I haven't been able to post much lately, and now that the semester is over it is time to go back home where I won't be able to post at all due to dialup being the only internet connection. I'll try to post at least once more before I leave, but for now here are some great (and confusing) Pepsi ads from some 1940s issues of Popular Science. There are too many to list which issues they came from, so click the picture to go to the original source.
"That's one small step for man, one giant leap... to infinity and beyond!"
Those, presumably, are what 1-in-10 UK schoolchildren believe were the historic words spoken by the first man on the moon, who according to them was Buzz Lightyear.
In a survey of 1000 primary and secondary school pupils by Dr Pam Waddell of Birmingham in England, Buzz was the top incorrect answer given to the question of who was the first man on the moon, though other incorrect responses included Richard Branson, Lance Armstrong and Luke Skywalker. Another question, who invented the telephone, drew answers of Charles Darwin, Noel Edmunds and the Queen, while Isaac Newton was variously credited with discovering fire, DNA and America. The results, released just ahead of a British "National Science and Engineering Week" to promote science to schoolchildren, shows that educators there still have a long way to go (Telegraph).
I was originally going to display three or four of the most unique items from Archie McPhee's web store to give you an example of the true weirdness you can find there (vengeful unicorns, remote controlled hopping yodelling lederhosen, bacon bath soap, inflatable toast). But once I started digging deeper to find just the right ones, I realized there was no way I could stick to just a few. My fellow WUvians needed to see all of the zany craziness that McPhee's has to offer. And how can you resist any company whose motto is "Slightly Less Disappointing Than Other Companies". So if you're in need of a last minute gift idea for the weirdo on your list, this is the place for you.
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.