Weird Universe Blog — September 22, 2023
Project Uplift
1967: Eighty freshmen at Harvey Mudd College proposed that, as their engineering project, they undertake the design of a better brassiere. They named their proposal 'Project Uplift.'The students who made this proposal were, somewhat obviously, almost entirely male. As far as I can tell, Harvey Mudd was coed at the time (1967), but was mostly male.
Los Angeles Times - Mar 23, 1967
Posted By: Alex - Fri Sep 22, 2023 -
Comments (1)
Category: Engineering and Construction | Underwear | 1960s
Follies of the Madmen #576
Posted By: Paul - Fri Sep 22, 2023 -
Comments (0)
Category: Celebrities | Innuendo, Double Entendres, Symbolism, Nudge-Nudge-Wink-Wink and Subliminal Messages | Sports | Advertising | 1970s | Women
September 21, 2023
EZ Nabber Cat Grabber
"perfect for catching the unruly feline." Available for purchase from Campbell Pet Company.
via What They Think
Posted By: Alex - Thu Sep 21, 2023 -
Comments (3)
Category: Inventions | Cats
Touch, The Generation Gap Musical
This dated abomination seems to have all but vanished from the annals of stage history, so far as googling can determine.
Enjoy the whole performance, thanks to the capacious memory of the Internet Archive.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Sep 21, 2023 -
Comments (2)
Category: Music | Stereotypes and Cliches | Theater and Stage | Bohemians, Beatniks, Hippies and Slackers | 1970s
September 20, 2023
The Repeat-O-Mask
This looks like an early version of a voice-suppression microphone. We posted about a more recent example of one of these a couple of months ago.
Lancaster Sunday News - Mar 21, 1954
Posted By: Alex - Wed Sep 20, 2023 -
Comments (1)
Category: Inventions | 1950s
Suction-Cup Scalp Nipples for Holding a Wig in Place
The illustration shows adhesive anchoring, but he does say suction cups are an option!Full patent here.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Sep 20, 2023 -
Comments (0)
Category: Wigs, Hairpieces, Fake Eyelashes, Implants, and other Prosthetics | Patents | 1920s | Head
September 19, 2023
AI-created soda
Companies are scrambling to get on the AI bandwagon. The latest example of this is Coca-Cola, which recently released Y3000, a soda "co-created with artificial intelligence." The packaging describes it as "futuristic flavored." One reviewer said it tasted like "melted gummy bears with orange." I think I'll pass.More info: CNN Business
Posted By: Alex - Tue Sep 19, 2023 -
Comments (1)
Category: AI, Robots and Other Automatons | Soda, Pop, Soft Drinks and other Non-Alcoholic Beverages
From India to the Planet Mars
A good article here.
Read the book at the Internet Archive.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Sep 19, 2023 -
Comments (0)
Category: Supernatural, Occult, Paranormal | Space Travel | 1900s
September 18, 2023
No more queues in grocery stores
We got the computerized food scanners, but we've still got checkout lines. What happened?
North Bay Nugget - May 29, 1974
Posted By: Alex - Mon Sep 18, 2023 -
Comments (3)
Category: Technology | 1970s | Yesterday’s Tomorrows
Dirt Danger Days
Posted By: Paul - Mon Sep 18, 2023 -
Comments (0)
Category: Death | Hygiene | Advertising | Children | 1950s
| Books Selected and endorsed for Pure Weirdness by Your WU Team | |
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| Recent Posts ranked by # of comments |
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| Surveillance Underwear By Alex; Comments: 5 |
| EZ Nabber Cat Grabber By Alex; Comments: 3 |
| No more queues in grocery stores By Alex; Comments: 3 |
| Touch, The Generation Gap Musical By Paul; Comments: 2 |
| Wate-On By Alex; Comments: 2 |
| Project Uplift By Alex; Comments: 1 |
| The Repeat-O-Mask By Alex; Comments: 1 |
| AI-created soda By Alex; Comments: 1 |
| Follies of the Madmen #575 By Paul; Comments: 1 |
| Follies of the Madmen #576 By Paul; Comments: |
| Recent Comments |
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Harvey Mudd is famous for having more nerds per sq. foot than any other institution in the… By F.U.D in Stockholm in Project Uplift |
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I feel that the following should be included with the instructions for use: Using a clean,… By michael l west in EZ Nabber Cat Grabber |
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We had Spanish Flu, SARS, and Covid, and you still ask the question? By Yudith in Follies of the Madmen #575 |
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Great, another invention for abusive husbands to control their wife. By Yudith in Surveillance Underwear |
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The birth of the plastic-wrapping fad? Isn't it supposed to make you lose weight? By Yudith in Wate-On |
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I bet the self-checkout gurus didn't think that customers would take ages to find the barcode,… By Yudith in No more queues in grocery stores |
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How did Coca-Cola manage to sell this thing without Orange Crush suing them for copyright infringement?… By Yudith in AI-created soda |
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Edith O'Hara, associated with the off off Broadway production of "Touch" and The Plowright… By Teri in Touch, The Generation Gap Musical |
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Bet cats that get grabbed by this will not be too keen to be touched afterwards. Makes me wonder… By Teri in EZ Nabber Cat Grabber |
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Now why I didn't think of that! By KDP in EZ Nabber Cat Grabber |
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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, science-themed books such as Elephants on Acid and Psychedelic Apes. Paul Di Filippo Paul has been paid to put weird ideas into fictional form for over forty years, in his career as a noted science fiction writer. Our banner was drawn by the legendary underground cartoonist Rick Altergott. Contact Us |