August 2014 – Page 2 – Museum of the Weird

Posted on August 10, 2014 by MOTW Admin

The Grossest Thing Ever: The Rat King

What’s grosser than a dead rat? How about 32 dead rats who were trapped by their own entangled tails and the dried filth they live in? I mean, yuck. This particular preserved specimen, of what are called “Rat Kings”, is on display in a museum in Alterburg Germany, and it dates back to 1828. Sadly, it’s not the only example of this now-rare find.

Once more common when the Black Rat controlled the alleys and sewers of Europe, the dominance of the Brown Rat has reduced the amount of finds. I’m not sure if it’s because of shorter tails, less filth, or smarter rats, but all three reasons make me recoil inside in a way best described as “infinite horror”.

Fiction writers have long been fascinated by these disgusting and bizarre rat combinations and have incorporated them into their works. The rat kings have popped up all over the place including being in Terry Prachett books, Alan Moore comics, the last book in The Spiderwick Chronicles, Lars Von Trier’s movie Epidemic, and even in a novelization spin-off of the popular British show “Luther”.

Unsurprisingly, finds of Rat Kings were historically viewed as a bad omen, and I’d imagine even now one would have to at the very least conclude that their bad luck involves a crucial vermin infestation. Very few have actually been found; the number is estimated at being between 35-50 total, but if you’re visiting German museums in Hamburg, Gottingen, Stuttgart or Hamelin, or if you find yourself being touristy in Tartu Estonia, you can catch a glimpse of one of these rare finds. Lucky you.

Posted on August 9, 2014 by MOTW Admin

The Graveyard that became a Restaurant

Cities in India can be pretty crowded places. There’s not always a lot of room to expand your business, even if it’s doing well, so sometimes you’ve just got to incorporate previously existing structures into your theme. Such was the case for Krishan Kutti Nair whose business, The New Lucky Restaurant, in Ahmedabad, India, started out as a tea stall outside of a Muslim cemetery. The business was doing so great, it started to encroach on, then circle, and eventually be part of the gravesite.

The customers certainly don’t seem to mind, as morning through night they come in for their milk tea and buttery rolls, and neither does Kirshan, who wipes the graves down every morning and puts fresh flowers by them. ”The graveyard is good luck. Our business is better because of it”.

Posted on August 7, 2014 by MOTW Admin

Hyper-Real Wax Figures by Untrained Creator

I know we’re all waiting with baited breath to see Steve Busti’s latest maniacal creation, “The Chamber of Wax” which will be located at the (now open for retail) SFANTHOR store in the big white castle at 1101 S. Congress in Austin. Just hearing the details about the history of classic monsters that will be detailed there has got me really excited! But in the meantime, check out the fantastic pop creations of Bobby Causey.

Bobby has had no formal training in sculpting or even read a book on the topic. “I just know what needs to be done and I do it,” said Bobby. “What I can say for sure is, I would start with NSP (Non Sulfurated Plasteline) Medium Clay, a shit-load of photo reference, and a desire to sculpt the person you are going to be sculpting.”

Although he gets offers to work on new films, it’s creating memorable pop culture figures that motivates him to work. “Basically, the only guide I have is the person, or my subject; I know what she looks like and I have to not only try to get a great likeness but also alive with feeling or thought,”. Bobby also does famous movie vehicles, like the Batmobile, with just as much impressive detail as his wax figures.

“For instance, if I sculpted an old man with his eye closed, and made him creepy-looking and called it ‘The Mortician’, the feeling would not be near as strong as watching Angus Scrimm as The Tall Man in the movie Phantasm. The emotions were already placed by the actor and the filmmakers,” he said. “Don’t get me wrong, eventually I would like to do some original art works, but for now I really enjoy the movies and the actors I sculpt.”

Works for me, Bobby. Unfortunately, there’s no gallery right now to see his works. Pretty much as soon as he finishes a piece he donates it to a charity. Talented, kind, and dare I say, pretty handsome to boot. Hey Steve Busti, can we reclassify the store as a charity? Maybe we could get Bob to donate some of these awesome pieces to us.

You can see impressive galleries of Bobby’s work here at his website.

Posted on August 4, 2014 by MOTW Admin

Miley Cyrus Hires Dog Psychic To Contact Her Pet from the Beyond

I get it; the death of a beloved pet is a terrible, terrible experience (probably more so for the pet, but you know what I mean). I’d be the last to criticize pop star Miley Cyrus for being completely down in the dumps over the very premature death of her beloved pet pal Floyd. I mean, look at that picture. SO CUTE! And, I guess, Miley’s not bad either. I’m feeling verklempt for her just LOOKING at that adorable pup. But, there’s mourning and there’s mourning. Miley might have gone a bit too far for my tastes, or tastefulness at all.

First, she and some of her friends that she inexplicably convinced, all got these (awful) Floyd memorial tattoos. I’ve heard that once you start getting inked, it can get addictive and you come up with all sorts of reasons to add to your body art, but this is…well, never mind my opinions. Ok, so you got it out of your system, had his memory permanently marked to your flesh, time to move on…

But no.

Miley now is regularly meeting with a pet psychic to contact Floyd from the other side. Hollywood (shocker) animal medium Melissa Bacelar says: “It was particularly hard as she wasn’t there when Floyd died, so there would have been a huge amount of guilt. I connect with the dog telepathically. Some will give me actual words but, most of the time, I will get images and feelings, which I then pass on to the owner.”

You too can get a pet reading from Melissa for $200 an hour to find out how your departed doggie is doin’ on the other side of the veil. Melissa got her start as an entertainer who regularly appeared in men’s magazines and small films, but when a radio host messed up and thought she was a pet psychic, she decided, “maybe I AM a pet psychic”…and lo…

I feel bad for Miley but she’s REALLY got to get some perspective here or she’s gonna be another one of those child celebrities who burn out young and cry over ridiculous invoices years later when they’re trying to figure out how they’re gonna make rent.

Posted on August 3, 2014 by MOTW Admin

Real-life Cullen Brothers Suffer From Vampiric Syndrome

Ladies, here’s what you’ve been waiting for: the real life Cullens. Ok, so, not very much like Edward Cullen, played famously by the sparkly Robert Pattinson from the “Twilight” films. These unfortunate brothers, Simon and George Cullen from Suffolk suffer from the rare condition known as Hypohidrotic Ectodermal Dysplasia (HED). Like the fictional (?) vampires, they cannot be exposed to much light, as they have the inability to sweat and can overheat easily. More startlingly, they can never grow a full set of teeth and only have sharp fangs.

The poor kids have had a tough life, as you might expect, with pretty much no going outside during the day, the attention from mean-spirited kids, and not as many shrieking fangirls clamoring for their attention as they may have been led to believe from popular culture. “Kids make fun of the way we look. But our mates think its cool. My friends keep trying to get me to change my name to Edward like the character in the Twilight film.”

The brothers make the best of it: hey, they get to stay in and play video games all day with no complaints. But the eldest, Simon, has had trouble eating with his teeth structure. “We’re hoping he’ll be suitable for a bone graft,” said Mandy. “Part of his jaw will be replaced with bone from his leg, which will have artificial teeth drilled into it. It will be painful, but it will give him a smile and we’re looking forward to it.”

…I think I’d stick with my fangs and soup rather than go through that.

Posted on August 2, 2014 by MOTW Admin

The TV on Typhoid Island

North Brother Island is 2o acres of overgrown woods floating in New York’s East River, between The Bronx and Riker’s Island. Completely uninhabited and designated as a bird sanctuary, the island nonetheless attracts plenty of curious folks because of its lurid history. Not only home to a juvenile detention facility in the 50’s, and the site of a steamship which sank in 1904 killing 1,000 people, but famously the site of Riverside Hospital. which housed victims of extremely contagious diseases, notably Typhoid Mary herself. The creepy mouldering buildings still stand, begging daring visitors to peek inside.

But this isn’t why I’ve called your attention to the site.

A kayaker steered his boat close to shore for some pictures, and he came across this: a flickering TV.

“As I paddled around the southern edge something caught my eye… maybe nothing special but to me it stood out as a unique art installation at the edge of the water. It is simply an old television and a chair set up. Were these objects found on the island? Who will get to see this in such a remote location? Who is the artist and what is their message?”

Apparently a grand piano washed ashore recently as well and is now resting under the Brooklyn Bridge and the ever-guerrila-art-concious New Yorkers are wondering if both oddities are the work of a anonymous artist. Or is it the old dude from Poltergeist setting up shop?

For God’s sake, keep Carol Anne away from the island!

Posted on August 1, 2014 by MOTW Admin

A Record-Breaking 232 Teeth Extracted from Teen’s Mouth

Ever go into the dentist with mouth pain? I did and ended up with a hour long under-the-gums cleaning that still is down in my books as one of the least pleasant experiences of my life. But now I feel like a real wimp.

Meet Ashik Gavai, a 17 year old teen from India who went to see his local physician complaining of pain and swelling in his right jaw. Stunned doctors discovered that his gums were just forming extra teeth like crazy. This “very rare” condition was described by doctors as “a complex composite odontoma where a single gum forms lots of teeth. It’s a sort of benign tumour.”

Thank god it’s extremely rare. And that’s not even the most painful part of the story…

“At first, we couldn’t cut it out so we had to use the basic chisel and hammer to take it out. (editor: !!) Once we opened it, little pearl-like teeth started coming out, one-by-one. Initially, we were collecting them, they were really like small white pearls. But then we started to get tired. We counted 232 teeth.”

Seven hours of surgery…and the result:

Ouchie.