Japan is a wonderfully weird place. Just the other day we shared how Godzilla received Japanese citizenship. A while back we shared information about the mysterious Suicide Forest, where hundreds of individuals go to end their life.
Now we have a couple of other bizarre things to share: two islands.
The first is Aoshima (青島), which has gained the name Cat Island (キャット島Kyattoshima). Located in Ehime Prefecture, Japan, it is a place where there are approximately 6 cats for every 1 human. (Did you know we sell the Crazy Cat Lady game at the Lucky Lizard?) Only about a mile long, cats first arrived on ship and reproduced unchecked. Even if you’re a cat person it’s a little eerie. See the video.
Meanwhile, the island of Ōkunoshima (大久野島) has gained the title Usagi Jima (うさぎ島, “Rabbit Island”) because of a large population of feral rabbits. They are not afraid of humans, as you can see in this video.
Too much of a good thing? Are there other mysteriously populated islands that we should know about? Share it with us and we may feature it (and you) on a future blog.
The Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek museum in Copenhagen features a number of Greek and Roman portrait busts and statues. These are very fragile and a number of them ended up with broken noses. In the 19th century there was a restoration trend, where museums attempted to restore classical art. New noses were fashioned out of marble or plaster and affixed to the statues to make them whole. In the 20th century, this idea was revisited and they decided that the works should be shown in their natural state, brokenness and all.
Diagram Lajard derivative work: Hic et nunc (Nasothek.JPG) [Public Domain, CC0], via Wikimedia CommonsDuring this “de-restoration,” a strange collection of noses and other parts was assembled. Rather than throw them away they were used to create a new piece of art called Nasothek. The purpose of the exhibit is to call to mind the sins of artistic curators of the past so that we may never be tempted to do such a thing again.
One might wish that Steven Spielberg or George Lucas had been given the opportunity to see this monument before they were tempted to revise their own art.
Steve Spielberg infamously used CGI to replace any appearance of a gun in E. T. with a walkie-talkie (Kids, that’s a device used to communicate by radio before everyone had a mobile phone). Spielberg ultimately admitted regret for this decision.
George Lucas made numerous alterations to his Star Wars films, but the most notorious was the “Han shot first” controversy. This is where the later release of Star Wars was altered to make it look as though Han Solo shot a bounty hunter in self defense rather than preemptively. Peter Mayhew, the actor who played Chewbacca in the the films, settled the matter once and for all by posting a picture from his shooting script on Facebook. Lucas also saw the light and released the original edit in 2006.
No matter what your art, Nasothek is a reminder that art can and should stand on its own. Imperfections or politically incorrect elements cannot be washed away without wiping the original purpose of the art. We have some of the weirdest art in the land for sale at the Lucky Lizard. We wouldn’t change a bit of it.
This isn’t exactly what some of us imagined when we thought of a flying car. Essentially this is an airplane that you can drive in traffic. I imagine it will still require a pilot’s license. It also requires a conventional runway to take off and land. However, it is a flying car. We can’t complain that they didn’t deliver.
I’m thinking more about the vertical take off and landing (VTOL) sort of design. There is something in the works but, as you can see in this video, it leaves a bit to be desired.
This model, produced by Moller International, only goes about 10 feet up in the air. Looking at it I imagine it’s something like running several lawn mowers together, so it may not be that smooth, luxurious ride you may crave.
Who knows? The automobile evolved pretty quickly from its horseless carriage origins. Maybe the flying car will do the same.
Forget the controversy about whether or not to wear white to a wedding. These people are deciding between quilted an extra-absorbent. It’s an contest sponsored by Charmin (as in “don’t squeeze the”) where dress designers create a wedding gown out of toilette paper. Why? Who knows? They’ve been doing it for 11 years.
A model walks the runway wearing ‘Garden Party’ a design by Carol Touchstone during the 11th annual toilet paper wedding dress contest at Kleinfled’s Bridal Boutique in New York June 17, 2015. [Reuters/Brendan McDermid] The winner was Donna Pope Vincler. Her gown is pictured here.
The winning dress in Charmin’s 11th annual toilette paper wedding dress contest.
Alright, yes, it’s very fetching. Not many people can pull off wearing toilette paper like that. Most people just use it as an occasional shoe accessory. Of course, this is probably no weirder than the annual duct tape tuxedo contest, where students can win scholarship for showing pictures of prom wear they’ve created with duct tape. Though, if I have to pick my skill for the zombie apocalypse, I think I’d rather be a duct-tape wizard than a toilette paper princess.
Oh, well! It’s art! Have you ever made something weird like this? Tell us about it! Maybe we’ll feature your strange creation.
More recently there was a bizarre sighting over Houston that was captured by many people, documented in this news report.
Texas has been identified as a UFO hotspot. There is also a web site dedicated to Texas UFO Sightings. If creatures from another planet do decide to make themselves known, Texas would be a good place to start. We’re friendly here, with some open spaces that would make good landing sites. It’s also important that they get a chance to appreciate proper BBQ first. 😉
Have you ever seen a UFO? Tell us about it or share in the comments!
We’re a little early for Shark Week (Who knew this would become a thing?), and we’re past some of the buzz from Jurassic World, so maybe this is the perfect place to mash up the two. On land, most Jurassic creatures—the ones with massive size and sharp knife-like teeth—have become mostly fossils.
The ocean is a different case. Some creatures from the age of dinosaurs still exist down there. Prepare yourself for one of the most bizarre creatures you’ll ever see: the frilled shark.
These creatures are extremely uncommon, which is probably good, because this looks way scarier than a Great White. However, they have been recorded in a variety of locations in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
Map of Frilled Shark sightings
For something that’s rare, these are pretty widely spread.
In truth, the frilled shark is not actually a Jurassic creature, but a more modern one that has only been dated back to the early Pleistocene epoch. Its traits are very similar to its older ancestors, giving us a good taste of what it would be like to encounter such a beast.
We love monsters! You can see our life-sized King Kong at the Museum of the Weird on 6th street and visit all of our others in the Sfanthor House of Wax on South Congress. Get a combo pass and see both museums for one great price.
You might think that UFO stories about aliens are pretty new, but there’s one in Texas that dates back to 1897. A tiny town called Aurora, just a little north of Ft. Worth (215 miles from the Museum of the Weird), has a mysterious legend about an alien encounter.
Grave site of alleged alien from the crash in 1897
I’m thinking field trip! It’s about a 3.5 hour drive from the Museum. We head out, pay our respects. Maybe we sneak into Ft. Worth for some food and maybe a Stockyard Ghost tour. (There doesn’t seem to be much to eat in Aurora unless you’ve got family there.) I suppose we’d need to stay overnight. It could be a real good time!
What would you say if I told you that there is a guy in Omaha working on building a warp drive—as in “Mr. Sulu, ahead warp factor 2” kind of warp drive? When we are dealing with science this deep we like to get an explanation from guys like Doctor Michio Kaku. Is warp speed even possible?
OK… so maybe it is. If it is, is it available to us in this lifetime. NASA has apparently been exploring this, but we are pulling for Dave Pares, a professor at the University of Nebraska Omaha, has been working on the warp problem out of his garage! His Space Warp Project is a privately funded effort that may actually get this done. Here is a video where Professor Pares talks about his vision. (It’s a little more low-key that Dr. Kaku.)
So, does this mean we’ll all be travelling at warp speeds soon? We were all promised jet packs and flying cars, but we haven’t seen much from them. We’re optimistic, though. There’s nothing more inspiring than mad science in a personal lab. If we all send a little good mojo maybe we can get off this rock and start exploring the galaxy properly!
There were simple explanations in Fort’s time about all the bizarre goings on, which is what prompted him to write his book in the first place. Here, the official explanation is that seagulls are digging these up and dropping them around. Hopefully we can look forward to photos and video of these bomber birds in action. In the mean time we will also wonder if the lampreys are simply collecting in the Super-Sargasso Sea, the dimension of lost things that Fort proposed.
We love that the Japanese are weird. The give us the best game shows and the most disturbing horror. We’re not sure what to think about this one, though.
Shizuo Kambayashi—AP Godzilla receives a sash of “Shinjuku-ward tourism ambassador” from the Kabuki-cho Shopping Area Promotion Association Chief Director Mototsugu Katagiri of Tokyo’s Shinjuku-ward during its awards ceremony in Tokyo, April 9, 2015.
Japan has granted Godzilla full citizenship. For years, Godzilla has risen from the depths and laid Tokyo in ruins. True, he only did it on his own a few times and was often defending them from other monsters, but still, he’s done a lot of damage over the years. Perhaps granting him citizenship means he’ll be able to pay some of that back in taxes.
Of course, this brings up some important questions. What about all of the other monsters? How many monsters who have thrilled and frightened us over the years are left without any support at all? At the Museum of the Weird we have to keep King Kong hidden away upstairs! Many others are of unknown status. Will the United States finally bring reform that lets the monsters we love call this country their home? Time will tell, but we look for a time when there is equality for all monsters.
You can enjoy our collection of monsters at our sister store, Sfanthor. Get a super pass and enjoy both sites for one great price!
