Weird Universe Archive
November 2020
November 25, 2020
The Coward Shoe
In 1866, cobbler James S. Coward opened a store in New York City. He named it after himself, and he referred to the shoes he sold as "Coward shoes".Despite the odd name, his business did extremely well. In fact, it endured almost to the present. As of 2014, the company had both a twitter and facebook page. But their website now redirects to Old Pueblo Traders whom, I'm guessing, must have acquired them.
The Keyport Weekly - Apr 23, 1892
Boston Globe - Sep 20, 1927
Posted By: Alex - Wed Nov 25, 2020 -
Comments (4)
Category: Odd Names, Shoes
The Night Mayor
Night Mayor, Guy Maddin, provided by the National Film Board of Canada
An explanation.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Nov 25, 2020 -
Comments (2)
Category: Hoaxes and Imposters and Imitators, Inventions, Movies, North America, Twenty-first Century
November 24, 2020
Organoleptic analysis
Odd job: the FDA employs people to smell fish in order to determine if it's decomposed. They refer to this as "organoleptic analysis".There are four categories with fish. "The first is fresh. That's the way fish are right after they are caught. Then there is number one. That's the commercial grade. Most seafood should be number one. It may not smell fresh, but it's not decomposed.
"The next is number two. That means slight decomposition. Whether the fish is all right depends on the product. The criteria are based on percentages. And last is number three, the really bad ones. Definitely decomposed. Number three is so putrid and stinky you wouldn't want to eat it."
"The next is number two. That means slight decomposition. Whether the fish is all right depends on the product. The criteria are based on percentages. And last is number three, the really bad ones. Definitely decomposed. Number three is so putrid and stinky you wouldn't want to eat it."
The article I'm getting the info from was published in 1978, but I'm assuming the FDA must still employ people to smell fish. Unless they've got a fancy gadget to do it now.
Detroit Free Press - Jul 18, 1978
Posted By: Alex - Tue Nov 24, 2020 -
Comments (1)
Category: Jobs and Occupations, Fish, Smells and Odors
Igorot Cave & Cliff Burial
A BBC slideshow here.
Essay here.
This is an original vintage post-mortem photograph from the 1930s. I believe it shows a very rare glimpse into traditional Igorot funeral customs. The man in this photo is deceased and bound in a sitting position.
A customer who has spent time with the Igorot had this to say, "I can explain why the man is placed in the seated position. I just spent a week in Ifugao, Philippines with a member of this tribe. A person is placed in this position and salted and dried for 3 days. The reason they are seated is because once dry, the person can be removed from the chair and turned,sideways into the fetal position. The Igorot/Ifugao tribe believes that a fetus in the womb is in the fetal position and by placing them in the fetal position after death, they will return to "mother nature/mother earth". Also Interesting to note that deceased loved ones are typically placed under their bed, under a child's bed, under the house, or somewhere else in the house in order to keep them close to the family. Just thought I'd share what I learned straight from a tribe member himself"
Source.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Nov 24, 2020 -
Comments (2)
Category: Death, Religion, Foreign Customs, South Pacific and Polynesia
November 23, 2020
“Perfect smoke column from end to end”
The model looks slightly out-of-it as the "Accu-Ray" machine deposits an endless supply of cigarettes into her hand. Perhaps, like James Bond, she had a 70-cigarette-a-day habit that had to be constantly fed.
Posted By: Alex - Mon Nov 23, 2020 -
Comments (2)
Category: Advertising, Smoking and Tobacco, 1950s
Admiral Cigarettes Film
The cigarette genie appears!
Posted By: Paul - Mon Nov 23, 2020 -
Comments (2)
Category: Magic and Illusions and Sleight of Hand, Advertising, Smoking and Tobacco, Nineteenth Century
November 22, 2020
The Poet Laureate of Dentistry
Note: after preparing this post, I realized that Paul had posted about the same thing two years ago. So consider this a repost.Soylman Brown (1790-1876) was a Connecticut dentist who achieved prominence in his profession for a number of reasons. According to Wikipedia, he founded the first dental school, the first national dental society, and the first US dental journal. Plus, he became known as the Poet Laureate of Dentistry on account of his fifty-four page poem titled Dentologia - A Poem on Diseases of the Teeth, and Their Proper Remedies. It was published in 1840.
If you've got some time to kill, you can read the entire poem at the Internet Archive. Otherwise, I've sampled a brief part of it below, which should be enough to give you its general tone.
The first dentition asks our earliest care,
For oft, obstructed nature, laboring there,
Demands assistance of experienced art,
And seeks from science her appointed part.
Perhaps ere yet the infant tongue can tell
The seat of anguish that it knows too well,
Some struggling tooth, just bursting into day,
Obtuse and vigorous, urges on its way,
While inflammation, pain, and bitter cries,
And flooding tears, in sad succession rise.
The lancet, then, alone can give relief,
And mitigate the helpless sufferer's grief;
But no unpractised hand should guide the steel
Whose polished point must carry wo or weal:—
With nicest skill the dentist's hand can touch,
And neither wound too little nor too much.
For oft, obstructed nature, laboring there,
Demands assistance of experienced art,
And seeks from science her appointed part.
Perhaps ere yet the infant tongue can tell
The seat of anguish that it knows too well,
Some struggling tooth, just bursting into day,
Obtuse and vigorous, urges on its way,
While inflammation, pain, and bitter cries,
And flooding tears, in sad succession rise.
The lancet, then, alone can give relief,
And mitigate the helpless sufferer's grief;
But no unpractised hand should guide the steel
Whose polished point must carry wo or weal:—
With nicest skill the dentist's hand can touch,
And neither wound too little nor too much.
Posted By: Alex - Sun Nov 22, 2020 -
Comments (0)
Category: Poetry, Nineteenth Century, Teeth
The feather paintings of Ida Jarvis
Ida Helen Jarvis came up with the idea of making pictures out of feathers. She would travel around the world, visiting zoos and aviaries to add to her feather collection. Then she would arrange the feathers to form pictures of landscapes, gluing or stitching the feathers onto a cardboard mat.She was so taken with this idea that she decided to patent it (Patent No. 1,395,575, 1921). Included in her patent was the idea of using down to represent foam in a stream of water.
Her feather paintings must have been quite colorful. But unfortunately the only image of one I can find is the black-and-white drawing included with her patent.
Posted By: Alex - Sun Nov 22, 2020 -
Comments (3)
Category: Art, Inventions, Patents, 1920s
Nobody Loves the Hulk
Posted By: Paul - Sun Nov 22, 2020 -
Comments (0)
Category: Music, Comics, Homages, Pastiches, Tributes and Borrowings, 1960s
November 21, 2020
Plan a super spread for Thanksgiving
A recent ad from Giant Foods, given a double meaning by Covid. More info: nbc.com
Posted By: Alex - Sat Nov 21, 2020 -
Comments (2)
Category: Advertising, Thanksgiving, Diseases
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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 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 |
