Weird Universe Archive
June 2012
June 27, 2012
Follies of the Mad Men #185
The way to a dwarf's heart is through his stomach.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Jun 27, 2012 -
Comments (5)
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, Food, Myths and Fairytales, 1970s
June 26, 2012
Revenge- Think It Through
The milkshake brought all her money to the car! When deciding on an appropriate revenge for an incident one must really think about the possible outcomes before acting.
Posted By: Alex - Tue Jun 26, 2012 -
Comments (6)
Category:
Teddy Ruxpin Creep Out
Eighty of the '80s toys hung on the wall spouting random internet catch phrases. It is a bit creepy, more so for people who had this toy as children I am guessing. Not as bad as Chucky though.
Posted By: Alex - Tue Jun 26, 2012 -
Comments (5)
Category:
Kabalarians
Learn more here, from The Skeptic's Dictionary.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Jun 26, 2012 -
Comments (2)
Category: Frauds, Cons and Scams, New Age
The Music of Hitchhiker Graffiti
Around 1941, American composer Harry Partch was walking along the highway outside Barstow, California (in the Mojave Desert). He sat down to rest, and then he noticed that hitchhikers had written graffiti all over the white railing that ran along the side of the road. He transcribed the graffiti and turned it into a musical composition he called "Barstow: Eight Hitchhiker Inscriptions." Click here to read the text of the graffiti. In the clip below, you can hear Partch himself perform the song. Blogger (and composer) Drew Baker describes the piece as "a surreal and sometimes inebriated sound world." How would you describe it?Apparently quite a few people have looked for the graffiti that inspired Partch, but I haven't read of anyone finding it.
Partch was also known for creating strange musical instruments such as the Crychord, Surrogate Kithara, Harmonic Canon, Eucal Blossom, and the Spoils of War. In the picture below, he's playing his "Cloud Chamber Bowls" that he made out of pyrex containers, cut in half, that had been used in cloud chamber experiments at the University of California Radiation Laboratory.
Posted By: Alex - Tue Jun 26, 2012 -
Comments (5)
Category: Music
June 25, 2012
Magical Lust Stone
This is a magical Javanese stone, which can be used to arouse your target from a distance. The magical Stone of Lust can be used by both men and women to influence their target, so that to cause them to lustfully chase you!
The power of the stone will make your target go sexually crazy over you, as it influences them to be sexually intimate with you.
The magical stone vibrates on its own accord when steeped into any kind of liquid. The same affect will occur as your target will feel a vibration erotic-like sensation in his/her genital area.
Although, you can use this item from a distance the person you are targeting must be in close proximity.
It is a very simple magical item to use, as you are only required to recite a short mantra to activate its power.
The following virtues of this item presented below:
Sexually arouse your target from a distance
Make your target go sexually crazy over you and become passionate towards you
This magical stone vibrates when immersed into any kind of liquids
Easy to use Javanese magical stone
Get yours here for only $192.17!
Posted By: Paul - Mon Jun 25, 2012 -
Comments (10)
Category: Frauds, Cons and Scams, New Age, Paranormal, Sexuality, Superstition
News of the Weird 2.0 (June 25, 2012)
News of the Weird 2.0Two or Three Times a Week, Since May 21, 2012
Underreported News, Hand-Picked and Lightly Seasoned by Chuck Shepherd
June 25, 2012
(datelines from June 15 or later) (links correct as of June 25)
★ ★ ★ ★!
Houston, Tex.: California lawyer Leonard Sawyerr [yep, r-r] was convicted last week of exhibiting multiple, seriously-inappropriate erections on a Continental flight from Los Angeles in February 2011. Houston Press
Springfield, Ill.: The state Supreme Court concluded there was nothing they could do except enforce two state laws: A man who had sex with a consenting 17-yr-old girl can't be prosecuted for the sex (age of consent is 17) but can be for taking a photo of her (child porn applies to under-18s). Associated Press via Springfield Journal-Register
Los Angeles: On June 12th, Jerry Patterson got thoroughly clobbered by two road-raging men. On June 21st, Jerry Patterson was arrested for having been a road-rager himself in May, dishing out two black eyes. Los Angeles Times
Menomonee Falls, Wis.: Lynne Rasbornik, 56, was charged with domestic abuse for roughing up her husband over his "pornography" habit, specifically, her accidental discovery of the disgusting Onion and the Milwaukee alternative weekly Shepherd Express [ed.: no relation, although it does run the News of the Weird column]. Way Unclear on the Concept. Menomonee Falls Patch
Sherbooke, Quebec: Hypnotist Maxime Nadeau was hired to put on a show at a private girls' high school, and all went well until he couldn't get one of the girls untranced . . for five hours . . and finally had to call his mentor to come bring the girl home. An Emergency Hypnosis Technician! Canadian Broadcasting Corp. News
More in extended >>
Posted By: Chuck - Mon Jun 25, 2012 -
Comments (5)
Category:
The man who crossed the Atlantic in a box
Back in 1901, Johann Beck was having trouble finding work in Germany, so he decided to seek his fortune in America. Problem was the cheapest steerage ticket cost 120 marks, and he didn't have that much. But he calculated that if he packed himself in a box and shipped himself as freight, he could go for half that price.He built a box that he could seal from the inside by a series of hooks. He arranged to have it picked up at his home, telling the freight company that the box contained "artist's models." Then he sealed himself in it along with what he thought would be enough food to last him the trip: a dozen cans of condensed milk, a box of prunes, 36 chocolate bars, coffee in bottles, some bread, sausages, and a little whiskey.
Of course, things didn't go quite as he planned. For a start, he hadn't realized how cold it would be in the hold of the ship. And then there were the rats:
The ship (the steamship Palatia of the Hamburg-American Line) departed Hamburg on November 17, and its passage was slowed by a winter storm. So what was supposed to be a 14-day voyage took two days longer, and Johann ran out of food:
The one detail of Beck's transatlantic voyage that I haven't been able to find discussed was how he disposed of his bodily wastes. I suppose he used a bottle, but the smell must have been pretty bad, which would have added to the discomfort of the experience. More details about Beck's voyage here and here.
Posted By: Alex - Mon Jun 25, 2012 -
Comments (2)
Category: Travel, 1900s
June 24, 2012
News of the Weird 2.0 (June 24, 2012)
News of the Weird 2.0Two or Three Times a Week, Since May 21, 2012
Underreported News, Hand-Picked and Lightly Seasoned by Chuck Shepherd
June 24, 2012
(datelines from June 11 or later) (links correct as of June 24)
Editor's Note
Below are some recent mugshot-centric links. From time to time, some people ask me why don't I just copy the damned mugshot instead of forcing you to do the heavy lifting of making two mouse clicks. After all, they say, there are dozens of mugshot-intensive blogs in the blogosphere. Here are some short answers to the question (and I speak only for myself and not others who post on Weird Universe): (1) Though it's getting late in the life of the Internet, copyright issues for copying-versus-deep-linking have not yet been totally resolved; it is unlikely, though not impossible, that often I would arguably be disturbing a news organization's sense of copyright, and as a writer with newspaper income, I must not do that. (2) Websites that load up on goofy mugshots are just click-whores, anyway, and that's not for me. (They do get some income based on the clicks, and unfortunately, that's apparently not for me, either.) (3) I am primarily an editor-writer, producing prose for readers. Though my prose quality is mediocre, it would still be a leap for me to image-up my copy, to search-engine-optimize it, just to meet expectations of those out blog-browsing (and not really "reading"). Visitors who browse for images, or who demand their knowledge and entertainment only by headline, have a gazillion choices, and I don't need to compete with those. (4) Often, the entertainment value of seeing the mugshot is enhanced after you know, briefly, what the story is--more than just by the initial shock value of seeing a goofy picture.
OK. On to the mugshot-oriented links. Tomorrow, non-mugshot-oriented news!
Your Daily Jury Duty
[In America, you're presumed innocent . . until the mug shot is released]:
Did she do it? This chick, charged with larceny, might have a body (face) language problem. The Smoking Gun
More in extended >>
Posted By: Chuck - Sun Jun 24, 2012 -
Comments (8)
Category:
Playtime Submarine
Billionaire moviemaker and undersea explorer James Cameron's got nothing on this Swinging Sixties couple!
Original article here.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Jun 24, 2012 -
Comments (7)
Category: Oceans and Maritime Pursuits, Technology, 1960s
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| Who We Are |
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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 |
