Weird Universe Archive
October 2012
October 14, 2012
The Monster Family
Washington state's Saar Pioneer Cemetery contains an unusual grave. It's the resting place of John C. Monster (1851-1890) and his child "Baby Monster" (1888-1889). I haven't been able to find any additional details about the Monster family. (via the Oddment Emporium)
Posted By: Alex - Sun Oct 14, 2012 -
Comments (4)
Category: Odd Names, Signage, Obituaries
October 13, 2012
WWI German Soldiers Found 94 Years After Shelling
Buried under the dirt of an explosion and almost perfectly preserved since there was no air and water, many of the soldiers were in the same positions as the time of the bombing. Some were sitting up and one was lying in bed. Some pages of a newspaper in the shelter were still readable. There were even the remains of a goat, which has been speculated was used for fresh milk.Here's a shot of the site, being excavated for a road project.
The soldiers were part of the 6th Company, 94th Reserve Infantry Regiment and include Musketeer Martin Heidrich, 20, Private Harry Bierkamp, 22, and Lieutenant August Hutten, 37.
Here's the link to the story in The Telegraph:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/9074336/German-soldiers-preserved-in-World-War-I-shelter-discovered-after-nearly-100-years.html
Ninety-four years is a long time to sit and wait to be found.
Posted By: gdanea - Sat Oct 13, 2012 -
Comments (2)
Category: War
Gus Mager and Un-Natural History
Cartoonist Gus Mager is well-respected for his pioneering newspaper strips. But he seems to have let his fertile and fanciful brain trespass into his supposedly scientific feature for Popular Science. Some of the "facts" given in his column appear somewhat dubious, to say the least. The business about the grapefruit was all settled well before Gus was working in the 1930s.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Oct 13, 2012 -
Comments (5)
Category: Animals, Comics, 1930s, Natural Wonders
Prehistoric Women
Wikipedia offers this summary of the 1950 film Prehistoric Women:
Prehistoric Women is a 1950 science fiction adventure film, written and directed by Gregg C. Tallas and starring Laurette Luez and Allan Nixon... Tigri (Luez) and her stone age friends, all of which are women, hate all men. However, she and her Amazon tribe see men as a "necessary evil" and capture them for potential husbands. Engor (Nixon), who is smarter than the rest of the men, is able to escape them. He discovers fire and battles enormous beasts. After he is recaptured by the women, he discovers fire and drives off a dragon-like creature. The women are impressed with him, including their prehistoric queen. Engor marries Tigri and they begin a new, more civilized, tribe.
It seems like the kind of movie that might be so bad it's good. But PopMatters warns that, though you might hope it would have some cheeseball value, it's "actually not very good." If you watch the clip below of the catfight scene, you'll probably have seen the highlight of the movie.
Posted By: Alex - Sat Oct 13, 2012 -
Comments (3)
Category: Movies, 1950s
October 12, 2012
Migaloo the Albino Humpback Whale
This clip from ITN news makes me think I have been saying "albino" wrong for decades. There's a nice tail flip at about :35.I'm also thinking of changing my name to "Migaloo", which apparently means "white fella" in an aboriginal language.
Not politically correct, but it is a correct description.
Both of us are big white fellas.
Posted By: gdanea - Fri Oct 12, 2012 -
Comments (5)
Category: Animals
Toothsome Shoes for Men
Weird Shoes are not just for women! The makers of the apex predator shoes
shown above say they contain 1050 teeth from dentures! At the link you will see on left side that they also make the apex predator suit.
Posted By: Tyrusguy - Fri Oct 12, 2012 -
Comments (3)
Category: Art, Fashion, Shoes
Black Draught
Surely this is the worst name for a laxative ever, conjuring up images of torrents of tarry bowel movements. The fact that "black draught" is also a term for a horse and cow purgative doesn't help.
Worst of all, the stuff is still being sold!
Listen to these old grannies wince at the memory of taking Black Draught in their youth.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Oct 12, 2012 -
Comments (8)
Category: Medicine, Excrement, Nineteenth Century
What goes up must come down
On Sept. 27, 1986, 1.5 million balloons were released above Cleveland's Public Square. The world-record-setting event was intended as a fundraiser for the United Way. But the publicity turned negative when all those balloons that had floated up eventually came right back down, creating a massive mess throughout the region. Read more about it on cleveland.com.
Posted By: Alex - Fri Oct 12, 2012 -
Comments (9)
Category: 1980s, Goofs and Screw-ups
October 11, 2012
No Place Like Dumpster
Posted By: Paul - Thu Oct 11, 2012 -
Comments (4)
Category: Domestic, Eccentrics, Inventions
The Rain Room
An art installation by Random International currently at the Barbican:Random International invites you to experience what it’s like to control the rain. Visitors can choose to simply watch the spectacle or find their way carefully through the rain, putting their trust in the work to the test.
More than the technical virtuosity necessary for its success, the piece relies on a sculptural rigour, with the entire Curve transformed by the monumental proportions of this carefully choreographed downpour and the sound of water.
More than the technical virtuosity necessary for its success, the piece relies on a sculptural rigour, with the entire Curve transformed by the monumental proportions of this carefully choreographed downpour and the sound of water.
Posted By: Alex - Thu Oct 11, 2012 -
Comments (5)
Category: Art
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| Alex Boese 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. Paul Di Filippo 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. Chuck Shepherd Chuck is the purveyor of News of the Weird, the syndicated column which for decades has set the gold-standard for reporting on oddities and the bizarre. Our banner was drawn by the legendary underground cartoonist Rick Altergott. Contact Us |
