Weird Universe Blog — May 18, 2024
Forever Walks a Drifter
Their entry at Discogs.
Posted By: Paul - Sat May 18, 2024 -
Comments (0)
Category: Music | Outsider Art | 1960s
May 17, 2024
No TV for a year
Back in the early 1970s, a German research group called "The Society for Rational Psychology" challenged 184 people (all regular TV watchers) to go without TV for a year.. with financial incentives to encourage them to stick to the plan.Briefly all went well, but then things quickly began to go downhill. Frustration grew. The people started to become moody and aggressive. After five months they were all back to watching TV.
The lesson the researchers concluded: "people who watch television regularly are likely to become so addicted they can no longer be happy without it."
What would they conclude about the Internet?
Of course, the study probably needs to be taken with a grain of salt because I can't find any info about this Society for Rational Psychology. Was it some kind of market research group? Nor can I find the write-up from the study itself. Just lots of references to the study in the media.
Buffalo Evening News - May 8, 1972
Posted By: Alex - Fri May 17, 2024 -
Comments (3)
Category: Addictions | Television | Psychology | 1970s
Miss Putt-Putt
For much more, visit the link.
Posted By: Paul - Fri May 17, 2024 -
Comments (2)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests | Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues | Recreation | Sports | 1960s
May 16, 2024
Scratch-n-Sniff Jeans
Available from Naked and Famous Denim. The poor man's version of this would be to spray some fragrance on your ratty old jeans.
Posted By: Alex - Thu May 16, 2024 -
Comments (4)
Category: Denim | Perfume and Cologne and Other Scents
The Savage and Sensuous Bongos
The rest of the playlist is here.
Posted By: Paul - Thu May 16, 2024 -
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Category: Excess, Overkill, Hyperbole and Too Much Is Not Enough | Music | Space-age Bachelor Pad & Exotic | 1960s
May 15, 2024
Miss Biological Research
Were biologists supposed to pin her picture up in their labs?
New York Daily News - Feb 12, 1964
Posted By: Alex - Wed May 15, 2024 -
Comments (2)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests | Science | 1960s
Headache Hanger
Full patent here.
Posted By: Paul - Wed May 15, 2024 -
Comments (3)
Category: Inventions | Patents | Medicine | 1910s | Head
May 14, 2024
Gilbert Young, most rejected author ever
Gilbert Young first came to the attention of the British press in the 1960s as a crusader for a single world government. He ran repeatedly for various political offices but never won an election.Below is an ad he placed in the papers seeking new members for his "World Government Party."
Bristol Daily Press - Jan 29, 1964
But his real claim to fame came in the mid 1970s when the editors of the Guinness Book of Records learned that, for years, Young had been trying to get his book published but had only received rejections from publishers. His book, World Government Crusade, had, by 1974, been rejected 80 times. So Guinness listed him in its 1975 edition as the record holder for the "greatest recorded number of publisher's rejections for a manuscript."
Bristol Daily Press - Sep 26, 1974
Guinness Book of Records 1975
For over fifteen years Guinness continued to list him as the holder of this record. Every few years it would update the number of his rejections. By 1990 his book had been rejected 242 times.
Guinness Book of Records 1991
I thought that perhaps Young's book would now be available to read or purchase somewhere on the Internet. But no, as far as I can tell it's still unavailable.
Posted By: Alex - Tue May 14, 2024 -
Comments (3)
Category: Eccentrics | Politics | World Records | Books
The Not-So-Distant Past Sins of Amtrak
Posted By: Paul - Tue May 14, 2024 -
Comments (3)
Category: Excrement | 1980s | Trains
May 13, 2024
The doctor who made rats go insane
Dr. Norman Maier is pretty much unknown today, but Wikipedia notes that his research "received extensive publicity in its day." That research involved making rats go insane.
The cause of man's mental suffering identified: not being given his breakfast promptly at 7 am.
Thus a man who is "conditioned" to expect his breakfast promptly at 7 o'clock in the morning and does not get it may develop a nervous disorder if his wife fails to provide it at that time for many mornings in succession.
Detroit Free Press - Jan 1, 1939
Posted By: Alex - Mon May 13, 2024 -
Comments (2)
Category: Animals | Psychology | 1930s
