Weird Universe Archive
December 2010
December 23, 2010
The Holy Chicken of Life and Music
The Holy Chicken of Life & Music from NOMINT on Vimeo.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Dec 23, 2010 -
Comments (5)
Category: Animals, Art, Surrealism, Video
December 22, 2010
Your Perfect Xmas Gift
But shouldn't it more accurately be called "A Swiss Army Loaf?!?"
Posted By: Paul - Wed Dec 22, 2010 -
Comments (10)
Category: Kitsch and Collectibles, Stupidity, Chindogu
December 21, 2010
Santa’s Coming in a Whirlybird
Posted By: Paul - Tue Dec 21, 2010 -
Comments (8)
Category: Holidays, Music, 1950s
December 20, 2010
News of the Weird / Pro Edition (December 20, 2010)
News of the Weird/Pro EditionYou're Still Not Cynical Enough
Prime Cuts of Underreported News from Last Week, Hand-Picked and Lightly Seasoned by Chuck Shepherd
December 20, 2010
(datelines December 11-December 18) (links correct as of December 20)
SPECIAL SHORTER HOLIDAY EDITIONS (this week and next): Less for you to read! Fewer distractions for those with other holiday duties! (Regular-length distractions resume January 3rd)
Sophie's Choice 2010, Plus Sluttin' for Bone Marrow and Serenadin' the Pat-Downs
★ ★ ★ ★!
Mom Really Did Always Like Me Best: Toronto's National Post discovered that doctors can now almost routinely snuff out just one of your twins from the womb--in case having two would be, y'know, a bother. [Doctor: Which one shall I abort? Mother: Ehhh--surprise me.] National Post
How Is "Insulting Muhammad" Like "Marijuana Possession"? It's so easy to inadvertently slight the Prophet (in this-here story, merely tossing away the business card of a fella named "Muhammad" will do it), but the charge is used selectively "to settle grudges, persecute minorities, and fan religious extremism." ("Marijuana possession" is widely used in America to get crime budgets up and serve as a substitute for more serious but hard-to-prove charges.) Associated Press via San Francisco Chronicle
A Local Pimp's "Business Plan": A paper found on a suspected pimp by the Alameda County (Calif.) DA included these self-improvement notes: Take care of "my bitches more better"; Find "other ways to work my hoes"; "Stack money to the ceiling"; "Attend the Players Ball in Vegas (cross country pimpin!)." LA Weekly
Can't Possibly Be True: University of Massachusetts Memorial Medical Center in Worcester is a fairly upscale joint (you would think). However, they hired short-skirted models to approach men in New Hampshire malls in full-flirt mode to talk them into giving DNA mouth swabs so that UMass Memorial could browse the results for bone-marrow matches. The catch? A 2006 NH law requires insurance companies to cover such tests (though legislators were told at the time the tests cost about $100; UMass Memorial's consultant was billing up to $4,300). When questioned by the New York Times, UMass Memorial shrugged. We need bone-marrow donors, they said, so what're ya gonna do? New York Times
"Books" and "DVDs" Are So 20th Century: At Toronto Public Library, you can check out humans for a half hour. They have a roster of people different from you, from whom you can learn things (like, say, a cop, or a city-dump supervisor), offering themselves for conversation [Yr Editor, too, is available, free-lance, but prepare to get dispirited.] YongeStreetMedia.ca (Toronto)
Absolutely Nothing Is Weirder Than a Society That Lets Cops Get Away with Framing People: Don't we want to get the real murderer off the street? Don't evidence-planting cops realize, personally, that they're just lazy pussies? Are Americans so frightened--and vapid--that they're OK with sending any warm body to jail for vicious crimes--even if it's the wrong warm body? And, judges: "My family, right or wrong" is one thing; "my legal system, right or wrong" is something else again. Kevin Cooper got turned down again recently for a rehearing, and it's an American's worst nightmare: Can the cops (here, the San Bernardino County, Calif., Sheriff's Office) plant evidence against an in-all-likelihood-innocent man, and send him to the needle, and courts of law will not save him? New York Times /// Wikipedia (Kevin Cooper)
More in extended >>
Posted By: Chuck - Mon Dec 20, 2010 -
Comments (9)
Category:
December 19, 2010
Opulence or Christmas Spirit?
Does this look like an $11 million Christmas tree? The gold and gem decked tree is in a luxury hotel in
Abu Dhabi. I have just one question, where's Nermal?
Posted By: Alex - Sun Dec 19, 2010 -
Comments (6)
Category:
December 18, 2010
Dr Kill and Mr Chance
Film "Rockn'Toll", "Béton désarmé" from Fabrice Mathieu on Vimeo.
This is for all of us who can't wait any longer for the ROGER RABBIT sequel.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Dec 18, 2010 -
Comments (7)
Category: Death, Humor, Cartoons
December 17, 2010
The Manster!
If you enjoy the second trailer in the first video above, please go on to watch the whole MANSTER movie in the next window! It will enlarge your weekend!
Posted By: Paul - Fri Dec 17, 2010 -
Comments (6)
Category: Horror, Movies, 1950s
Jilted for $100k
The story starts here....
In case you you've not heard of this case before, here's the short version: Four days before the wedding the groom bails out, jilting our poor innocent young lady and leaving her with a bill for $100,000! As this happened in Chicago, he's liable under the law (Not that WUvians care a hoot about that.)
I 've tried, but failed, to find a complete list of expenditures but here's a partial list that should shed some light on the bride's state of mind:
$30,000 for the banquet hall
$11,000 for the flowers & lighting
$7,500 for the photographer (I never made that kind of money!)
$5,000 for the gown and accessories
$600 for the shoes
Just how weird is it that a wedding of Joe Sixpack and Jane Slymfast should cost 6 figures? How much did he know about the arrangements? Hollywood would have us believe that the groom is just a necessary evil at a wedding and should really keep his opinions to himself. So, should he be liable? How about giving him a "two thumbs up" for having enough sense to get the hell out of Dodge in time?
OK WUvians, which side of this weird situation do you fall on?
Video Clip from Fox News on the story
Pink Monkey
Posted By: Expat47 - Fri Dec 17, 2010 -
Comments (5)
Category:
December 16, 2010
Ruminating Physicians
Rumination is the practice of bringing food back up from the stomach after it's been swallowed, rechewing it, and then swallowing it again. When cows do this, it's called "chewing the cud." When humans do it habitually, it's considered to be an eating disorder. The Wikipedia article on Rumination Syndrome tells us:The disorder has been historically documented as affecting only infants, young children, and people with cognitive disabilities (where the prevalence is as high as 10% in institutionalized patients with various mental disabilities). Today it is being diagnosed in increasing numbers of otherwise healthy adolescents and adults, though there is a lack of awareness of the condition by doctors, patients and the general public.
But in an article by Johns Hopkins psychiatrist Leo Kanner, "Historical Notes on Rumination in Man" (Medical Life, 45, 1936) we learn a strange factoid. Kanner writes:
It is, indeed, a curious fact that not less than fourteen physicians are known to have been habitual ruminators. This is especially interesting in the light of the statistical evidence of the extreme rarity of this condition.
Kanner's list of ruminating physicians begins with a 17th century medical student who reported that rumination was "sweeter than honey and accompanied by a more delightful relish." The most famous name on the list is the 19th century French physician Edouard Brown-Séquard who developed a rumination problem after conducting a series of self-experiments in which he repeatedly swallowed a sponge and tried to vomit it back up.
Kanner's list was written in 1936, so it's possible there are now more ruminating physicians that could be added to it. Why physicians would ruminate in greater number than members of other professions, I have no idea.
Posted By: Alex - Thu Dec 16, 2010 -
Comments (8)
Category: Food, Medicine, Science, Stomach
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| Alex Boese Alex is the creator and curator of the Museum of Hoaxes. He's also the author of various weird, non-fiction books such as Elephants on Acid. Paul Di Filippo Paul has been paid to put weird ideas into fictional form for over thirty years, in his career as a noted science fiction writer. He has recently begun blogging on many curious topics with three fellow writers at The Inferior 4+1. Chuck Shepherd Chuck is the purveyor of News of the Weird, the syndicated column which for decades has set the gold-standard for reporting on oddities and the bizarre. Our banner was drawn by the legendary underground cartoonist Rick Altergott. Contact Us |
