Weird Universe Archive

April 2024

April 10, 2024

Song about the human dimensions of the oceans

From the YouTube description:

The song was commission by Dr. Lekelia Jenkins especially for the Human Dimensions of the Ocean Symposium at the University of Washington in 2012. This is an example of how art can be blended with science to express scientific concepts in novel ways.

The singer really pulls out all the stops starting about 45 seconds in. But I'm stumped about what scientific concepts the song is expressing. Is the singer trying to sound like a humpback whale?

Posted By: Alex - Wed Apr 10, 2024 - Comments (0)
Category: Music, Oceans and Maritime Pursuits, Science

Mr. Squiggle

All is explained at the Wikipedia page.

Weird as the newer version is, the 1950s show was even weirder. Go to this link, for a non-embeddable sample.

Posted By: Paul - Wed Apr 10, 2024 - Comments (0)
Category: Art, Puppets and Automatons, Television, Space Travel, Australia, Twentieth Century

April 9, 2024

Flo Motion

Flo Motion was a brief-lived exercise fad in the early 1990s. The idea was to get in shape by swinging a bag of water around.

Seems like a bit of a gimmick, which I suppose is why the fad didn't last long.

Spokane Chronicle - Sep 25, 1991



Melbourne Age - Jun 16, 1991



Escondido Times-Advocate - Mar 8, 1991

Posted By: Alex - Tue Apr 09, 2024 - Comments (2)
Category: Exercise and Fitness, 1990s

Trick Chair

Bang! And down goes the victim!

Full patent here.



Posted By: Paul - Tue Apr 09, 2024 - Comments (2)
Category: Clubs, Fraternities and Other Self-selecting Organizations, Patents, 1900s, Pranks

April 8, 2024

Harmonica Record

Obscure world record: longest time playing the harmonica while sitting in a chair balanced on top of three wine bottles. Set by Michel Perrigaud in 1959, who played for seven-and-a-half hours.

Albuquerque Journal - Jan 29, 1959

Posted By: Alex - Mon Apr 08, 2024 - Comments (1)
Category: Music, World Records, 1950s

Resonating Life Which Continues to Stand

The artwork's homepage, which explains:


The resonating ovoids continue to stand wherever they are. The ovoids continue to stand even if they are pushed over by waves, blown by the wind, or pushed by people. When an ovoid is pushed over, it rises back up on its own and shines brightly as it produces a tone. The light and tone continues to resonate out to other ovoids and trees nearby.

If a wave of light comes from afar, it signifies the presence of people, waves, or wind there. People gain a heightened sense of awareness of the existence of other people in the same space and the environment.

When it is quiet and the wind is not blowing and the people nearby are not interacting with the ovoids, their lights begin to flicker slowly.


Posted By: Paul - Mon Apr 08, 2024 - Comments (0)
Category: Art, Asia, Twenty-first Century

April 7, 2024

Eclectric Oil

Dr. Thomas' Eclectric Oil was widely sold as a cure-all in the second half of the nineteenth century and well into the twentieth. This was even though, as Wikipedia notes, it "mostly contained common ingredients such as turpentine and camphor oil."

Some of the things it supposedly cured included rheumatism, lame backs, sore throats, coughs and colds, throat and lung disease, and asthma. It could even cure "chicken flesh wounds" (see ad below).

Wikipedia notes that the name Eclectric Oil was "likely a portmanteau of the words 'eclectic' and 'electric', alluding to the then-popular belief that electricity had curative powers." Of course, the oil was not electric in any way.


image source: wellcome collection



Canadian Poultry Review - Apr 1926

Posted By: Alex - Sun Apr 07, 2024 - Comments (0)
Category: Patent Medicines, Nostrums and Snake Oil, Nineteenth Century

April 6, 2024

Humanised Trufood

Make sure your food has been humanised...

Daily Telegraph - Jan 28, 1937



Post-Graduate Medical Journal - June 1935

Posted By: Alex - Sat Apr 06, 2024 - Comments (6)
Category: Babies, Food, Advertising, 1930s

Page 5 of 6 pages ‹ First  < 3 4 5 6 > 




Get WU Posts by Email

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner


weird universe thumbnail
Who We Are
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
Monthly Archives
October 2024 •  September 2024 •  August 2024 •  July 2024 •  June 2024 •  May 2024 •  April 2024 •  March 2024 •  February 2024 •  January 2024

December 2023 •  November 2023 •  October 2023 •  September 2023 •  August 2023 •  July 2023 •  June 2023 •  May 2023 •  April 2023 •  March 2023 •  February 2023 •  January 2023

December 2022 •  November 2022 •  October 2022 •  September 2022 •  August 2022 •  July 2022 •  June 2022 •  May 2022 •  April 2022 •  March 2022 •  February 2022 •  January 2022

December 2021 •  November 2021 •  October 2021 •  September 2021 •  August 2021 •  July 2021 •  June 2021 •  May 2021 •  April 2021 •  March 2021 •  February 2021 •  January 2021

December 2020 •  November 2020 •  October 2020 •  September 2020 •  August 2020 •  July 2020 •  June 2020 •  May 2020 •  April 2020 •  March 2020 •  February 2020 •  January 2020

December 2019 •  November 2019 •  October 2019 •  September 2019 •  August 2019 •  July 2019 •  June 2019 •  May 2019 •  April 2019 •  March 2019 •  February 2019 •  January 2019

December 2018 •  November 2018 •  October 2018 •  September 2018 •  August 2018 •  July 2018 •  June 2018 •  May 2018 •  April 2018 •  March 2018 •  February 2018 •  January 2018

December 2017 •  November 2017 •  October 2017 •  September 2017 •  August 2017 •  July 2017 •  June 2017 •  May 2017 •  April 2017 •  March 2017 •  February 2017 •  January 2017

December 2016 •  November 2016 •  October 2016 •  September 2016 •  August 2016 •  July 2016 •  June 2016 •  May 2016 •  April 2016 •  March 2016 •  February 2016 •  January 2016

December 2015 •  November 2015 •  October 2015 •  September 2015 •  August 2015 •  July 2015 •  June 2015 •  May 2015 •  April 2015 •  March 2015 •  February 2015 •  January 2015

December 2014 •  November 2014 •  October 2014 •  September 2014 •  August 2014 •  July 2014 •  June 2014 •  May 2014 •  April 2014 •  March 2014 •  February 2014 •  January 2014

December 2013 •  November 2013 •  October 2013 •  September 2013 •  August 2013 •  July 2013 •  June 2013 •  May 2013 •  April 2013 •  March 2013 •  February 2013 •  January 2013

December 2012 •  November 2012 •  October 2012 •  September 2012 •  August 2012 •  July 2012 •  June 2012 •  May 2012 •  April 2012 •  March 2012 •  February 2012 •  January 2012

December 2011 •  November 2011 •  October 2011 •  September 2011 •  August 2011 •  July 2011 •  June 2011 •  May 2011 •  April 2011 •  March 2011 •  February 2011 •  January 2011

December 2010 •  November 2010 •  October 2010 •  September 2010 •  August 2010 •  July 2010 •  June 2010 •  May 2010 •  April 2010 •  March 2010 •  February 2010 •  January 2010

December 2009 •  November 2009 •  October 2009 •  September 2009 •  August 2009 •  July 2009 •  June 2009 •  May 2009 •  April 2009 •  March 2009 •  February 2009 •  January 2009

December 2008 •  November 2008 •  October 2008 •  September 2008 •  August 2008 •  July 2008 •