Weird Universe Blog — March 22, 2023

Viva Les Crepes

Released in 1971, this album taught you how to cook crepes. Unfortunately I can't find any audio clips of it online. From the album cover:

You'll be amazed at how easy it is. In this very authoritative, informative and thoroughly entertaining album, Chef Claude takes you on a most delightful musical, educational and palate-pleasing tour of the world of crêpes. He teaches you — in record time — a simple, fool-proof technique for making these delicate, paper-thin pancakes.




Some more info from the Louisville Courier-Journal (Dec 27, 1978):

Posted By: Alex - Wed Mar 22, 2023 - Comments (0)
Category: Food | Cookbooks | 1970s

March 21, 2023

The Hurricane Party of 1969

Based on the press coverage from 1969, it sounds like the couples who remained in the path of Hurricane Camille to have a "hurricane party" certainly deserved to become Darwin Award winners (bestowed on them in 2000 by Wendy Northcutt in her Darwin Awards book).

At least 15 persons died at Pass Christian. The victims included five couples who were having a hurricane party in a three-story apartment. Police Chief Jerry Peralta couldn't make them leave.

"The last time I went up to try to get them out, the water was just over the sea wall. They were having a good time and they wouldn't leave. That's the last anybody saw of them," he said.

Orlando Evening Star - Aug 19, 1969



But digging deeper into the story, thirty years after the hurricane people began challenging the tale of a "hurricane party." According to the debunkers, there was no party, and the people who stayed had been told by the apartment manager that the building could withstand a hurricane because it was a designated Civil Defense shelter.

One apartment resident who survived the hurricane continued to insist that the people on the third floor had been having a party. But this woman also claimed insanity as the reason she killed her 11th husband. So not the most credible witness.

More info: Hurricane Camille party in 1969: Fact or fiction? -- Hurricane Party

image source: Acts of God: the Old farmer's almanac unpredictable guide to weather and natural disasters

Posted By: Alex - Tue Mar 21, 2023 - Comments (0)
Category: Death | Dinners, Banquets, Parties, Tributes, Roasts and Other Celebrations | 1960s | Weather

March 20, 2023

Pushing a block of ice through Mexico City

In 1997, artist Francis Alÿs spent a day pushing a large block of ice through the streets of Mexico City until it fully melted. Try that in Phoenix in the summer and you'd get about half a block before the ice would be gone.



In 2013, he kicked a flaming ball through the streets of Juarez.



According to a NY Times article about Alÿs, his working principle is "maximum effort, minimal result."

via Book of Joe

Posted By: Alex - Mon Mar 20, 2023 - Comments (0)
Category: Art

Dr. Walker’s Paste-Pump Toothbrush

How the hell could this be any less work than just squeezing a stripe of toothpaste from the tube onto your brush?

Source of article.




Posted By: Paul - Mon Mar 20, 2023 - Comments (1)
Category: Hygiene | Inventions | Chindogu | 1940s

March 19, 2023

Belt ‘em one

Help beat Germany and Japan by... buying a belt?



Life - Nov 1, 1943

Posted By: Alex - Sun Mar 19, 2023 - Comments (0)
Category: War | Advertising | 1940s

The Making of An American

The immigrant's story: twas ever thus.

Posted By: Paul - Sun Mar 19, 2023 - Comments (0)
Category: Emigrants, Immigrants and Borders | Ethnic Groupings | Jobs and Occupations | Languages | PSA’s | 1920s

March 18, 2023

Jalaproctitis

Jalaproctitis is the medical term for the rectal burning sensation often experienced by people when they defecate after having eaten jalapenos. It was given this name by researchers at the University of Texas who conducted an experiment to study the effects of jalapenos (whether it acted as an expectorant, caused painful urination, and burning defecation). From the New England Journal of Medicine (Nov 16, 1978):

To investigate these issues, we prospectively studied participants in a jalapeno-pepper eating contest. Subjects included three women and two men ranging in age from 22 to 42. None had a history of lacrimation, rhinorrhea, dysuria or discomfort on defecation before the contest. One was a smoker, and one had cough and scanty sputum production before the contest.

After giving informed consent, subjects consumed as many large jalapenos as could be tolerated in a three-minute period. The number of peppers consumed ranged from three to 13, with a median of five. Three of the participants noted lacrimation and rhinorrhea immediately after the contest. In none did cough or sputum production develop. One male subject complained of dysuria, and four of five noted a burning discomfort on defecation within 24 hours of the contest.

The limited information obtained from this study does not indicate clinical usefulness of jalapeno as an expectorant. We believe that jalapenos may well be the cause of transient dysuria and, in addition, may result in a syndrome of burning defecation that might appropriately be termed "jalaproctitis."

Posted By: Alex - Sat Mar 18, 2023 - Comments (3)
Category: Food | Experiments | Body Fluids | Excrement | Pain, Self-inflicted and Otherwise

Running Bear

The singer's Wikipedia page.

Posted By: Paul - Sat Mar 18, 2023 - Comments (8)
Category: Death | Music | 1960s | Native Americans

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