Weird Universe Blog — November 17, 2022
Breakaway Stethoscope
Joshua Allen Stivers of Puyallup, WA recently received a patent for a "breakaway stethoscope." It works like a normal stethoscope, but breaks apart if someone tries to use it as a garrote to strangle a person:
A quick google search reveals that stethoscopes become weapons disturbingly often. So it's kind of surprising that breakaway ones aren't already standard issue.
Derby Evening Telegraph - Aug 9, 1948
via Jeff Steck
Posted By: Alex - Thu Nov 17, 2022 -
Comments (3)
Category: Crime | Medicine | Patents | Weapons
Follies of the Madmen #547
Posted By: Paul - Thu Nov 17, 2022 -
Comments (2)
Category: Domestic | Spaceflight, Astronautics, and Astronomy | Advertising | 1950s
November 16, 2022
Color photographs to fight crime
Use color film so you can see the blood better.
Posted By: Alex - Wed Nov 16, 2022 -
Comments (1)
Category: Photography and Photographers | Advertising | 1950s | Blood
Fat Woman in Quicksand
Source: The New York Times New York, New York 14 Aug 1908, Fri
Posted By: Paul - Wed Nov 16, 2022 -
Comments (0)
Category: Oceans and Maritime Pursuits | Danger, Risk, and Peril | 1900s | Obesity
November 15, 2022
The Crocker-Henderson Odor Classification System
In the early twentieth century, odor researchers Ernest Crocker and Lloyd Henderson created a classification scheme that allowed them to number and catalog every smell in the world. Kind of like a Dewey decimal system for smells. Every different odor was assigned a four-digit code.Their system was based on the premise that every smell is a combination of four "primary odors." So the four-digit code was created by judging and listing the relative strength of each primary odor.
The problem was that judging the relative strength of each primary odor in any one smell turned out to be a very subjective process. Other people struggled to replicate the numbers that Crocker and Henderson came up with. So their system was never adopted by other researchers.
More info: NadiaBerenstein.com
Posted By: Alex - Tue Nov 15, 2022 -
Comments (2)
Category: Science | Smells and Odors
Whore to Score
How times have changed. Now, "whore" is practically G-rated.The album cut below retains "whore."
Source.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Nov 15, 2022 -
Comments (1)
Category: Censorship, Bluenoses, Taboos, Prohibitions and Other Cultural No-No’s | Music | 1970s | Swears
November 14, 2022
Turtle-Tater
Sheila Stiltner sure seemed fascinated by the turtle-tater.
Newport News Daily Press - Aug 8, 1964
Posted By: Alex - Mon Nov 14, 2022 -
Comments (4)
Category: Vegetables | 1960s
Mystery Gadget 103
What's this device do?The answer is at the link.
Or beyond the jump.
More in extended >>
Posted By: Paul - Mon Nov 14, 2022 -
Comments (2)
Category: Inventions | Nineteenth Century
November 13, 2022
Wingless Chickens
Because he disliked "gnawing on stringy chicken wings," Peter Baumann bred wingless chickens. This was back in the 1940s. Evidently his wingless chickens failed to interest the chicken industry. I haven't been able to find out what became of his flock.To illustrate the helpless quality of these wingless birds, photographer Francis Miller dropped one from six feet to show how it failed to fly, as opposed to a winged chicken that glided downwards.
Images from Life - July 18, 1949:
"Wingless chicken (below) plummets helplessly downward when dropped from 6-foot height, while normal bird settles gently with wings spread"
Posted By: Alex - Sun Nov 13, 2022 -
Comments (1)
Category: Animals | Farming | 1940s
RIP Mehran Karimi Nasseri
Airport dweller Mehran Karimi Nasseri has passed away. His Wikipedia entry offers a good summary of his life.An obit is here.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Nov 13, 2022 -
Comments (0)
Category: Domestic | Eccentrics | Emigrants, Immigrants and Borders | Air Travel and Airlines | Europe
