Weird Universe Archive
June 2019
June 25, 2019
How to reset a GE smart bulb
Turn off for 5 seconds, then on for 8 seconds, then off for 2 seconds, then on for 8 seconds, then off for 2 seconds, then on for 8 seconds…This has got to be a test to see how long until people simply smash the bulb against the wall in frustration.
More info.
Posted By: Alex - Tue Jun 25, 2019 -
Comments (4)
Category: Annoying Things, Technology
The Tree-Sitting Fad of 1930
A national craze for a short time.
Article here.
Another article.
Not everyone was cooperative, as seen below.
Source.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Jun 25, 2019 -
Comments (1)
Category: Fads, Nature, 1930s
June 24, 2019
High Meat
There's a community of people who regularly eat raw meat, believing that it's healthier, being like what our distant ancestors would have eaten. And within this community, some of them consume "High Meat." This is essentially rotten meat. It's called "High" because it apparently makes you feel a bit high when you eat it.The New Yorker offers some info:
High meat is the flesh of any animal that has been allowed to decompose. [Steve] Torma keeps his portions sealed for up to several weeks before ingesting them, airing them out every few days. (Like the bacteria in sauerkraut, those which cause botulism are anaerobic; fermentation destroys them, but they sometimes survive in sealed meats—botulus, in Latin, means sausage.) Vonderplanitz says that he got high meat and its name from the Eskimos, who savor rotten caribou and seal. A regular serving of decayed heart or liver can have a “tremendous Viagra effect” on the elderly, Vonderplanitz told me recently. The first few bites, though, can be rough going. “I still have some resistance to it,” Torma admitted. “But the health benefits! I’m fifty-two now. I started this when I was forty-two, and I feel like I’m in my twenties.”
Primal eating has its detractors: The Times of London recently dubbed it “the silliest diet ever.” Most of us find whole vegetables perfectly digestible. The notion that parasites and viruses are good for us would be news to most doctors. And even Vonderplanitz and his followers admit that high meat sometimes leaves them ill and explosively incontinent. They call it detoxification.
Primal eating has its detractors: The Times of London recently dubbed it “the silliest diet ever.” Most of us find whole vegetables perfectly digestible. The notion that parasites and viruses are good for us would be news to most doctors. And even Vonderplanitz and his followers admit that high meat sometimes leaves them ill and explosively incontinent. They call it detoxification.
Below, watch a guy on YouTube eat one-year-old beef.
Posted By: Alex - Mon Jun 24, 2019 -
Comments (4)
Category: Food
Follies of the Madmen #430
Source.
Posted By: Paul - Mon Jun 24, 2019 -
Comments (4)
Category: Business, Advertising, Disasters, Public Indecency, Sex Symbols, 1950s
June 23, 2019
The Photography of Bill Wood
Note: It was recently brought to our attention, by a kind and attentive reader, that in our original post (way back in 2008) we referred to the photographer as Bill Woods. His actual name was Bill Wood.Bill Wood was a commercial photographer in Fort Worth, Texas. He worked from 1937 to the early 1970s. Apparently, he was a no-nonsense photographer. He didn't intend to produce weird images, but his subject matter — middle-class America — meant that many of his images do have a surreal quality to them, like something out of a David Lynch movie.
The New York Times notes: "What is captivating and often funny is the gap between what he evidently meant to do and what he did. It appears that he meant to create reassuring images for his customers, pictures that affirmed their identities, values and world. Today, however, it looks more as if he captured feelings of absurdity, unease, alienation and grief."
His pictures include a bizarre car promotion, promising a year's supply of Kleenex with every purchase of a 1959 Pontiac. Would this have been a tempting deal, even back in 1959? How much Kleenex could a person possibly use?
...a man standing outside a store with an open sign. But what does it sell? There don't seem to be any products inside.
...and the fashionable members of the Lions Club basketball team.
The International Center of Photography, which recently hosted an exhibition of his work, has more of his images on their site. There's also a book of his photographs.
Posted By: Alex - Sun Jun 23, 2019 -
Comments (7)
Category: Photography and Photographers
Avengers: Endgame, 200 times
Back in April, I posted about a guy who had set a world record for “most cinema productions attended - same film.” Specifically, he had watched Captain Marvel in a movie theater 116 times.Since Marvel films have, for some reason, inspired these super-fan stunts, I speculated that the then imminent release of Avengers: Endgame would lead to a new attempt at a record. And sure enough, Agustin Alanis of Riverview, Florida is going for it. I believe he's already set a new record, but since Avengers: Endgame is still in theaters, he's still watching it, and is shooting for a total of 200 viewings. This is especially impressive since the movie clocks in at around 3 hours.
Posted By: Alex - Sun Jun 23, 2019 -
Comments (1)
Category: Movies, World Records
The Whirlybirds
Once upon a time, helicopters were miraculous and sexy enough to fuel a TV show. What technology could do so today? THE SEGWAY SQUAD? ADVENTURES OF THE JUMP BIKE PATROL? CAPTAIN BIRD SCOOTER?The Wikipedia page.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Jun 23, 2019 -
Comments (2)
Category: Technology, Television, Air Travel and Airlines, 1950s
June 22, 2019
The Lettuce Seed Diet
How it works: You don't eat the lettuce seeds. You stick them in your ears. Your appetite will supposedly disappear.
Los Angeles Times - Aug 29, 1988
Posted By: Alex - Sat Jun 22, 2019 -
Comments (0)
Category: 1980s, Dieting and Weight Loss
A Manual of Gesture
All the things to do with your person while performing in public.
Full text here.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Jun 22, 2019 -
Comments (1)
Category: Body, Etiquette and Formal Behavior, Experts and Authority Figures, Nineteenth Century
June 21, 2019
Baby Naming Service
For nominatively challenged parents, a new company offers help. Future Perfect charges $350 for a personalized list of 10 possible first and middle names for a newborn. For $225, you'll get a list of first names only, while for $100 they'll provide “a namestorming session like no other.” And for a mere $75, they’ll also help you name your pet.Add this to my list of things I'd be willing to do for less money.
Posted By: Alex - Fri Jun 21, 2019 -
Comments (4)
Category: Babies, Business
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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 |
