Help…It’s the Hair Bear Bunch!

The Wikipedia page.

According to author Christopher P. Lehman, Hanna-Barbera "dress[ed] the bears in counterculture apparel" in order to stay on track with the "mainstream" fashion in the United States.

Posted By: Paul - Sat May 22, 2021 - Comments (1)
Category: Animals, Anthropomorphism, Ineptness, Crudity, Talentlessness, Kitsch, and Bad Art, Television, Cartoons, 1970s

Buckeye Beer

The revitalized company still exists today, but no mention of reinstating their "mascots," Buck and Billy.

Read the history here.

Posted By: Paul - Fri May 14, 2021 - Comments (1)
Category: Animals, Human Marvels, Regionalism, Advertising, Corporate Mascots, Icons and Spokesbeings, Nineteenth Century, Twentieth Century, Alcohol

Escaped Tiger, 1915 Version

The tale of the Houston Tiger is okay, but not a patch on the 1915 event.



Source: The Los Angeles Times Los Angeles, California 03 Oct 1915, Sun Page 11

Posted By: Paul - Thu May 13, 2021 - Comments (2)
Category: Animals, Death, Hollywood, 1910s

The Sacred Chickens of Rome

Strange custom: The ancient Romans were reportedly loath to embark on any major undertaking, particularly battles, before they had consulted sacred chickens. As told by HistoryCollection.com:

Publius Claudius Pulcher And The Sacred Chickens

However, the advice of the sacred chickens wasn't always followed. As told by the Anecdotes from Antiquity blog:

Posted By: Alex - Wed May 05, 2021 - Comments (4)
Category: Animals, Customs, Religion

Follies of the Madmen #502

Baby Napoleon plus goat = ?

Source.

Posted By: Paul - Wed Mar 17, 2021 - Comments (3)
Category: Ambiguity, Uncertainty and Deliberate Obscurity, Animals, Business, Advertising, Domestic, 1950s

The Barkleys

Cartoon version of ALL IN THE FAMILY.

Posted By: Paul - Fri Mar 12, 2021 - Comments (2)
Category: Animals, Domestic, Family, Homages, Pastiches, Tributes and Borrowings, Cartoons, 1970s, Parody

The man who thought he was a gopher

We've now posted about several cases of clinical zoanthropy, which is the belief that one has turned into an animal. There was the woman who thought she was a camel, and another woman who decided she was a chicken.

Here's a third case, from 1982. Walter Murphy of Los Angeles, believing he was a gopher, started burrowing holes. PCP contributed to his delusion. He ended up suffocating to death inside one of his holes.

Kenosha News - Sep 21, 1982

Posted By: Alex - Tue Mar 09, 2021 - Comments (1)
Category: Animals, Bad Habits, Neuroses and Psychoses, Psychology, 1980s

Antler Island - the game

A game the whole family can play. As described on BoardGameGeek.com:





Or as described in the video review below: "There is a lot of sex with animals in it. They're mating."

Posted By: Alex - Sat Mar 06, 2021 - Comments (1)
Category: Animals, Games

“Wonder” by Ebony Buckle

London-based singer/songwriter Ebony Buckle is back with her latest single “Wonder”. The track is inspired by the world’s loneliest whale. “52” was first discovered in the 80s, singing at a frequency of 52hz (higher than any species known to humans). It was believed that this whale would not be heard by any of the other whales in the ocean, but now after decades of research, there is another theory that the whale’s song is heard by all other whales, as it stands out with its uniqueness. In awe of this natural wonder, Buckle wanted to give us a different perspective of the whale, turning her into an interdimensional traveler, who has lost contact with her home planet. The whale calls and calls for companionship, as she drifts further away.

Source of text.

Posted By: Paul - Thu Feb 25, 2021 - Comments (1)
Category: Animals, Fey, Twee, Whimsical, Naive and Sadsack, Music, Oceans and Maritime Pursuits, Space Travel, United Kingdom

Pigs Play Video Games

Researchers at Pennsylvania State University recently succeeded in teaching four pigs how to play a video game. Admittedly, the game was pretty simple. The pigs had to use a joystick to move a cursor toward a target wall on the computer screen. If they hit the wall, they'd hear a "bloop" and then get a food reward.

The pigs performed at a level far above random chance. However, the researchers noted that their skill level was below that of non-human primates. The scientists speculated that this may have been because it was difficult for the pigs to manipulate the joystick with their snout. Or perhaps it was because all four pigs were far-sighted and "despite attempts to position the computer monitor appropriately, it is impossible to know how well the pigs were able to see, and subsequently correctly discriminate between targets."

More info: Lab Manager, Frontiers in Psychology



Thanks to Gerald Sacks!

Posted By: Alex - Wed Feb 17, 2021 - Comments (1)
Category: Animals, Experiments, Videogames and Gamers