Weird Universe Blog — August 28, 2024

August 27, 2024

Mystery Flesh Pit National Park

Located near Gumption, Texas, the Mystery Flesh Pit National Park is a must-see for all curiosity-seekers.



Of course, it's an elaborate satire. A mash-up of upbeat National Park merchandising and Lovecraftian horror. But apparently not everyone realizes that. Its creator, artist Trevor Roberts, reports:

I am surprised that some people believe it is real, as that was never the intention. I do try my best to mimic the style of real NPS brochures and materials through layout, typeface selection, color choices, and general wording, but I had imagined that the absurdity of the basic concept would be enough for someone to see that it was all an art project.

More info: outdoorswire.usatoday.com

Posted By: Alex - Tue Aug 27, 2024 - Comments (2)
Category: Freaks, Oddities, Quirks of Nature | Satire

Atomic Car



Posted By: Paul - Tue Aug 27, 2024 - Comments (1)
Category: Atomic Power and Other Nuclear Matters | 1960s | Europe | Cars

August 26, 2024

A method for irradiating radioactive radiation

Patent No. 6,415,009 (granted in 2002) is titled, "Method for producing a coiled body for irradiating radioactive radiation."

What could it mean to irradiate radioactive radiation? When I came across the phrase I had to stop and think about it.

The text of the patent unfortunately didn't provide any clarification, although it did reveal that all this irradiating is being done in the context of brachytherapy (from wikipedia: "a form of radiation therapy where a sealed radiation source is placed inside or next to the area requiring treatment").

The phrase "radioactive radiation" actually does make sense to me. Radiation is a catch-all term for the emission of any kind of electromagnetic energy. So 'radioactive radiation' would be high-energy or ionizing radiation, as opposed to, say, low-energy heat radiation.

But I'm still confused what they mean by irradiating radioactive radiation? Does it mean to make radioactive radiation even more radioactive?

Or are they misusing the word 'irradiate'? My dictionary indicates that 'irradiate' means either to be exposed to radiation or to be illuminated by radiation. The sun radiates or emits light, and the earth is irradiated by its light.

So did the patentees mean 'emitting' rather than 'irradiating'? I'm just not sure. If anyone can figure out what the phrase means, let me know.

Posted By: Alex - Mon Aug 26, 2024 - Comments (3)
Category: Science | Atomic Power and Other Nuclear Matters | Patents

Death by Manhole Cover




Posted By: Paul - Mon Aug 26, 2024 - Comments (1)
Category: Death | Explosives | Luck, Good and Bad | Urban Life | 1930s

August 25, 2024

A Woman’s Perspiration

Anatomical horror from the advertising industry:

You are a woman under your arms. Newly awakened glands there give off a woman's perspiration. The kind that offends.

This new kind of perspiration breaks out when you're taking an exam. When you're going to a party. When you're dating him.


American Girl - July 1963



American Girl - Sep 1964

Posted By: Alex - Sun Aug 25, 2024 - Comments (1)
Category: Advertising | 1960s | Women | Perfume and Cologne and Other Scents

Your Road to Employment

Looking for a new job? This record will get you one! (As a Nash Rambler salesman.). The player is below.





Posted By: Paul - Sun Aug 25, 2024 - Comments (0)
Category: Jobs and Occupations | Self-help Schemes | Vinyl Albums and Other Media Recordings | 1960s

August 24, 2024

Underwear-concealed survival saw

If you find yourself held hostage, there's a newly patented invention (No. 12,059,045) that may help you escape to freedom. It's an underwear-concealed survival saw.

The flexible saw can be concealed in almost any undergarment ("undershirt; boxers/briefs, camisole or brassiere"). It's possible to retrieve the saw even while wearing handcuffs. Then you can use it to cut through zip ties, ropes, wood, or even light metals.





The underwear-concealed saw bears some resemblance to an oddball invention we've previously posted about: the collar saw of Carl Kusch.

Posted By: Alex - Sat Aug 24, 2024 - Comments (4)
Category: Fashion | Patents

Terra Incognita


Terra Incognita from IKKI FILMS on Vimeo.

Posted By: Paul - Sat Aug 24, 2024 - Comments (0)
Category: Surrealism | Myths and Fairytales | Cartoons

August 23, 2024

The Strange (spurious) Will of Francesca Nortyuege

In various books of odd facts one can find, briefly related, the story of the strange last will of Francesca Nortyuege. The story goes that when Nortyuege, a famous reformer from Dieze, died in 1903 she left her fortune to her niece on the condition that the family goldfish always be kept dressed in tights.

I pasted an illustrated version of the story below, from Mindblowers (1982) by Chet Stover. But it also appears in Karl Shaw's Oddballs and Eccentrics (2004), as well as in many newspaper columns.



Los Angeles Times - July 13, 1954



I suspected the story wasn't true, but it took me a while to locate its source — due to the many variant spellings of Nortyuege (Nortuega, Nortyuega, etc.). Finally I tracked it down to R.L. Ripley's 1929 Believe It Or Not!. I'm confident it's not true because there's absolutely no mention of Francesca Nortyuege in any source before Ripley's 1929 book came out.

Robert L. Ripley, Believe it or Not!



I've posted my thoughts about Ripley before — that I think he invented many of his stories. See, for example, the post "Clothes for Snowmen" about Madame de la Bresse who was said to have died in 1876, instructing in her will that all her money be used for buying clothes for snowmen. Another Ripley invention, and one that is quite similar to the tale of Francesca Nortyuege. Ripley was evidently amused by the idea of people imposing puritanical demands on their heirs.

Perhaps the most widespread invention from Ripley's 1929 book is the story of Lady Gough's book of etiquette.



This story has been repeated all over the place (google it and see), and again it's an anecdote about an overly prudish character. But as the Faktoider blog notes, Lady Gough never wrote a book on etiquette. Nor did she even exist.

Posted By: Alex - Fri Aug 23, 2024 - Comments (3)
Category: Censorship, Bluenoses, Taboos, Prohibitions and Other Cultural No-No’s | Inheritance and Wills

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All original content in posts is Copyright © 2016 by the author of the post, which is usually either Alex Boese ("Alex"), Paul Di Filippo ("Paul"), or Chuck Shepherd ("Chuck"). All rights reserved. The banner illustration at the top of this page is Copyright © 2008 by Rick Altergott.

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