But Where Did They Get The Concrete?

The historic city of Bath in England is famed for both the Roman spas that gave the town its name, and for the wonderful architecture of the Georgian houses that were later built to take advantage of them. These homes were all the more beautiful for being built from "Bath stone", a richly honey-coloured limestone that was quarried from mines in nearby Combe Down, now a thriving suburb of the City of Bath. And therein lies the problem. The limestone mines have been abandoned for over a century, and the Georgian miners were none too careful to begin with, meaning that much of the 9 miles of mineshafts are unstable, and some are barely 6 feet below the surface. With over 700 homes at risk of disappearing into the ground with no warning, the local North-East Somerset Council has spent £160 million ($260 million) stabilising the mines and filling them in again with concrete foam in a 10 year project that comes to an end today (BBC News).

Banned - School Trips To Saddam’s Grave!

The Iraqi government has banned organised outings to the grave of Saddam Hussein after it learned that local schools were regularly taking groups of pupils on visits. The tomb is still regularly visited by supporters of the former dictator, who was hanged for war crimes in 2006, but now these must only be informal affairs and not arranged or supported by local or ministerial authorities (BBC News).

Two words: "flashmob" and "tapshoes".

Farewell!

Here we are, at the one-year anniversary of WEIRD UNIVERSE, and I'm about to say goodbye--for a while, anyhow. It's been a marvelous year, full of friendship, creativity, and, well, weirdness galore. I'd like to say thanks to Chuck and Alex, and to all the wonderful readers of the blog.

However, now I need to step back to attend to other projects. But I leave the blog in the capable hands of its readers. And I'll be checking in every day.

Perhaps you recall the very first, non-introductory post, as seen in the screen-capture to the right. I figured I might as well go out on the same note. So look for FOLLIES OF THE MAD MEN #70 to follow. I didn't quite manage to hit 100, but 70 is still pretty good.

Follies of the Mad Men #70

[From Playboy for May 1970.]

Well, folks, here it is: the last FOLLIES OF THE MAD MEN for the foreseeable future, and my last regular post after one year's worth of nearly two per day. I didn't quite achieve two FOLLIES per week over that year, but close.

In any case, read the convoluted logic here about how your choice of TV reflects your sexual prowess.

Good To The Last Drop

A company in Kuala Lumpur, Malasia was raided by athorities last week. A large quantity of 'energy boost' coffee was seized. What was in the coffee to give one a boost you ask? Viagra, yep that will get you up and at 'em. Bone up on the details here- http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/article.html?Viagra-laced_coffee_seized_in_Malaysia&in_article_id=697655&in_page_id=2

Mama Mia!

After a disagreement with his mother, an 18 year old New Zealander found an interesting way to get even and make some money too. He posted nude photos of mom for sale on line. She was quite upset and the site pulled the photos. End of story, right? Wrong! The next day he posted lingerie shots of mom for sale, with her approval. I guess it didn't upset her anymore once she was promised half the proceeds of the sale. Check out the naked truth here- http://www.news.com.au/technology/story/0,28348,25738688-5014239,00.html

The Sandpaper Ballet

Any orchestral work that uses sandpaper as a musical "instrument" qualifies as weird. But when it's performed by men in tutus, it's even weirder.

Read more about composer Leroy Anderson here.

Early Bodybuilding

And now, some Victorian Beefcake.

Lynval Samuels

Lynval - "A Tree Grows In Brooklyn"


I just learned about nutcase preacher Lynval Samuels. So here he is for your enjoyment.

Argentine Ants, Naked Office Workers, and Newfound Respect for British Teeth

News of the Weird / Pro Edition
July 6, 2009 (news from June 27-July 4)

Turkish TV, Livin' on the Edge
A station in Turkey is working on a show for September launch in which 10 certified atheists get hit on relentlessly (well, spiritually, anyway) by an imam, a priest, a rabbi, and a monk, all trying to flip them. Not sure yet of the rules, but whichever of the 10 "wins" gets an expense-paid trip to the victorious religion's theme park (Mecca, Vatican, Jerusalem, Tibet). This oughta turn out fine. BBC News

Not One Damn Thing About MRIs or Antivirals in the Good Book
Therefore, some Pentecostals and Jehovah's Witnesses and Christian Scientists (plus some ridiculous recent start-ups) accept only the salve of prayer. About 30 U.S. states have laws protecting believers' right to refuse medical treatment on religious grounds, but they were mostly passed 30 yrs ago, and experience now tells us (according to a children's activist group) that at least 274 kids have died since then due to parents' inept prayers. Associated Press via CBS News

Ants Rule
Biologists believe that one strain of Argentine ants now occupies mega-colonies thousands of miles long on three continents (along the Mediterranean, in California, and in Japan). Biologists know this because the ants have similar chemical makeup, for instance not attacking MOTs but rather just rubbing antennas with them. Still, the colonies are smaller than the chemically-similar mega-colonies of stupid humans, who are found on six continents in huge numbers and dominate various sectors of our discourse. BBC News

Can't Possibly Be True
OK, the second thing about this is almost trivial compared to the first thing. The second thing is that Dr. Christopher Liu (of the Sussex Eye Hospital, Bristol, England) actually carried it out successfully (on a 42-yr-old man, who's absolutely tickled with it). It's the first thing about it that's amazing: how in the blue hell did Dr. Liu think this up to begin with? Martin Jones had been blind for 12 yrs. Dr. Liu figured out that if he took a tiny sliver of Jones's tooth, planted it in his eyeball, and put some of Jones's skin under the eyelid, why, a few short weeks later, Jones would be able to see again. WTF? Daily Mail (London)

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All original content in posts is Copyright © 2008 by the author of the post, 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.