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

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

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

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All original content in posts is Copyright © 2016 by the author of the post, which is usually either Alex Boese ("Alex"), Paul Di Filippo ("Paul"), or Chuck Shepherd ("Chuck"). All rights reserved. The banner illustration at the top of this page is Copyright © 2008 by Rick Altergott.

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