The Norwegian company 1X recently unveiled their domestic servant robot, which isn't available for purchase yet, but is in the testing phase. Would you want this living in your home?
The novel J'irai cracher sur vos tombes ("I spit on your graves") was published in France in 1946. It was promoted as being a work so steamy and controversial that no American publisher dared to print it. It was said to be authored by one Vernon Sullivan, a black American writer. The plot involved a black man who was able to pass as white who went on a violent quest for revenge after his brother was lynched. The book quickly became a bestseller.
In reality, the book was written by Boris Vian who was French, white, and had never set foot in the United States. In other words, the book was written in French, but passed off as a translation from English. Though soon the book was published in English.
The success of the book prompted Vian to quickly write three more "Vernon Sullivan" novels. But the book's popularity ended up being Vian's undoing. As reported by wikipedia:
I Spit on Your Graves reached the peak of its infamy when it served as an instruction manual for a real-life murderer, whose copy of the book was found on the bedside table next to the murdered body of a prostitute with the following passage circled and underlined: "I again felt that strange sensation that ran up my back as my hand closed on her throat and I couldn't stop myself; it came; it was so strong that I let her go ...". Following this copycat crime, when the book went into reprints, it sold more than 500,000 copies, and Vian was tried for translating "objectionable material" (as Vernon Sullivan was still nowhere to be found). Vian ended up paying a fine of 100,000 francs, and in the summer of 1950 the French government banned any further sales of the book...
The book was adapted into a film with the same title, directed by Michel Gast. Vian had already publicly denounced the adaptation while it was still in production, but he attended the premiere on 23 June, 1959. A few minutes into the screening, he stood up and began to shout out his dissatisfaction with the film, and while doing so he collapsed and died of a sudden cardiac arrest on the way to the hospital.
This 1945 booklet on the California Prison System portrays a past so different from the present that the weirdness level escalates more than is usual with artifacts from that "other country."
The current value of silver is around $32 an ounce. The value of gold is around $2975 per ounce. Being able to turn silver into gold would generate a substantial return.
As it turns out, back in the 1920s the French scientist (and alchemist) François Jollivet-Castelot claimed he could do exactly this, and he shared his method.
If you decide to try it, let us know how it works!
Jerry Perez of Miami, FL was recently granted a patent for a "tunnel-vision mask" designed to help people with ADHD. In his patent write-up he observes:
It is estimated that nearly 17 million American are affected by ADHD. Several treatment methods have been used in the past. None of them, however, include the use of a mask that forces the user to concentrate his/her attention to a pre-defined area.
Would you wear this device, presumably 24/7/365, to prevent hip fractures? A big band around your waist and a giant pad on either hip? Imagine the new silhouette of the wearer with the hip pads under his or her clothes.
In 1929, Dr. Yusaburo Noguchi, a Japanese biologist, made headlines by claiming that by means of "electrical nutrition and glandular control" he could change a person's race. He could "change an Indian to a darker color" or "mold a Japanese so that he would have the same appearance as the Caucasian."
New England Journal of Medicine - Nov 7, 1929
After his brief moment in the limelight, Noguchi seemed to disappear from view. At least I haven't been able to find out any more about him. Japanese archives probably have more info.
But you have to wonder what kind of insane stuff he was up to.
I can guess what he meant by "glandular control." Back in the 1920s, a number of scientists believed it was possible to reprogram biology by transplanting glands from one person to another, or from one species to another. A famous proponent of this idea was Dr. Serge Voronoff who claimed that he could rejuvenate elderly men by grafting monkey glands onto their testicles.
But what did Noguchi mean by "electrical nutrition"? Was he simply electrocuting people? Probably.
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.
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