Weird Universe Archive

November 2021

November 15, 2021

Jello Brainwaves

In 1974, Dr. Adrian Upton of McMaster University placed E.E.G. electrodes on a blob of lime jello and obtained positive readings. This indicated brain activity. He published his results in 1976 in the Medical Tribune.

Upton was trying to demonstrate that when doctors use an E.E.G. to determine brain death, it can be difficult to obtain a perfectly flat readout, because the equipment picks up stray electrical activity from the surrounding environment. Or maybe he had discovered that jello is a sentient lifeform.

The Jell-O Gallery Museum in Le Roy, New York seems to prefer the latter conclusion. A brain-shaped jello mold on display at the museum bears the message: "A Bowl of Jell-O Gelatin and the Human Brain Have the Same Frequency of Brain Waves."

image source: Donna Goldstein, researchgate.net



More info: The Straight Dope



Wichita Eagle - Mar 8, 1976

Posted By: Alex - Mon Nov 15, 2021 - Comments (7)
Category: Food, Jello, Experiments, 1970s, Brain

Terry Head and Gisela

It's not every day that one sees a mime-skating-comedy act.



Another clip of the act, not embeddable, here on a Facebook page.

Posted By: Paul - Mon Nov 15, 2021 - Comments (0)
Category: Humor, Puppets and Automatons, Skating, Sledding, Skiing and Other Wintertime Pursuits, 1970s

November 14, 2021

The Blonde Brigade

Apr 1938: Actress Jean Colwell came up with a sure-fire way to end all wars. Her idea was that if a group of beautiful, blonde women stood in between the two opposing armies, in the "no man's land," then the soldiers on each side would refuse to attack because "No soldier will shoot at a good-looking blonde." Peace would be achieved!

To make her vision a reality, Colwell placed an ad in a New York newspaper:

Are you blonde, beautiful and ready to join men in the trenches in the next war? It's the last chance to save this idiotic man's world. Jean Colwell, 124 West 55th.

The response was enthusiastic, and within a month she had enough volunteers to form a "blonde brigade," all wiling to risk their lives for peace.

Wisconsin State Journal - Mar 29, 1938



Los Angeles Times - Apr 27, 1938



Owensboro Messenger - Apr 2, 1938



Women of other hair colors didn't want to be left out. So there was soon also a "red-headed regiment" and a "brunette battalion."

San Bernardino County Sun - Apr 30, 1938



Of course, none of these women were ever shipped to the front line to serve as a human shield. Colwell herself spent the war in Forth Worth, Texas performing in plays. After the war she moved to Japan as a civil service worker. When she died in 1986, she was back in Fort Worth. I haven't found any info on what she did between 1946 and 1986.

Posted By: Alex - Sun Nov 14, 2021 - Comments (4)
Category: War, 1930s, Women, Hair and Hairstyling

Arabic Proverbs

I intend to salt my conversation thoroughly with the proverbs in this book.

Read it here.







Posted By: Paul - Sun Nov 14, 2021 - Comments (0)
Category: Religion, Proverbs, Maxims, Sayings, Folk Wisdom and Quotations, Middle East, Nineteenth Century

November 13, 2021

Crazy People

Could be the WU theme song.



Info from wikipedia:

The Boswell Sisters were an American close harmony singing trio of the jazz and swing eras, consisting of three sisters: Martha Boswell (June 9, 1905 – July 2, 1958), Connee Boswell (original name Connie, December 3, 1907 – October 11, 1976), and Helvetia "Vet" Boswell (May 20, 1911 – November 12, 1988). Hailing from uptown New Orleans, the group was noted for their intricate harmonies and song arrangements featuring numerous effects such as scat, instrumental imitation, ‘Boswellese’ gibberish, tempo and meter changes, major/minor juxtaposition, key changes, and incorporation of sections from other songs. They attained national prominence in the United States in the 1930s during the twilight years of the Jazz Age and the onset of the Great Depression.

Posted By: Alex - Sat Nov 13, 2021 - Comments (1)
Category: Music, 1930s

“Sweet Blindness:”  Your Choice

Which version do you prefer? Nyro's original bouncy and exuberant one? Or Minelli's "improved" manic and hyper non-stop whirlwind one?





Posted By: Paul - Sat Nov 13, 2021 - Comments (1)
Category: Music, Television, Homages, Pastiches, Tributes and Borrowings, 1960s

November 12, 2021

Pac-Man Hat

From Stephen Jones Millinery, Spring 2009.





via gastt_fashion

Posted By: Alex - Fri Nov 12, 2021 - Comments (0)
Category: Headgear, Videogames and Gamers

Moe and Shemp Go for a Swim

Unscripted poolside mayhem.

Posted By: Paul - Fri Nov 12, 2021 - Comments (1)
Category: Swimming, Snorkeling, and Diving, 1920s, Comedians

November 11, 2021

The man who could read record grooves

Dr. Arthur Lintgen had an unusual talent. By looking at the grooves on a vinyl record, he could identify what the recording was. Within limits. It had to be classical music (no rock 'n' roll), preferably from the time of Beethoven up to the present. And it had to be a complete recording. Not an excerpt. But within those parameters, he was pretty much flawless.

You can see him in action in the clip below.



Some more info from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Aug 5, 1980):

Is it possible for a man to look at the grooves of a long-playing record and tell you what the music is?

Ridiculous.

My editor broke out in laughter. Colleagues howled with scorn. I just smirked a little.

Laugh no more, lest Arthur B. Lintgen M.D. make you chew on your ridicule and swallow every smirk. Lintgen indeed possesses this astonishing talent. Its value, granted, is dubious in terms of mankind's future — nothing like a cure for cancer or a peace formula for Palestinians.

But if you cherish astonishment for its own sake, then watch Lintgen first as he fondles a record, holding it perpendicularly at nose level, frowning at its surface, and then as he looks up smiling brightly: "Why, yes. This is a favorite of mine, the Rachmaninoff Second Symphony."

...

[Lintgen] shies away from the pressures of a betting situation, preferring to keep his "eccentric hobby" an affair for friends and family. He is also quick to point out that his prowess is not universal, and that there are ground rules and limitations to what he can do.

First, the music must date from the time of Beethoven up through the present, the avant-garde excluded. Lintgen cannot precisely identify music he does not know or has no sympathy for. Secondly, no solo instruments or chamber music — where groove patterns, he says, fluctuate too widely to be read. Thirdly, he must know if the recording is a complete work with a fixed number of movements. No excerpts, please.

What then follows seems to be a combination of musical and technical erudition, some inspired deductive reasoning, and something else I am at a loss to isolate — perhaps a gift not unlike the sense of perfect pitch possessed by many gifted musicians.

The Haydn Symphony, No. 100 is outside Lintgen's prescribed ground rules (too early), but we asked him to look at it anyway. The process was illuminating.

• The four bands on the record surface suggested to him the four movements of the classical symphony. This was reinforced by the patterns on band three which indicated to him the A-B-A minuet form of this genre.

• The mirror-like ⅜-inch beginning the side told him "slow, quiet introduction" for which Haydn symphonies are noted. Grooves reveal to Lintgen nothing about pitch, but they do seem to tell him a great deal about volume, timbre, and movements. "Haydn," he determined finally. "I don't know which one."

Posted By: Alex - Thu Nov 11, 2021 - Comments (0)
Category: Human Marvels, Music, 1980s

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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.

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