Weird Universe Blog — March 14, 2024
The Princess Who Was Murdered by a Moth
The story goes that Princess Caravella of Italy was found dead in her bed, shot through the heart. Her husband was accused of her murder, but during the trial a police investigator convinced the jury that the Princess had actually been killed by a moth that singed its wings on a candle in her room, then fell onto a pistol lying on her bedside table, thereby causing the weapon to fire, shooting her through the heart.I doubt any part of this story is true. After all, I can't find any historical references to a "Princess Caravella" other than the ones about her strange death. But the story was printed repeatedly in newspapers during the first half of the twentieth, always presented as an odd but true tale.
The earliest account of the story I can find dates to 1895, where it was credited to the New York World. I assume a reporter for the New York World made it up.
Chicago Chronicle - Dec 29, 1895
Here's a slightly shorter version of the story from 1937.
Tunkhannock New Age - Feb 18, 1937
I can't find the story in papers after the 1940s, but it did continue to pop up in books about odd trivia and weird deaths. For instance, below is a version that appeared in the 1985 weird-news book Own Goals by Graham Jones. Note that Jones identified Princess Caravella only as an "Italian wife," making the story seem more contemporary.
Posted By: Alex - Thu Mar 14, 2024 -
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Category: Death | Insects and Spiders | Nineteenth Century
Person-Alysis Game
Reveal which member of the family has an Oedipus Complex! Who's a sociopath? Good fun!The entry at Board Game Geek.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Mar 14, 2024 -
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Category: Bad Habits, Neuroses and Psychoses | Games | Hobbies and DIY | Psychology | 1950s
March 13, 2024
Smoking Facts
Seemed odd to me that the ad would not only mention that they've got "a patent on flavor," but also give the patent number (3828800). So I had to look it up. Turned out to be a fairly boring patent for "an improved cigarette filter material... formed from the porous, granular salt of a weakly basic anion exchange resin."
Sports Illustrated - Nov 14, 1977
Coos Bay World - Nov 4, 1978
Posted By: Alex - Wed Mar 13, 2024 -
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Category: Advertising | Patents | Smoking and Tobacco | 1970s | Billboards
Animated Putty
Posted By: Paul - Wed Mar 13, 2024 -
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Category: Stop-motion Animation | 1910s
March 12, 2024
Electric Vibro Chin Massager
House Beautiful - Oct 1966
Posted By: Alex - Tue Mar 12, 2024 -
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Category: Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues | 1960s
Ghost Evidence
Read the whole story here.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Mar 12, 2024 -
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Category: Crime | Death | Supernatural, Occult, Paranormal | 1970s
March 11, 2024
Electricura Shoes
John Wilson Gibbs claimed that his patented "electric shoe" would cure rheumatism.
Kansas City Star - July 23, 1907
How the shoes generated electricity is explained in his 1903 patent (No. 740,548). They contained zinc and copper nails. The two metals, when combined with sweaty feet, would form a galvanic cell, producing a mild electric current.
The sole of the shoe is shown at A, and in the upper surface thereof there are driven or otherwise inset a series of nails or studs B, with each of which there is associated a similar nail or stud C. The studs of the series B are preferably of zinc and those of the series C preferably of copper, thereby providing pairs of elements of dissimilar metals or opposite in sign such that when contacted with by the foot of the wearer from the influence of the warmth or moisture of the person or for other reasons an electric current will be generated, passing from one element to the other through the body of the wearer. The medical and therapeutic effects of such a current are well known, and I claim herein only the specific construction of the means for obtaining such a current.
What he doesn't mention is that the metals would quickly corrode, at which point the electricity would stop. Not that such a tiny amount of electricity would have had any therapeutic effect anyway.
Of course, this was back in the era when adding the word "electric" to any product was a sure way to give it more consumer appeal. A long time ago I had a brief article published in Smithsonian magazine in which I gave some examples of this phenomenon.
Posted By: Alex - Mon Mar 11, 2024 -
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Category: Patents | Shoes | 1900s
The Conqueroo
No Wikipedia entry, but here's an interview with one of the founders.
Posted By: Paul - Mon Mar 11, 2024 -
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Category: Excess, Overkill, Hyperbole and Too Much Is Not Enough | Music | Psychedelic | 1960s
March 10, 2024
Miss Electric Bedding
Advertising Age ran a photo of "Miss Electric Bedding" in its Nov 10, 1952 issue. But it didn't give her name.
Advertising Age - Nov 10, 1952
A month later, reports appeared in a number of newspapers stating that actress Viveca Lindfors had declined to be crowned "Miss Electric Bedding."
Daily Mirror - Dec 16, 1952
I'm not sure if that's Viveca Lindfors in the Advertising Age photo, but it definitely could be. I'm leaning towards thinking it is. And if it is, it's confusing why it was reported that she declined to be Miss Electric Bedding. After all, there she is.
My best guess: the Advertising Age photo shows her modeling as Miss Electric Bedding for the Chicago Electric Association. The later news report says she refused an offer from the New York Electric Assn. So she must have done the electric bedding modeling gig in Chicago, but then declined to do it elsewhere.
Viveca Lindfors - image source: wikipedia
Posted By: Alex - Sun Mar 10, 2024 -
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Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests | 1950s
