Weird Universe Archive
October 2013
October 12, 2013
History of the Cootie Game
According to wikipedia, the Cootie Game was so popular, selling millions of copies, that it's now considered a symbol for the baby boomer generation. But as a Gen-Xer, I grew up without any knowledge of this classic.
Posted By: Alex - Sat Oct 12, 2013 -
Comments (8)
Category: Toys
Human Fishing Contest
Posted By: Paul - Sat Oct 12, 2013 -
Comments (4)
Category: Contests, Races and Other Competitions, Surrealism, Fish, 1940s
October 11, 2013
Gastric Band Fails
A British TV special about failed gastric band surgeries that will air soon tells of some horrible ill effects people have suffered. One woman's band slipped causing part of her stomach to die. In addition to that fungus was growing on the band causing her to have a septic infection. As a result of the infection her stomach exploded. Wow, she really got her 8000 British pounds worth!
Posted By: Alex - Fri Oct 11, 2013 -
Comments (5)
Category: Surgery
Glorify Yourself
According to Hollywood "figure experts" back in 1939, this one exercise would have any woman looking like a starlet in no time:
"Sit or stand erect with arms up — elbows bent, hands in front of you at chest level with fingertips touching. Now, without putting any strain on muscles of the arms, lightly press fingertips together. When you are doing this correctly, you can see the pectoral muscles expand with pressure of fingertips against fingertips. Do the exercise 40 times a minute for two minutes every day. At the end of two months, according to Mr. Davies, you no longer will be flat-chested." [Pittsburgh Press - Apr 6, 1939]
Posted By: Alex - Fri Oct 11, 2013 -
Comments (7)
Category: Exercise and Fitness, 1930s
Cremation and Alkaline Hydrolosis Tour
Posted By: Paul - Fri Oct 11, 2013 -
Comments (5)
Category: Death, Technology
October 10, 2013
The man who proved by mathematics that World War II couldn’t happen
Back in 1938, Lewis F. Richardson worked out a mathematical system for predicting war. He presented his findings at a meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science. His conclusion: no chance of war in Europe!The New York Times reported his findings on Aug 23, 1938:
Before the section on psychology, Lewis F. Richardson of Paisley arrived at the encouraging conclusion that there is no sign of war — at least no mathematical sign. For the professor reduced to beautiful differential equations general tendencies common to all nations — resentment of defiance, the suspicion that defense is concealed aggression, response to imports by exports, restraint on armaments by the difficulty of paying for them, and, last, grievances and their irrationality. The psychologists were bewildered and amused.
Mathematically, Professor Richardson treated love and hate as if they were forces that could be designated by the usual X and Y. The forces make possible two opposite kinds of drifting, one leading to suspicion, the other leading from cooperation to united organization.
The balance of power, Professor Richardson holds, is best maintained by countries of different sizes rather than by a few countries of the same size. When he concluded from his mathematical analysis that there was no chance of war at present he remarked:
"I never would have accepted this unless I proved it to myself by mathematics."
His hearers left with the feeling that Europe's feverish preparation for war is only a declaration of peace to the knife.
It's worth noting that Richardson wasn't just some random crackpot. As wikipedia notes, he's the guy who came up with the idea of weather forecasting by solution of differential equations, which is the method used today.
Posted By: Alex - Thu Oct 10, 2013 -
Comments (6)
Category: Science, 1930s
Special Delivery
Perhaps reviewer GE_Pretzel said it best:
Subject: A sedative masquerading as a bus safety film
There are few films that can surpass or even equal the mediocrity of Special Delivery, a horrendously cumbersome safety film for schoolbus operators that fails to captivate. Instead of simply attempting to discuss the fundamentals of schoolbus safety and procedure in a concise, forthright manner, the film's creators place the necessary educational elements within a dry, unengaging story involving Mickey Miller, a recalcitrant little boy who has developed a strong distrust of the local schoolbus and its driver, Bill Marshall. It appears that Mickey has been reading far too many James Fenimore Cooper novels, as he wears a feathered headdress and continually shoots toy arrows at the schoolbus, a vehicle that he refers to as the "white man's stagecoach." Mickey is miffed when he isn't allowed to board the bus because of his age, but shortly after he reaches "age more than five," he and his older sister Millie are taken on a special bus ride by Bill in an effort to gain the young boy's respect. After a mishmash of schoolbus operation information is conveyed during the trip, Mickey alters his attitude and begins to take well to Bill. At the end of the film, however, Bill humiliates a diminutive boy who isn't allowed to ride the bus by calling him "Shorty" right in front of all of the other children. If Bill is striving to establish a rapport with his future passengers, he certainly isn't doing a good job. This lengthy production is quite a chore to watch.
It should be a crime to wear garish horn-rimmed glasses like the ones Millie sports throughout the film.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Oct 10, 2013 -
Comments (3)
Category: PSA’s, Children, 1960s, Mental Health and Insanity, Bus
Poo Pourri
This may NOT be too SFW mostly because of the ensuing guffaws.Now, if you've been enticed to participate click here.
Then, there's the blooper reel you can watch here.
Posted By: Expat47 - Thu Oct 10, 2013 -
Comments (6)
Category: Bathrooms
October 9, 2013
Self Assembling Robots—Are We Next?
Once this technology is perfected, new body parts could assemble themselves inside our bodies.The best part is these robots can jump!! (See 3:06)
What other uses can you think of?
Posted By: gdanea - Wed Oct 09, 2013 -
Comments (3)
Category: Robots
Windup Razors
Once upon a time, in a simpler age when electricity was expensive or balky, windup razors were popular in Europe and Russia.
In the Space Age, you could even buy the NASA-approved version!
But except for vintage models (a mere $100.00), purely mechanical razors seem to have vanished from the marketplace. Although in this era of environmentalism, it seems they should fulfill a certain demand.
The closest such product I can find cheats by using electricity--though it is hand-cranked!
Posted By: Paul - Wed Oct 09, 2013 -
Comments (10)
Category: Inventions, Technology, Environmentalism and Ecology, Facial Hair
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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 |
