Today is a day to reflect on independence, not just in the United States of America, but in the Northern Mariana Islands, Rwanda and the Philippines. Of course, the freedom we enjoy the most at the Museum of the Weird is the freedom of expression. It is wonderful to be able to explore the weird and wonderful mysteries and to ponder them, even when our views might not be in the majority opinion.
If you celebrate today, we hope that it is a grand holiday. If not, we hope that you find an opportunity to express your own weirdness.
I can’t just leave you like this, however. While I go fire up the grill (and prepare for a night of party palm-reading) here are some bizarre tales about our forefathers, The macabre legacy of the heroes of the American Revolution, written this time last year on the site strangeremains.com. They were pretty weird 200 years ago as well!
Humans have a fascination with the remains of our ancestors. There are many examples in the Museum of ways that artifacts have been preserved for religious, magical, and historical purposes. Some of our items have come with a little extra, such us Emily, the skeleton which arrived with a ghost who haunts the Museum.
Of course, by some standards our collection is ridiculously tame. Here is a fascinating panoramic view of a bizarre chapel in Czermna, Poland, constructed with human skulls and bones. Move your mouse around in the picture to look all around.
There is also the Seldec Ossuary, also known as “the Kutna Hora bone church.” This video tour shows how human bones have been used to create chandeliers and other things in the monastery.
Are these the vestiges of superstition, throwbacks to a time when we looked for souls in a sneeze? Are they respect for the vast number of lives who have come before us? Are they just weird art?
Come to the Museum of the Weird and experience our mummies, skeletal items, and other bizarre examples of how people have kept the dead near by. See some other examples of bone monuments in this article by Mental Floss.
Alvin, a bearded dragon, is our official lucky lizard, live and on displayThe late, great Torgo titled “Random lizard at Museum of the Weird” by Mike M (Oct 2012)
At the Museum of the Weird we have Alvin, our official lucky lizard. He’s been with us for about seven years or so. We’ve had a number of other live animals around, including our beloved Torgo, a Nile Monitor who was with us for many years before finally succumbing to old age. Anyone who has spent time with animals knows that they are capable of connection. I know someone who is very fond of birds and experiences affection from them. We certainly feel it with our lizards.
Of course, there are still those who don’t get that. Perhaps some of the continued explorations of science will cause people to rethink their ideas about lesser animals.
In these fascinating videos from the University of Lincoln we see examples of animals that you would not normally think of as smart demonstrating their ability to learn some extraordinary things. This first video shows a bearded dragon, like Alvin, who has learned by watching how to open the door to his cage. Previously, this sort of imitation was thought to only occur in higher level creatures.
Next we see a tortoise who has learned how to use a touch screen.
Surely anyone who spends enough time around animals discovers that they have their own kinds of complex interactions with the world. As we connect with them, rather than simply trying to control them or observe them, we find that there is surprising overlap. Is that honestly so weird?
I don’t pretend to be a scientific expert in this area and I do believe in progress through science, but a few questions come to mind:
The report says that the mosquitoes will be manually sexed so that no females are released. (Apparently this is done by looking at the antennae.) How would you like to have that job?
If any of the females are missed and someone is bitten could that have any unforeseen affects? I’m guessing that part of the testing was for Oxitec to be bitten by a few of them.
If this happens it will be a grand experiment. Either it will all work exactly as predicted and these mutants will create a lot of benefit for the population by reducing pests and the disease that they carry. If not—well, there are plenty of comic books that suggest the possibilities. In either case we will know.
Today is a day to reflect on independence, not just in the United States of America, but in the Northern Mariana Islands, Rwanda and the Philippines. Of course, the freedom we enjoy the most at the Museum of the Weird is the freedom of expression. It is wonderful to be able to explore the weird and wonderful mysteries and to ponder them, even when our views might not be in the majority opinion.
