Weird Universe Archive

September 2017

September 30, 2017

Eight Minutes of 1979 Commercials



Talking dogs, dancing housewives, magical cleansers--plainly, we were all insane.

Posted By: Paul - Sat Sep 30, 2017 - Comments (3)
Category: Advertising, Products, 1970s

September 29, 2017

Naked Chicken Research

1976: Drs. William Johnson and Robert Truax of Louisiana State University raised and studied featherless chickens.

Aside from the physical problems, the chickens have social problems and psychological hangups, Johnson said.

"I guess 'embarrassed' is as good a word for it as any. You put one of them in with a flock of normal birds, and it huddles off in a corner by itself. The other birds won't have anything to do with it until they get used to it," he said.

"And then they're just not as active sexually. They will court and strut much more than the normal bird, but they don't mate as readily."

The story reminds me of the old urban legend about KFC raising mutant, featherless chickens. Maybe this is where the story started.

Argus Leader - Aug 31, 1976



Salisbury Daily Times - Aug 31, 1976

Posted By: Alex - Fri Sep 29, 2017 - Comments (4)
Category: Animals, Science, Psychology, 1970s

Joe Bailon, RIP



The inventor of "candy apple red."

Posted By: Paul - Fri Sep 29, 2017 - Comments (1)
Category: Motor Vehicles, Pop Art, Obituaries

September 28, 2017

Lincoln-Scented Candle

When you want your room to smell like Abraham Lincoln.

Other scents available include Theodore Roosevelt, Justin Trudeau, Ronald Reagan, Joe Biden, Vladimir Putin, and Rutherford B. Hayes.

Link: Amazon.com


via Worst Things For Sale

Posted By: Alex - Thu Sep 28, 2017 - Comments (7)
Category: Perfume and Cologne and Other Scents

House Wrapped in Cellophane



Apparently, Christo had a predecessor.

Source of image.

Posted By: Paul - Thu Sep 28, 2017 - Comments (3)
Category: Architecture, Domestic, Publicity Stunts, 1930s

September 27, 2017

Name That List, #42

What is this a list of? The answer is below in extended.

  • Fuzzy Pumper
  • Count Creepyhead & Friends
  • Doctor Drill 'n Fill
  • Pumper No. 9
  • Pinkie Pie Pretty Parlor
  • Fix Me Up Doc
  • Oddkins
  • Barnyard Pals
  • Press Outs
  • Hunny Pumper


More in extended >>

Posted By: Alex - Wed Sep 27, 2017 - Comments (5)
Category: Name That List

Dawn Langley Simmons



I believe every word that Dawn Langley Simmons says.

Source.

Posted By: Paul - Wed Sep 27, 2017 - Comments (3)
Category: Children, Parents, 1960s, Gender-bending, LGBT

September 26, 2017

The Love Machine

Created in the late 1960s by Hollywood auto customizer George Barris, who's best known as the designer of the original Batmobile.

The Love Machine featured velvet upholstery, a revolving circular bed, psychedelic lights, entertainment console, mirrored ceiling, and a crystal chandelier. It did the rounds at auto shows until the mid-1970s, where it was promoted as the "world's first x-rated car."

via lastgasp.com





Hillsdale Daily News - Mar 17, 1972



In the late '70s, the Love Machine was rebranded and it went on to have a career in Hollywood. From Hemmings Daily:

Barris, ever the opportunist, managed to get the Love Machine cast as the lead vehicle in the 1977 vansploitation flick SuperVan. To do so, he simply gave the Love Machine a repaint and redid the interior with even deeper plush carpeting. Though technically known as Vandora in the movie, the Super Van moniker stuck, thanks to Barris’s promotional efforts.

Nor would SuperVan be the van’s only screen appearance. It also showed up in the 1986 made-for-TV movie Condor, repainted gold and black; then in 1989’s Back to the Future II as a Hill Valley Transit bus, painted green; in the 1990 movie Solar Crisis, painted white; and then on an episode of the 1990s TV show SeaQuest DSV, still painted white. Then, in about 2003, the Guild of Automotive Restorers began a restoration on the van that brought it back to its Super Van configuration.




via vanning.com



You can check out more of Barris's creations in the recent book King of the Kustomizers: The Art of George Barris.

Posted By: Alex - Tue Sep 26, 2017 - Comments (5)
Category: Motor Vehicles, Bus, 1970s

Mystery Illustration 58

image

What was the topic or theme of the article accompanying this illustration?

The answer is here.

And after the jump.

More in extended >>

Posted By: Paul - Tue Sep 26, 2017 - Comments (6)
Category: Art, 1960s

September 25, 2017

Electroshoe

18-year-old Siddharth Mandala of Hyderabad has developed an "electroshoe" that will allow women to fend off attackers. One kick with the shoe and it'll deliver a powerful electric shock to an assailant. The shoe also automatically recharges itself through energy harvested from the wearer's footsteps.

So far Mandala has only developed a prototype. And unfortunately there doesn't seem to be any footage of the electroshoe in action.

The idea reminds me of the spiked defense shoes from 1955.

More info: Deccan Chronicle



Posted By: Alex - Mon Sep 25, 2017 - Comments (2)
Category: Fashion, Shoes, Weapons

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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.

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