image source: The Strand magazine - 1903
Oysters will grow on almost any surface, including false teeth, if that's what happens to be available. The tooth-growing oyster shown above was found in the Chesapeake Bay in 1898, and sent to the Smithsonian where they were put on display and became quite a popular attraction. But soon a paternity battle erupted around them. The story was told in the
Saint Paul Globe (Nov 30, 1902):
Experts of the United States fish commission have made a special study of the conditions under which oysters grow, and, to illustrate the adaptability of the mollusks, they have got together a very curious collection of objects. It comprises oysters growing upon a great variety of things, such as old boots, rubber shoes, beer glasses, and even a lantern. There is a broken bottle inside of which, as well as on the outside, oysters have found a home.
And, oddest of all, there is an upper set of false teeth to which an enterprising oyster is firmly attached.
The history of this last oyster is decidedly interesting. About four years ago it was raked out of the waters of Chesapeake bay by a dredging boat, together with the false teeth to which it was firmly fixed, and teeth and oyster were acquired by a hotel keeper at Cowart, Va., whose wife forwarded them to the Smithsonian Institution at Washington. The matter obtaining some advertisement, a man named Webster, residing in Bedford, Iowa, claimed the teeth, saying that he had lost them from a steamer bound for Norfolk.
The Smithsonian officials were undecided at first as to whether they should surrender the teeth or not, the object being so great a curiosity that they were anxious to hold on to it. But not many days later a Philadelphia woman claimed them, asserting that they were hers, and actually a third party, visiting the institution, demanded them, declaring that he recognized them as having been lost by himself.
Probably, from first to last, a good many persons have lost their false teeth overboard in the Chesapeake, the waters of which are liable to be pretty rough at times. Any way, the government scientists did not care to decide the dispute, and concluded to retain the specimen.
Half a century later, in 1954, yet another guy insisted the teeth were his, but in this case the Smithsonian was able to definitively rule out his claim, pointing out that the guy hadn't even been born yet when the teeth were found.
I'm guessing the Smithsonian probably still has this tooth-growing oyster hidden away somewhere in its archives.
Daytona Beach Morning Journal - Jan 28, 1954
The supposed remnants of Noah's ark have been "discovered"
in a wide range of places.
But this 1902 discovery in Rampart, Alaska, on the Porcupine River, seems totally forgotten now.
I wonder if a followup expedition ever was mounted...?
Original article here.
Zarh H. Pritchard (1866-1956) is a little-remembered artistic pioneer of the 20th century. (There's not even a wikipedia page about him!) His claim to fame is that he was the first artist to paint underwater.
Pritchard would descend to the ocean floor in a diving suit and then paint using waterproof paints on a lambskin canvas soaked in oil. An article in the
Fort Wayne Journal Gazette (June 18, 1922) provides more details about the process:
It was in Tahiti [1904] that he first decided to make a try at painting pictures in the realm of Neptune and the lair of the mermaids. For the experiment he prepared a waterproof canvas and had his colors ground extra thick.
His first descent was for a distance of about 65 feet. At the end of about a half an hour cold and fatigue forced him to return to the surface. Later, as he became more adapted to his new environment, he was able to stay longer. He now works at depths varying from 16 to 50 feet. He can work at any depth to which a diver can descend.
When he starts to work he is clad in the customary diving costume with leaded shoes, air hose and signal ropes. He descends slowly through the water and after reconnoitering the territory in which he is going to paint selects a comfortable rock. He then pulls the signal rope and his easel and box of colors are lowered to him. He blocks in his outlines, lays his tints and finishes the picture roughly.
Some of Pritchard's underwater works are below. They sold quite well. The Prince of Monaco, who was a respected oceanographer in addition to being royalty, was a big fan and bought many of them.
Read more about Pritchard here.
Billionaire moviemaker and undersea explorer James Cameron's got nothing on this Swinging Sixties couple!
Original article here.
Old-hand WU-vies know all about the fascination of the Japanese for "tentacle sex." But did you know you could buy the matching soft drink?
One question remains: is the English-only pun with "tentacle rape" intentional or accidental?
Buy yours here.
Or should that headline be "moose-motor boat"...?
Original article here.
S. Landau "DeadSee" by maneb40
This is the nude artist swimming in the Dead Sea with several bushels of watermelons.
Warning: minor artistic nudity a few pixels wide.
Artist's home page.