Weird Universe http://www.weirduniverse.net Exploring every aspect of a human and natural cosmos that is not only stranger than we imagine, but stranger than we can imagine en alex@weirduniverse.net Copyright 2019 Alex Boese, Paul Di Filippo 2019-12-15T07:55:00+00:00 Mama Robot Device http://www.weirduniverse.net/blog/comments/mama_robot_device http://www.weirduniverse.net/blog/comments/mama_robot_device#When:12:08:00Z patent number KR20170003315A was granted to a Korean inventor for a "Mama Robot Device". The inventor's name is only given in Korean, so I'm not sure what it is, but Google translates it as Jeong In-pil.

The Mama Robot is creepy in many ways. As far as I can tell, it's a device that allows children to punish themselves when they know they've been naughty but their parents are away.

The child is able to decide how many lashes with a cane they deserve, and the Mama Robot will then deliver the punishment. As it does so, the prerecorded voice of the parent will admonish the child, but simultaneously the Mama Robot will weep "such that the sad feelings of the parent punishing are conveyed to the child."

A camera inside Mama Robot will record the entire event and then send the video to the parent's phone, as proof that punishment has been served.

I wonder, how many years of therapy would it take for a child to recover from having Mama Robot installed in their home?

]]> Inventions, Robots, Parents,> 2019-12-15T12:08:00+00:00 The Ford Skyliner http://www.weirduniverse.net/blog/comments/the_ford_skyliner http://www.weirduniverse.net/blog/comments/the_ford_skyliner#When:07:55:00Z
The Wikipedia page.



Jump to the 6:30 mark in the video to see the roof in action.

]]> Inventions, Chindogu, 1950s, Cars,> 2019-12-15T07:55:00+00:00 Stinky Candles http://www.weirduniverse.net/blog/comments/stinky_candles http://www.weirduniverse.net/blog/comments/stinky_candles#When:12:07:00Z Stinky Candle Company is committed to offering scented candles that represent the full range of everyday olfactory experiences. So, while they do sell many traditional scents such as christmas tree, chocolate cake batter, lilac, and creme brulee, they also offer non-traditional scents such as chlorine, rotting flesh, gasoline, body odor, fart, skunk, urine, vomit, and "Spawn of the Devil" (which sounds mysterious).

Sounds like the Stinky Candle Company follows the same scent philosophy as Demeter Fragrances, who were selling that glue perfume.


]]> Perfume and Cologne and Other Scents,> 2019-12-14T12:07:00+00:00 “Give Me a Red Hot Mama and an Ice Cold Beer” http://www.weirduniverse.net/blog/comments/give_me_a_red_hot_mama_and_an_ice_cold_beer http://www.weirduniverse.net/blog/comments/give_me_a_red_hot_mama_and_an_ice_cold_beer#When:06:44:00Z

]]> Music, 1950s, Women, Alcohol,> 2019-12-14T06:44:00+00:00 White Grub Broth http://www.weirduniverse.net/blog/comments/white_grub_broth http://www.weirduniverse.net/blog/comments/white_grub_broth#When:12:06:00Z

Sioux City Journal - Aug 6, 1922



"A valuable source of food supply remains untouched in the ground, and might be drawn upon to advantage if popular ignorance and prejudice could be overcome," said Dr. Leland O. Howard, chief of the Government Bureau of Entomology.

"I refer to the common white grub. Every small boy who goes fishing is familiar with it, because it makes exceptionally good bait. But even he does not know that it is the larva of the lively and brisk-flying insect which we call the June bug.

"The white grub is good to eat. It makes an excellent broth. Prepared in a salad, like shrimp, in the French fashion, with mayonnaise dressing, it is delicious. White grubs in a stew are first rate, resembling crab meat in flavor.

"I am able to recommend them because recently, in the Department of Agriculture, we have eaten them cooked in various ways. A quantity of them was shipped to Washington from Indiana in glass jars of salty water for the purpose of the experiment, and the job of devising ways to prepare them appetizingly for the table was assigned to the nutrition division of the Office of Home Economics.

"There the experts in practical home cookery took them in hand, removed their entrails and washed them, thus converting them into a raw material as clean and nice as shrimp meat or crab meat. A number of persons, invited to eat the broth, salad and stew made from them, found all three most appetizing. For stew the grubs were heated with a little water, and milk, butter, salt and pepper were added.

"Perhaps you imagine that it would be difficult to collect enough white grubs for table purposes. But that is not so. Over wide areas in the Middle West and elsewhere the soil is full of them. They can be turned up by thousands with a spade in a few minutes."

We can eat worms with zest!

Typical white grub (source: University of Florida entomology & nematology)

]]> Food, Insects,> 2019-12-13T12:06:00+00:00 Nancy Sinatra for RC Cola http://www.weirduniverse.net/blog/comments/nancy_sinatra_for_rc_cola http://www.weirduniverse.net/blog/comments/nancy_sinatra_for_rc_cola#When:07:58:00Z THX 1138.

]]> Architecture, Business, Advertising, Surrealism, Soda, Pop, Soft Drinks and other Non-Alcoholic Beverages, 1960s,> 2019-12-13T07:58:00+00:00 The Marilyn Monroe Protractor http://www.weirduniverse.net/blog/comments/the_marilyn_monroe_protractor http://www.weirduniverse.net/blog/comments/the_marilyn_monroe_protractor#When:12:52:00Z



]]> Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Body, Technology, 1950s,> 2019-12-12T12:52:00+00:00 Best Undressed Woman of the Year http://www.weirduniverse.net/blog/comments/best_undressed_woman_of_the_year http://www.weirduniverse.net/blog/comments/best_undressed_woman_of_the_year#When:12:29:00Z
The art students apparently intended this as a satirical response to the media's love for declaring various actresses as the 'best dressed' woman of the year. 1940 seems to have been the only year in which they awarded the title, and it doesn't seem like winning the award did much for Logan's career.

The Davenport Daily Times - Feb 26, 1940

]]> Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, 1940s,> 2019-12-12T12:29:00+00:00 Corpse Mountain http://www.weirduniverse.net/blog/comments/corpse_mountain http://www.weirduniverse.net/blog/comments/corpse_mountain#When:12:00:00Z
And, of course, Mt. Everest has now been scaled many times.

If all the bodies of the dead of 250,000 years were piled up in the form of a pyramid, it would reach to a height of 19½ miles and would have a base of 6½ miles square, eclipsing nearly four times the world's highest mountain, Mt. Everest, which has never been scaled by man.


Hamilton Evening Journal - July 31, 1926

]]> Death,> 2019-12-11T12:00:00+00:00 Artwork Khrushchev Probably Would Not Have Liked 25 http://www.weirduniverse.net/blog/comments/artwork_khrushchev_probably_would_not_have_liked_25 http://www.weirduniverse.net/blog/comments/artwork_khrushchev_probably_would_not_have_liked_25#When:07:56:00Z

"King Solomon" was the last sculpture that Alexander Archipenko made and the only one that he conceived as a monumental sculpture. Throughout his career, Archipenko experimented with positive and negative space in his sculptures, often using voids or holes to suggest form. In King Solomon, he placed abstract shapes together to create the vague shape of a figure. The tall prongs at the top evoke a crown, and the intersecting triangles suggest an imposing archaic costume. Archipenko captured a dramatic sense of scale, and it is easy to imagine how formidable this figure would be if enlarged to the sixty-foot-tall version that the artist envisioned.


Source.

His Wikipedia page.]]> Art, Avant Garde, Body, Criticism and Reviews, Russia, Twentieth Century,> 2019-12-11T07:56:00+00:00 Mining Accident Dolls http://www.weirduniverse.net/blog/comments/mining_accident_dolls http://www.weirduniverse.net/blog/comments/mining_accident_dolls#When:12:37:00Z Popular Mechanics (Sep 1929) the dolls were also "intended to serve as a safety warning.”

As far as I know, there's never been a Mining Accident Barbie (or Ken).

Popular Mechanics - Sep 1929

]]> Accidents, Toys, 1920s,> 2019-12-10T12:37:00+00:00 Follies of the Madmen #456 http://www.weirduniverse.net/blog/comments/follies_of_the_madmen_456 http://www.weirduniverse.net/blog/comments/follies_of_the_madmen_456#When:07:58:00Z


Source.]]> Anthropomorphism, Business, Advertising, Motor Vehicles, 1940s,> 2019-12-10T07:58:00+00:00 Worm Painting http://www.weirduniverse.net/blog/comments/worm_painting http://www.weirduniverse.net/blog/comments/worm_painting#When:12:13:00Z
Though I believe there's another technique, in which you first dip the worms in paint, and then set them loose on a canvas.

]]> Art,> 2019-12-09T12:13:00+00:00 Joe Wardle’s Emergency Landing http://www.weirduniverse.net/blog/comments/joe_wardles_emergency_landing http://www.weirduniverse.net/blog/comments/joe_wardles_emergency_landing#When:07:56:00Z




Source.]]> Accidents, Air Travel and Airlines, 1950s, Cars,> 2019-12-09T07:56:00+00:00 Laser Windshield Cleaner http://www.weirduniverse.net/blog/comments/laser_windshield_cleaner http://www.weirduniverse.net/blog/comments/laser_windshield_cleaner#When:12:02:00Z
It's a long, technical application, which I didn't bother to read completely. So I assume they must have considered how it might be a bad idea to have lasers suddenly blasting away at a windshield while someone is driving the car... or even just sitting in the front seat.

More info: Car and Driver

]]> Inventions, Cars,> 2019-12-08T12:02:00+00:00