Weird Universe Archive
September 2011
September 26, 2011
News of the Weird / Pro Edition (September 26, 2011)
News of the Weird/Pro EditionYou're Still Not Cynical Enough
Prime Cuts of Underreported News from Last Week, Hand-Picked and Lightly Seasoned by Chuck Shepherd
September 26, 2011
(datelines September 17-September 24) (links correct as of September 26)
Joy of Suicide, Plus Many More Things to Worry About
★ ★ ★ ★!
New-Age designer Julijonas Urbonas offered his detailed plans for the "Euthanasia [Roller] Coaster"--a pain-free (in fact, perhaps joyful) instrument of suicide. Urbonas's loops and 1,600-foot drop allegedly supply the rider 10 Gs, which is enough force to induce blackout (and enough in some cases to produce a pre-blackout euphoria). You needn't make up your mind finally to check out until you get to the actual drop; if the first part of the ride has scared you straight, there's a fail-safe button. Discovery News
Technology Improvements (Bulletproof-Clothing Industry edition): Miguel Caballero of Colombia first moved his Medellin line to Miami but now sells in New York City, where consumers might be more demanding of thinness and style. Dinner jacket, tunic, kimono, figure-hugging trench for women, designs in plaid, dress shorts, polos and hoodies--and in Mild, Medium, or High (degree of bullet-stopping). New York Daily News
Miami Invaded By Giant, House-Eating Snails: "It's us against the snails," said a state agriculture official, of the up-to-10-inch-long, stucco-eating species that harbors rat-lung worm and excretes distinctive trails. (Bonus: They're religious symbols, too.) NPR
Readers' Choice: (1) A Chicago Tribune/WGN-TV investigation found that the city's sweetheart deals over the years between municipal government and labor unions, which result in way-abnormally high government pensions, went off the chart for bigshot Dennis Gannon, who once left city government to take over a union local yet retained his city pension rights as if the city and the union were one entity. Most spectacularly, on one day in 1994, he was hired back by the city, then immediately went on "leave," and because of that has $158,000 added to his pension account. (2) In Mestre, Italy, an elderly couple are poised to sue their son, 41, to GTFO of the house and go cook for himself and wash his own clothes. Forty-eight percent of Italian age-18-to-49s won't leave home. Chicago Tribune /// Daily Telegraph (London)
More in extended >>
Posted By: Chuck - Mon Sep 26, 2011 -
Comments (6)
Category:
September 25, 2011
Squirrely Little Guys
Hurricane Katia left these 5 week old squirrel kittens (who knew they were called kittens?) homeless. They were rescued and turned over to a wildlife sanctuary where they are being cared for. The cute little babies are bottle fed goat's milk every three hours by sanctuary volunteers. More great pictures at the link.
Posted By: Alex - Sun Sep 25, 2011 -
Comments (9)
Category:
Frog Juice
Mmmmm.....
Posted By: Paul - Sun Sep 25, 2011 -
Comments (4)
Category: Animals, Food, South America
Follies of the Mad Men #161
Original ad here.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Sep 25, 2011 -
Comments (3)
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, Detectives, Private Eyes and Other Investigators, Underwear, 1950s
Especially For Sunday Morning
In the town of Bay Minette, Alabama the city judge has come up with a unique choice for non violent offenders before him. Take your jail time and fine or attend the church of your choice every Sunday for a year. After which, if you have checked in with both the pastor and the police each Sunday, case dismissed. Wonder how long it will last.
Posted By: Alex - Sun Sep 25, 2011 -
Comments (15)
Category:
September 24, 2011
Jack Kirby Omnibus
If you enjoy old school comics, especially by the master, Jack Kirby, you'll want to purchase the volume depicted at right. It's full of Silver Age weirdness in the unselfconscious manner of the day.Here's my favorite example, from the story titled "I Was Big-Game on Neptune."
An Earthman is kidnapped and finds himself in prison with five other beings, all uniquely bizarre. Pretty hard to mistake one for another, right?
Not according to our hero, who has to label them for ease of identification, with hard-to-distinguish-at-a-distance nametags!
I love the expression on the beaky face of the orange guy. He's thinking, "This guy is dumber than a bag of Saturnian hammers!"
Posted By: Paul - Sat Sep 24, 2011 -
Comments (4)
Category: Aliens, Stupidity, Comics, 1950s
September 23, 2011
Snappy The Orange Crocodile
Snappy lived up to his name and snapped the filter in the water in his habitat. This allowed algae growth which apparently turned Snappy orange. This is the same reason flamingos are pink, they eat algae and it colors their feathers. With a new filter in place he is expected to return to his normal green color. Good thing Snappy doesn't live in Ireland or he could have found himself a little trouble.
Posted By: Alex - Fri Sep 23, 2011 -
Comments (6)
Category:
Worst. Cocktail. Ever.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Sep 23, 2011 -
Comments (6)
Category: Disasters, 1970s, Alcohol
OTC Inhalers
For the treatment of asthma there is only one OTC (over the counter) inhaler available. The inhaler, Primatene Mist, is being regulated out of existence by the end of the year. Is this being done because the drug has been found unsafe or because of excessive abuse by consumers? No, that is not the reason for the action. What then? Chlorofluorocarbons used as propellant is the reason given for the ban, bad for the ozone. Interestingly, this works out just fine for medical professionals and Big Pharma as the only alternative available is prescription inhalers. Wasn't the FDA supposed to act in the best interest of PEOPLE? OTC inhaler-$20; prescription inhalers-$40 and up. Guess not.
Posted By: Alex - Fri Sep 23, 2011 -
Comments (7)
Category:
September 22, 2011
The Hair Club For Penguins
This little guy was kicked out of the nest because he was bald. Staff at the zoo in China took care of him till he got better and his feather started coming in. The now healthy little penguin has been accepted back into his family and is doing fine.
Posted By: Alex - Thu Sep 22, 2011 -
Comments (5)
Category:
| Get WU Posts by Email | |
|---|---|
| Who We Are |
|---|
| 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 |
