Weird Universe Archive

July 2022

July 26, 2022

Miss Truth Bomb

I could see 'Miss Truth Bomb' being the premise for a movie. A young up-and-coming actress is awarded that title, but then she can't stop herself from dropping truth bombs on everyone around her. Kind of like Jim Carrey's Liar Liar, but with a female lead.

Of course, no such thing happened to the real Miss Truth Bomb, Kathleen Hughes, who enjoyed a long career in Hollywood.

North Hollywood Valley Times - June 9, 1952



Los Angeles Daily News - June 7, 1952

Posted By: Alex - Tue Jul 26, 2022 - Comments (0)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, 1950s

Marimba Trios

Although I was unable to find any recordings of the Wheeler Marimba Trio, it appears that contemporary marimba trios are a definite thing.

And then, there's always six marimbas!













Posted By: Paul - Tue Jul 26, 2022 - Comments (2)
Category: Music, 1950s, Twenty-first Century

July 25, 2022

The Rotor Corres-File

This reminds me of the days when I used to have a filing cabinet. That now marks me as an old-timer.

Richmond Times Dispatch - Mar 15, 1953



Pittsburgh Press - Jul 20, 1952

Posted By: Alex - Mon Jul 25, 2022 - Comments (7)
Category: Inventions, Offices, Business Supplies, Institutional Regulations, 1950s

July 24, 2022

Portable Oasis

The "portable oasis" of Belgian artist Alain Verschueren consists of a small, plexiglass greenhouse that he wears over his head. He came up with the idea around 2005, but only got attention for it in 2020, due to Covid, when he began wearing it around town instead of a mask.

More info: Alain Verschueren, Reuters





I'll give Verschueren the benefit of the doubt and assume he wasn't aware of Waldemar Anguita's "greenhouse helmet," patented in 1986. The two ideas are basically identical.

Posted By: Alex - Sun Jul 24, 2022 - Comments (0)
Category: Art, Inventions, Patents

Kosher Pet Food

This is not a religious concern that had previously appeared on my radar.

Read the whole article here.

Posted By: Paul - Sun Jul 24, 2022 - Comments (3)
Category: Food, Pets, Religion

July 23, 2022

Nap Boxes

New from Japan: nap boxes. The idea is to discourage workers from locking themselves in toilet stalls to nap by instead offering them an upright container in which they can seal themselves and (somehow) nap.

Reminds me of the Iron Maiden torture device from medieval times.

More info: Bloomberg

Posted By: Alex - Sat Jul 23, 2022 - Comments (6)
Category: Furniture, Sleep and Dreams

America Never Took Water

Sing along to this rousing anti-Prohibition ditty! Full lyrics here.






Posted By: Paul - Sat Jul 23, 2022 - Comments (0)
Category: Government, Law, Music, Propaganda, Thought Control and Brainwashing, Alcohol

July 22, 2022

Death by cole slaw

According to his memorial page, John Ramsey died tragically in 1982 "when he slipped and fell into a cole-slaw making machine."



But according to news reports from the time, his death is somewhat more mysterious than that because it's not entirely clear how he managed to fall into the cole-slaw machine. From the Baltimore Sun (Oct 17, 1982):

A co-worker, Lorraine Davenport, told police she was handing bags of salad ingredients to Mr. Ramsey and had turned her back to him to pick up another bag. She said that when she turned around he was gone but one of his boots—a black, waterproof, oversized boot similar to those worn by other employees—was on the ground.

When she climbed up the metal ladder, she said, she saw him inside the blending machine and began to scream. . .

Still, the question remained: How did he come to fall in?

Mr. Ramsey was about 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighed 145 pounds, according to the police report. When he stood on the top step of the metal ladder, the top edge of the blender, which is 6 feet off the floor, came up to his chest.

Mr. Wachs [president of the company] said he believes Mr. Ramsey might have dropped the bag of carrots into the metal bin, reached in to retrieve it, and was pulled into the machine.

He said employees know that an entire batch of salad may have to be discarded if a plastic bag falls into the blender. "But we always tell them if it falls, let it go. . . You are not going to be fired for it. But maybe he reached for it by impulse."

Posted By: Alex - Fri Jul 22, 2022 - Comments (1)
Category: Death, 1980s

Barbarian Men’s Fashions

The famous painter Boris Vallejo once did a series of ads for the clothing chain Chess King. What's your opinion? Does sword and sorcery imagery sell men's clothing?

Here's a neat small essay on this campaign.











Posted By: Paul - Fri Jul 22, 2022 - Comments (3)
Category: Excess, Overkill, Hyperbole and Too Much Is Not Enough, Fashion, Advertising, Fantasy, 1980s

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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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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.

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