthly, December 1946. I think this was one of the first public descriptions of the bat bomb.
Posted By: Alex - Thu Mar 08, 2012 -
Comments (9)
Category: Animals, War, Weapons
Men Posing With A Chicken
Back in the Civil War era, going to a photographer's studio and getting your portrait taken wasn't cheap. People made sure they were dressed in their finest clothes and looked their best. So why did these men choose to pose with a chicken? It appears to be the same chicken in both shots. Was it a prize chicken? Or just a favorite pet? Unfortunately the backstory to these photos has been lost to time. (via Photo_History on Flickr)
Posted By: Alex - Mon Mar 05, 2012 -
Comments (8)
Category: Animals, Photography and Photographers
My Excellent South American Adventure
Despite my daily posts last week, I was really among the missing. I spent from the 20th to the 27th (counting travel time) in Medellin, Colombia, being a guest speaker at this conference.But now I'm home, and have read all the posts and comments from the past week, and just want to say a big thanks to Alex and Chuck and all the witty, talented WU-vies who make this site so wonderful.
Here are two fotos from my trip.
Salsa dancers working up a sweat to advertise something at EIGHT IN THE MORNING! I was ready to buy anything the ladies offered.
Strange grafitti. What revelation is the monkey experiencing?
Posted By: Paul - Tue Feb 28, 2012 -
Comments (8)
Category: Animals, Conventions, Advertising, Paul, Dance, South America
| Who We Are |
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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, science-themed books such as Elephants on Acid and Psychedelic Apes. 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. Contact Us |