Dementia, Somnabulism, Laparoscopy

and the Morning Edition of Chuck's News of the Weird Daily for Monday

Fine points of F State law: Jury: "Not guilty"; Judge: "OK, then, 55 yrs in prison"
Ms. Johnnie Miles, whose rap sheet takes quite a while to print out, was actually acquitted of the latest bad-check charge, but under Florida law, the judge is empowered to re-examine the facts, and he thought she was guilty as hell. Though he couldn't sentence her for that, he did sentence her to serve in full the eleven 5-yr sentences she was on probation for (and which she violated by passing the bad checks, for which she was acquitted). [Ed.: It helps to live in Florida if ya need to understand that.] TCPalm.com (Stuart, Fla.)
Comments 'johnnie_miles'

Le Trungs's homemade female robot
A 33-yr-old Ontario man with a lifelong robot fascination has created Ms. Aiko for, he guesses, about $20k (Cdn) but still needs at least $7k in motors to get her to walk, but so far she can read newspapers, distinguish 300 faces per second, and speak 13,000 English and Japanese phrases. "If you talk dirty to her, she will talk dirty back." His goal is to make her clean his toilet and Q-tip his ears. (And, yes, she's genitally-correct, but, "Do I sleep with her? No.") CTV News
Comments 'letrung_robot'

Latest advance in somnabulism: sending e-mail while asleep
Courts have decided that it's an act of nature if you talk in your sleep, force sex on someone while you're asleep, even kill someone while you're asleep, but in some ways, this is more complex: She logged onto her e-mail account (with password!) and composed and sent three e-mails (even though they didn't make much sense). Daily Telegraph (London) [reviewing article in the journal Sleep Medicine]
Comments 'email_asleep'

What can be done, must be done?
Photographer Yeon Lee opened a London show on how women "are categorized in male-dominated societies," featuring one woman in a full-body burqa, apparently with only four holes cut out (two for the eyes, two for the nipples). The Union of Muslim Organizations of the UK and Ireland is kinda opposed to that. The London Paper
Comments 'yeonlee_burqa'

How to enrage PETA in Germany
A reality-show farmer got caught on camera recommending that chickens' genitals be fingered, so they'd get "orgasms." The program is "Farmer Wants a Wife," where various women drop by to audition to be Hansi's beloved, and obviously, Hansi's destined to be single for a long, long time. Bild [Ed.: I know, I warned you that Bild's new English-language site was gonna cause trouble for me, but this story is dressed up enough that I think it's real]
Comments 'chicken_orgasms'

At last! A commercial opportunity for News of the Weird
[Ed.: I'm already dreaming of how I'll spend that fat gov't mental-health grant!] Australian researchers say that a key indicator for frontotemporal dementia in seniors is whether they can respond properly to sarcasm. If they don't realize you're being sarcastic, they're on their way down. [Ed.: Note to researchers: I can write content for you, cheap; I know how researchers always ask governments and foundations for the absolute-least amount of money possible.] Daily Telegraph (Sydney) [reviewing article in the journal Brain]
Comments 'sarcasm_dementia'

Your Daily Losers
Three women, ages 21, 19, and 18, were busted, and among the evidence on them was a printed guide from the Internet, How to Commit Armed Robbery in Six Easy Steps, which was written sorta-jokey (only the gals appeared not to realize that, which as we all know now, is a sign of frontotemporal dementia). Plus, their choice of crime scene was a Dollar Tree store. The Smoking Gun
Comments 'dollartree_robbery'

People Whose Sex Lives Are Worse Than Yours
He was apparently making himself at home in a men's room stall at the Milwaukee Public Museum, moaning and with porn magazines scattered on the floor, and of course a guard came and escorted him out, but one witness recounted, "He said to the security guard . . . that he comes in here every day and it doesn't seem to be a problem and why is it a problem today?" WTMJ-TV
Comments 'milwaukee_museum'

Your Daily Jury Duty
[no fair examining the evidence; verdict must be based on mugshot only]
OK, make yourselves useful. The formal, legal-schmegal jury will be deliberating starting today on whether Wayne Bent, 67, is guilty of molesting two girls, age 14 and 16, and here he is on the witness stand saying that he really had no choice in the matter, in that God told him that he had to lie down with the girls. One supports him; one doesn't. I'll bet you can reach a decision more quickly. (Bonus: He says he only fondled them on the "sternum.") KRQE-TV (Albuquerque)
Comments 'wayne_bent'

More Things to Worry About on Monday

Texas prisoners, acting as their own lawyers, try to point out to the judge that there is a Constitutional right to watch TV. Beaumont Enterprise

Heath Campbell and his wife are all upset that the ShopRite supermarket in Greenwich Twp, Pa., won't make them a personalized birthday cake for their little 3-yr-old, Adolf Hitler Campbell (who by the way has a sister, age 1, JoyceLynn Aryan Nation Campbell). Express-Times (Easton, Pa.)

Dr. Richard Demir is a cutting-edge ob-gyn and now wants you to know that he removed, by laparoscopic surgery, a record-breaking uterus (over 7 lbs., vs. the usual uterus of less than 1 lb.). WMAQ–TV (Chicago)

Ambitious: Jason Prince, 27, looking for a good Christmas gift for his two kids, allegedly unbolted a seesaw from a neighborhood playground and took it home in his truck. Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Rioting Version 2.0 in Greece: Protesters complained to the media that police in the current riots aren't playing fair, that they're using out-of-date tear-gas canisters, from 1981, and that the aged chemicals "make us sick, people have fainted and have trouble breathing." The Times (London)

Comments on More Things to Worry About on Monday?
Comments 'worry_081215'

Posted By: Chuck - Mon Dec 15, 2008 - Comments (0)
Category:

Cemeteries in Parking Lots

Roadside Resort offers a collection of cemeteries located in parking lots: patches of grass in seas of asphalt. I believe in every case the cemetery predates the parking lot. The graves simply had the misfortune of being surrounded by strip malls.

Posted By: Alex - Mon Dec 15, 2008 - Comments (3)
Category: Death, Real Estate

Sensation Seeking Scale

The Sensation Seeking Scale was developed by Prof. Marvin Zuckerman almost forty years ago. It measures four psychological tendencies: thrill and adventure seeking; experience seeking; disinhibition; and susceptibility to boredom.


Take the test over at the BBC to find out how much (and what kind) of a sensation seeker you are.

I scored very high as an "experience seeker." Makes sense for someone who's addicted to weird.

Posted By: Alex - Mon Dec 15, 2008 - Comments (5)
Category: Quizzes, Psychology

Weird Universe Gift Guide

There's still time to do some last-minute Christmas shopping. So here's a few gift ideas, all available from Amazon:

Gun Egg Fryer
Gun-shaped stainless steel egg mold.


Half Leg
"The only product on the market that allows an individual to ride the ocean waves, jump off a diving board and swim in a pool or just relax in the tub while keeping their arm or leg completely water free."


Choker Loop Mole Trap
"The fast and easy way to rid yard of moles once and for all."


Gender Neutral Patient Peevy Manikin
"A basic training manikin with subcutaneous and intramuscular injection sites in both deltoids, gluteal, ventro-gluteal and both thighs, interchangeable male and female genitalia for catheterization, rectum with colon reservoir for enema simulation, subclavian, jejunostomy and Hickman openings for placement."


21' Preferred (All Aluminum) Bleachers
"There may be an up-charge of $45 charged by the freight line for shipping to a residential address (needing a lift gate on the truck, taking the product off the truck, putting it inside a house, or taking it up a flight of stairs, etc.)"


Auto Parts Store
"A classic profitable store with experienced people who want to stay. owner will train buyer."


Stop Eating Poop
"Contains Glutamic Acid to deter dogs from eating their own stool... Peppermint and parsley help to eliminate bad breath."


Sugar Free Chocolate Dipped Pork Rinds
"They're sweet with a hint of saltiness and crunchy all wrapped up in one!"


Red and green adult elf tights
"Complete your elf costume with Elf Tights."


Weird Universe gets a 10% commission if anyone buys something through these links, though it looks like many of the above products are "currently unavailable." The $12,000 bleachers, however, are in stock. If any one of you buys those, Chuck, Paul, and I will be dining on champagne and caviar this Christmas.

Posted By: Alex - Sun Dec 14, 2008 - Comments (0)
Category: Products

Cow Festival in Switzerland

Each year the cows of Switzerland get to wear pretty hats.

Read all about the tradition here, then watch a few seconds of video.


Cow Festival in Mels from jillnachtman on Vimeo.

Posted By: Paul - Sun Dec 14, 2008 - Comments (0)
Category: Fashion, Holidays, Parades and Festivals, Foreign Customs, Cows, Europe

Peace on Earth

Mankind replaced by squirrels? See it all in this famous cartoon.

Posted By: Paul - Sat Dec 13, 2008 - Comments (2)
Category: Animals, Armageddon and Apocalypses, Destruction, War, Cartoons, 1930s

The Balloon Chair

I'd like to use this the next time I travel by airplane. From Popular Science, Sep 1937:

There are more details about it in the Oct 1937 issue of Popular Science.

Posted By: Alex - Sat Dec 13, 2008 - Comments (0)
Category: Inventions, Travel

The Hope Diamond

As a kid, I was fascinated by the Curse of the Hope Diamond.

But you don't seem to hear about it so much anymore.

For a quick rundown of the tale, visit this site, or check out the Wikipedia entry.

But surely one of the weirdest facts connected with the gem is that it was once sent through the US Mail!

Henry “Harry” Winston, a leading American jeweler and gem dealer, bought the diamond from Mrs. McLean’s estate in 1949. In November 1958 Winston donated the diamond to the Smithsonian Institution, intending it to be the foundation for a National Jewel Collection. With his years of experience in shipping jewelry all over the world, Winston chose to have the diamond delivered by registered mail. He told a reporter for the Washington Post that “ . . . [registered mail is] the safest way to ship gems. . . . I’ve sent gems all over the world that way.”

Just a thought about that curse: since 1958, the Hope Diamond has been owned, in a manner of speaking, by the whole nation. If one chooses to date America's hard times--the end of some mythical Golden Age--from roughly that period, could it be said that the curse is still operative?

Why not sell the Hope Diamond to a rich oil shiek, use the money to help relieve the deficit, and see what happens?

Posted By: Paul - Fri Dec 12, 2008 - Comments (1)
Category: Museums, 1950s, Natural Wonders, Curses, Postal Services

Eating Glass

The new Google magazine archive is a goldmine for weirdness. Here's another find from Popular Science, Nov 1931:


The full results of Hoelzel's glass-eating study were published in the American Journal of Physiology, (Mar 1, 1930), "The Rate of Passage of Inert Materials Through the Digestive Tract." The article includes a helpful chart, detailing exactly how long it took for various substances (including steel ball-bearings and bent silver wire) to pass through Hoelzel's system:



Hoelzel was an interesting character. He became an expert on nutrition and often subjected himself to grueling diet experiments -- particularly experiments involving fasting for extended periods of time. The Life photo archive has a picture of him, taken in 1955. He seems to have been one of the first researchers to make a link between calorie-restriction and longevity, though it didn't really work for him. He died in 1963 at the age of 73.

Posted By: Alex - Fri Dec 12, 2008 - Comments (8)
Category: Food, Nutrition, Science, Experiments

Name That List, #9

What is this a list of? Click on "More" or "Comments" for the answer.

• Petition of the Toy Producers’ Association in Katharina, Erzgebirge
• Criminal Charge against Josef Renelt for the Illegal Withholding of Insurance Fees
• Jubilee Report: Twenty-Five Years of the Workmen’s Accident Insurance Institute
• Measures for Preventing Accidents from Wood-Planing Machines
• Risk Classification and Accident Prevention in Wartime
• A Public Psychiatric Hospital for German-Bohemia
• Help Disabled Veterans! An Urgent Appeal to the Public

More in extended >>

Posted By: Alex - Fri Dec 12, 2008 - Comments (2)
Category: Name That List