Weird Universe Archive

June 2021

June 10, 2021

Rengo fruit for obesity

A "remedy for obesity" marketed circa 1906. It supposedly was made from the "Rengo fruit". In Nostrums and Quackery (1912) the American Medical Association offered this analysis:

Rengo used to be known as "Rengo Fruit" and the claim was made that its active constituents were derived from a luscious tropical fruit which grows in clusters similar to grapes...

Rengo has been analyzed and, according to Dr. Kebler's analysis, contains: Thyroid gland, Poke root, Cascara, Cassia fistula.

That the prolonged administration of thyroid gland will sometimes bring about a marked reduction in weight is true but its use even under skilled medical supervision is fraught with danger. It is little less than criminal that ignorant quacks of Kellogg's type should be permitted to distribute indiscriminately drugs that have the potency for harm that is possessed by the thyroid preparations.

source: flickr



Posted By: Alex - Thu Jun 10, 2021 - Comments (4)
Category: Patent Medicines, Nostrums and Snake Oil, Fruit, 1900s

Miss Hot Dog 1959

Photo source: Daily News (New York, New York) 12 Jul 1959, Sun Page 36



Text source: The Daily Oklahoman (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) 27 Jun 1959, Sat Page 6




Posted By: Paul - Thu Jun 10, 2021 - Comments (1)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Food, 1950s

June 9, 2021

Uglies Unlimited

Uglies Unlimited was founded by Danny McCrory in 1973. Its purpose was to promote the rights of ugly people. As far as I can tell, it remained in existence for only about a year.

Seems ironic that the member the media chose to focus on (below) was obviously attractive.



Camden Courier-Post - Nov 14, 1973

Posted By: Alex - Wed Jun 09, 2021 - Comments (4)
Category: Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Clubs, Fraternities and Other Self-selecting Organizations, 1970s

The Art of Jacques Resch



No Wikipedia entry, so: his Facebook Page.

Posted By: Paul - Wed Jun 09, 2021 - Comments (2)
Category: Art, Surrealism

June 8, 2021

The Bisga Fluid Man

He's three-months dead but still looking good, thanks to Bisga embalming fluid!

The ad ran in funeral trade magazines such as The Sunnyside, circa 1902 and 1903.

source: researchgate



source: cult of weird



The historian Jani Scandura offers some commentary about the ad in her article "Deadly Professions: 'Dracula,' Undertakers, and the Embalmed Corpse".

A 1902 advertisement for Bisga embalming fluid finally reveals what is at stake in embalming. The advertisement portrays a perfectly preserved corpse, embalmed three months previously, fully dressed in business attire, seated, and holding a newspaper. At first glance, the advertisement seems to suggest that through embalming one can retain one's middle-class appearance, and thereby the status achieved in life in the grave. Certainly, this was a perception that circulated in mass culture...

But in appearing to reaffirm middle-class markings through embalming, the Bisga advertisement reveals a more ominous truth: because of the laws regulating the use of corpses, the apparent gentleman's body most certainly belonged to an individual who had been destitute. He simply was remade to appear middle class.

Posted By: Alex - Tue Jun 08, 2021 - Comments (3)
Category: Death, Advertising, 1900s

The Philadelphia Resurrectionists

Jefferson Medical College is still extant. Not sure if their literature highlights this incident.

Source: The Boston Weekly Globe (Boston, Massachusetts) 19 Dec 1882, Tue Page 5





Posted By: Paul - Tue Jun 08, 2021 - Comments (8)
Category: Crime, Death, Education, Medicine, Cemeteries, Graveyards, Crypts, Mortuaries and Other Funereal Pursuits, Nineteenth Century

June 7, 2021

The Safety Smoker

The "safety smoker," invented by Glen R. Foote of Cincinnati, promised to allow people to safely smoke "in places where the danger from flying or falling sparks is likely to start a conflagration or cause an explosion."

Perfect for anyone hankering for a smoke in an oil refinery.



San Francisco Examiner - Jan 1, 1933

Posted By: Alex - Mon Jun 07, 2021 - Comments (6)
Category: Inventions, Smoking and Tobacco, 1930s

June 6, 2021

An Experiment on Eye Process

From The Art and Science of Embalming (1896) by Carl Barnes.

The illustration shows an experiment by the embalmer W.W. Harris to test the efficacy of injecting embalming fluid through needles inserted at the corners of the eyes. Harris showed that the fluid would come out the veins and arteries in the neck— and if the head were still attached to a body, would then presumably spread throughout the rest of the corpse.

Posted By: Alex - Sun Jun 06, 2021 - Comments (2)
Category: Death, Experiments, Eyes and Vision

My Honey Chile



"She's got a wooden leg, all stiff at the knee...just a limb from the old apple tree."

Posted By: Paul - Sun Jun 06, 2021 - Comments (0)
Category: Humor, Music, 1940s, Differently Abled, Handicapped, Challenged, and Otherwise Atypical, Love & Romance

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