Weird Universe Blog — October 7, 2021
Underworld Lingo, 1930
Some of these look pretty dubious.Source.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Oct 07, 2021 -
Comments (1)
Category: Crime | Languages | Slang | 1930s
October 6, 2021
Lyndon Johnson’s go-to gift
President Lyndon Johnson met with Pope Paul VI on Dec 23, 1967. The two spoke for over an hour and then exchanged gifts. The Pope gave Johnson a sixteenth-century painting of the Nativity. Johnson, in return, gave the Pope a small bust of himself, Lyndon Johnson.
Pope Paul VI admiring the LBJ bust he just received
It struck people at the time (and ever since) as odd for Johnson to give a bust of himself as a gift to the Pope. But, in fact, the Pope wasn't the only recipient of this bust. It was Johnson's go-to gift for just about everyone: world leaders, congressmen, white house aides, etc. He traveled with a box of them, so he would always have one at hand.
The busts were replicas of a lifesize bust created by sculptress Jimilu Mason. In case you'd like to give one as a gift, they're available for purchase from the Johnson Presidential Library — only $150 each.
More info: Dead Presidents blog
Jimilu Mason poses with her bust of LBJ
Arizona Republic - Jan 14, 1968
Posted By: Alex - Wed Oct 06, 2021 -
Comments (2)
Category: Art | Statues and Monuments | Gifts, Presents, Tributes, and Other Honoraria | 1960s
Fishy Pringles
Get your maritime-flavored Pringles here.The whole site is full of oddball Japanese stuff.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Oct 06, 2021 -
Comments (3)
Category: Oceans and Maritime Pursuits | Junk Food | Asia | Nausea, Revulsion and Disgust
October 5, 2021
Pine Needle Skiing
Pine needle skiing was introduced in the 1930s in an attempt to make skiing a year-round activity. I don't think it survived long past the 30s. This account of the sport, written by Newton F. Tolman for The Atlantic (Feb 1957 issue), explains why:All known technique was useless. The only way to turn was to jump. You had to fend off the pine trees with your poles. We ended up not only bleeding and bruised, but completely black. Dives into pine needles encrusted everything but our eyeballs with dirt, pitch, and sweat. It really combined two sports - skiing and tar-and-feathering.
The video shows a pine needle ski jump in New Hampshire, 1935:
The images show people skiing at the Pine Needle Ski Slope which opened in Los Angeles in 1939:
source: LA Public Library
source: Vintage LA
Posted By: Alex - Tue Oct 05, 2021 -
Comments (1)
Category: Sports | 1930s
Mystery Illustration 103
What job necessitates this woman's outfit?The answer is here. (Scroll up a tad.)
Or after the jump.
More in extended >>
Posted By: Paul - Tue Oct 05, 2021 -
Comments (3)
Category: Costumes and Masks | 1900s | 1910s
October 4, 2021
Long Eggs
Long eggs are either: a) eggs laid by specially bred long chickens; or b) a highly engineered food product created in the 1970s to satisfy the food service industry's desire to have egg slices with a consistent ratio of white and yolk.You can choose what you want to believe.
source: shemazing.net
The video below shows how long eggs might be engineered. It's in German, but even if you don't speak that it's easy to understand what's going on.
Posted By: Alex - Mon Oct 04, 2021 -
Comments (5)
Category: Food
Suzy Homemaker Is a Square
"She even washes regularly!"
Posted By: Paul - Mon Oct 04, 2021 -
Comments (3)
Category: Domestic | Stereotypes and Cliches | Toys | Children | Bohemians, Beatniks, Hippies and Slackers | 1960s
October 3, 2021
The Gnathograph
The Gnathograph, or 'dental articulator', was the invention of Los Angeles dental surgeon Beverly McCollum. He was also the founder, in 1926, of the Gnathologic Society.The name 'Gnathograph' derived from 'gnathology,' this being the study of the jaw and masticatory system, from the greek word 'gnathos' meaning 'jaw'.
"The formidable contraption shown in the mouth of Miss Pearl Nord is a gnathograph, invented by Dr. Beverly B. McCollum of Los Angeles and demonstrated before the chicago Dental Society. It records direction of bite and fit of teeth and accurately guides a dentist in straightening crooked teeth or fitting inlays, crowns, bridges and plates."
image source: Agi Haines
The band Femur used the image above from Popular Science as the cover art for their album Red Marks.
Posted By: Alex - Sun Oct 03, 2021 -
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Category: Inventions | 1930s | Teeth
Unauthorized Dwellings 19
Full story here.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Oct 03, 2021 -
Comments (1)
Category: Eccentrics | Oceans and Maritime Pursuits | Unauthorized Dwellings | Middle East
October 2, 2021
Martian Blood Concrete
Researchers at the University of Manchester have proposed that future settlers on Mars can create concrete by mixing Martian dust with their own blood and urine. Details from globalnews.ca:The blood-and-dust mixture alone is equivalent to concrete, but researchers say it becomes even stronger when human urea is added to the mix...
Roberts and his team say that animal blood could eventually replace human blood in Martian construction projects, but that would only happen after we send cows to Mars.
Experimental 'astrocrete' made from blood and dust
We've posted before about the use of blood to make concrete. Charles Laleman was granted a patent for this in 1980, but the practice goes all the way back to Roman times.
Posted By: Alex - Sat Oct 02, 2021 -
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Category: Architecture | Space Travel | Blood
