Pageant Planet

I just stumbled across this website, which curates all the ongoing beauty pageants everywhere. It ties in of course with our WU quest for odd beauty contests. But it's almost too rich, like shooting fish in a barrel. Of course, it doesn't cover great historical items, like best housewife or Miss Atomic Bomb. Nonetheless, you might like to wander its pages.

Miss Gamecock.



Miss Pasadena Livestock Show and Rodeo Beauty Contest

Posted By: Paul - Tue Nov 09, 2021 - Comments (3)
Category: Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Contests, Races and Other Competitions, World

Gastro Obscura

A new book from the ATLAS OBSCURA folks about weird foods. A perfect Xmas present for any WU-vie!

I understand Jeppson's Malört is discussed therein.

Posted By: Paul - Thu Oct 14, 2021 - Comments (1)
Category: Food, Regionalism, World, Nausea, Revulsion and Disgust

Beyond the Map

Read more here.

Posted By: Paul - Tue Apr 17, 2018 - Comments (0)
Category: Weird Studies and Guides, World, Books

First World Problems as Voiced by Third World Residents

I know this is a commercial -- advertising a new water filter you can buy for people who need cleaner water.
But the gripes expressed by First World spoiled teens being voiced by people who have real problems to deal with just made me smile (and be sad at the same time).



I just hate it when I can't read Weird Universe as often as I would like.

Other mundane gripes?

Posted By: gdanea - Mon Oct 08, 2012 - Comments (4)
Category: World

1500 Ping Pong Balls in Liquid Nitrogen

Cool explosion at 3:52



Liquid nitrogen is cool!!

(Sorry again)

Posted By: gdanea - Mon Oct 08, 2012 - Comments (5)
Category: World

Visit the Strange

Looking for an unusual vacation spot? Then you might consider one of eight strange destinations as listed in this article on the Matador Network. There's Mount Thor (pictured), in Nunavut, Canada which has the highest (4101ft) vertical drop, if you're into rock climbing... or falling, as the case may be. Or you can swing by the Principality of Sealand which is nothing more than several gun platforms in the English Channel that were abandoned by the British after World War II. It was declared an independent nation in 1967 and has its own currency and can issue passports and visas. Sealand is also for sale, if you ever dreamt of owning your own country, and let's face it, all of us here at WU have had that dream I'm sure. But no matter where you might want to go in the world, this list could be a great starting point.

Posted By: Nethie - Sat Dec 19, 2009 - Comments (2)
Category: Geography and Maps, Nature, Travel, World

Eugênio Hirsch

Discovering traces of a forgotten surrealist/pop artist is always nice and weird. That's why I'm happy to present here some data on Eugênio Hirsch--a name I believe will be little-known to English-speaking art-lovers.

I took the liberty of having Google translate his Spanish Wikipedia entry, and then cleaned up the text a bit.

Eugênio Hirsch (Vienna, 1923 - Rio de Janeiro, September 23 2001) was a visual artist of Austrian origin, considered one of the pioneers of Brazilian graphic design.

Eugênio Hirsch was born in Vienna, Austria in 1923. Given the imminence of World War II his family emigrated in 1938 to Argentina, where Hirsch was highlighted as a graphic artist. During his stay in Argentina, he lived in Buenos Aires where he worked for the Encyclopedia Codex. In 1947 he met Monteiro Lobato, who illustrated texts mentioned in the editorial. He also lived in San Miguel de Tucuman where he worked with Lino Spilimbergo Enea.

In 1955 he emigrated to Brazil. Beginning in 1960 he was hired by the publisher "Civilização Brasileira" and in a short time revolutionized the concept and design of book covers, becoming one of the biggest names in this specialty. In 1960 he won the Jabuti Award (highest distinction in the field Brazilian literary and artistic). He was considered a pioneer of graphic design with decisive influence on subsequent generations. One of his favorite quote was "Uma feita layer is to attack, did not to please" ( "A cap is used to attack, not to please"). In 1965 he traveled to the United States where he collaborated with Playboy magazine and then to Europe, but then returned to his adoptive country, Brazil.

Among his most famous works include the illustration done for the novel Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov. He was also recalled for his eccentric personality.

Eugênio Hirsch died in Rio de Janeiro on September 23, 2001.

You can see some of his book covers on this Flickr page. But my favorite is this one he did for the novel Flesh by the great Philip Jose Farmer.




How did I chance upon Hirsch's work? Through this pictorial in Playboy for December 1965. The mildly NSFW totality of the feature is to be found after the jump.





More in extended >>

Posted By: Paul - Sun Aug 10, 2008 - Comments (4)
Category: Art, Pop Art, Surrealism, History, Historical Figure, Literature, Books, Science Fiction, Magazines, Sexuality, Sex Symbols, World, Europe, South America