Punishment? No! Cure! This cage was a 1909 treatment for Arteriosclerosis. Click the picture for the article in a 1909 science magazine.
There may be a reason why what doctors do is called “practice.” While medicine has become a more rigorous science over time, the history of medicine is filled with things that would have you swear that people were just making things up.
The picture shows a man in a cage. It’s not some sort of medieval torture, it’s a device that was designed to treat Arteriosclerosis. The cage is attached to some electrical equipment that would make Victor Von Frankenstein proud.
Of course, while we laugh at some of these crazy medical practices of the past, we may not be much better today. In the far future will people look with horror on how we used radiation and chemicals to battle disease? Will what we see as the most sophisticated and compassionate medical techniques look like poking holes in people’s skulls with a rock to let out the bad spirits?
Here’s a video featuring 10 of the most bizarre medical practices in history.
So, you go into your favorite sandwich shop and they punch your card with each purchase as you work your way toward a free sandwich. You go to your grocery store, and you use a card for members-only discounts. Why can’t a marijuana dealer be like that? Well, in Marsaille, France, it seems that they are.
This article in La Provence (French. English translation by Google) describes how drug dealers in Marseille are trying to give their customers a break and reward them with special discounts for regular customers. Just like your sandwich card they give you a stamp for each purchase. Fill the card up and you qualify for special discounts.
Dealing drugs is illegal in Marsaille, as it is in many places. Yet it seems to be lucrative enough that people not only continue to deal, but engage in marketing programs as well. How weird is that?
Are you a fan of paranormal reality shows? If you are, it may feel like the world is filled with psychics who are flooded with feelings and visions surrounded by observers who would put Sherlock Holmes to shame. I know that some people watching these programs become very frustrated with their own explorations. Real paranormal experiences don’t usually happen like they look on TV. They can be more subtle, and certainly a lot less frequent than you would think.
You might take comfort in this blog entry by Kelly Roncace, Paranormal Corner: Intimate experience at Eastern State Penitentiary. She admits that, while an active investigator, she has rarely “felt” any kind of a connection on an investigation. It has happened, but it’s been obscure.
This is very honest and, I think, very important for everyone interested in paranormal investigation to hear. There are spectacular psychic experiences, but there are also many other kinds of subtle feelings and connections that are discarded because they’re not what’s expected and many are trained to ignore such things because they’re not “real.” Just because you’re not flooded with visions and voices doesn’t mean that you’re not connecting with anything. Not everyone experiences the same things in the same ways. Not everyone has the same intensity. Sometimes it grows, sometimes it will always be a whisper.
My own experience, and that of every psychic and medium I’ve interviewed, suggest that the important thing is to keep trying to be open. Record your successes, even when they feel tiny. Share with others who may be able to help you make sense of what’s happening. Experiment with different techniques. Be patient and persistent.
Of course, none of them talk about what’s really important. What are their most distinctive ways to die? The biggest killers in the United States are still heart disease and cancer. But it seems that some more unusual causes of death are actually much more typical in certain states compared with the nation as a whole. Tuberculosis in Texas? Plane and boat accidents are problems in Alaska and Idaho! Legal intervention, deaths caused by law enforcement officers, excluding legal executions, seem to be the most distinctive cause of death in New Mexico, Nevada and Oregon.
Remember, these are just statistical anomalies. It doesn’t mean that people are falling over from the flu in Wyoming. But, if you’re looking for just the right way to steer people away from an ugly political discussion, these facts may be the perfect icebreaker. You’ll thank me later.
A man is driving his truck through some high grass and comes across an alligator. Of course, you’re going to take out your phone and film this. Then you might play a little chicken with the gator, trying to get him to move along. Then…
Wow! I guess they don’t make them like they used to! The steel bumper on my Grandaddy’s old Chevy pickup would have been more of a match for this thing. I wonder if having video of you taunting an alligator into going Godzilla on you affects the insurance claim.
If you have video of a strange animal encounter, send it to us!
With summer upon us it’s time to break out the grill for some tasty steaks (or veggies). Of course, if you’re a science student at Syracuse University you might take things a little further.
When first erupted from a volcanic vent, lava has a temperatures from 700 to 1,200 °C (1,292 to 2,192 °F). Since most oven broilers top out at about 575°F, lava would be pretty efficient.
The goal of the steak project was to demonstrate that lava is something to be respected but not feared.
Of course, if you are the traditional charcoal-type with your grilling, here is video of George Goble from 1995 in an experiment at Purdue University to find the fastest way to light a BBQ. His solution? He poured 3 gallons of liquid oxygen over a grill with 60 pounds of coal and a lighted cigarette.
Don’t forget to invite all of us as the Museum of the Weird to your next BBQ. We’re sure to have something to liven things up!
11-year-old Tanishq Abraham showed himself to be a very special young man. While many his age are tweeting about their favorite music, movies and video games, he writes:
3 Associate college degrees -Awesome feeling- completed my first few baby steps to my BIG goal- @NobelPrize med doctor/researcher & @POTUS
As seen in this USA Today report, Tanishq is the youngest person to ever graduate from California’s American River College.
What makes Tanishq so smart? Is he unique or his he an example of the future of the human race? Here he is on Conan, sharing some of his favorite science jokes.
His goal is to earn a Nobel prize and we certainly hopes he succeeds and doesn’t end up in an icy, Arctic lair with space lasers pointed at all the world leaders. On the other hand, that could be kind of cool too!
It’s an arachnophobe’s worst nightmare… spiders literally raining from the sky, falling into everything and leaving a debris of web. That was what many experienced recently in the Australian city of Goulburn. (See amazing photos from the Sydney Morning Herald.) This isn’t the first time such a thing has happened either. This video shows an incident two years ago in Brazil.
https://youtu.be/htSDlXzWV-w?t=1m17s
While bizarre, this is a natural event when a large population of spiders migrates from one area to another, using a bit of web to catch the wind and fly them to a new home. Texas also had a migration in 2013.
Spiders are generally under-appreciated creatures that are often used for their fear-factor in movies. In reality, spiders consume a vast number of pests that invade the home and farm. In fact, a single spider can eliminate about 2,000 insects in a year (according to this spider fact page from the National Geographic Society).
Yes, they are weird and alien. Their lifestyle is gruesome. We’d rather have a rain of spiders than a rain of jellyfish any day.
They say everything’s bigger in Texas, and that goes for fandom as well. In 2002, Sandra McKee and her husband Charles created a big Texas tribute to celebrate their passion for The Munsters, the iconic 1960s television series that took a light look at the Universal Studios movie monsters. Nestled in the wilds of Waxahachie, this replica of 1313 Mockingbird Lane features the architecture and much memorabilia.
The detail of this place is incredible, as many of the items in the house are either original from the show or painstaking replicas. This gallery from their web site will look very familiar to fans of the show. The Munster Mansion is not a museum or a public attraction. This is their actual home. They have special tour events, typically around Halloween. Watch their web site for availability.
Of course, the house is not the only thing that they recreated. Here is Charles McKee, as Herman Munster, firing up the Munster Coach. Nice!
Are you a big fan of something? a cosplayer? If so, you should definitely check out all the goodies at Sfanthor, our sister store. Share your biggest fan moments and we’ll feature the best of them in a future post.
First, the Museum of the Weird and all our staff would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to all those who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to their country. War forever changes all that it touches. Memorial Day was founded to remember soldiers of the U.S. Civil War. It’s observance has been expanded to include soldiers from all U.S. conflicts.
As we honor the fallen, we can’t help but wonder about the spirits that may linger from these conflicts. It is said that some hauntings are caused by sudden and particularly violent deaths. If that is true, the Battle of Gettysburg, July 1-6, 1863, would be a perfect circumstance to create ghosts. Between 46,000 and 51,000 soldiers from both armies were casualties in the three-day battle. The actual fighting occurred over a period of about 24 hours, meaning that a soldier fell about once every 2 seconds!
There are many reports of ghosts in Gettysburg, and it is a popular destination for people looking to have a paranormal experience. Your author poured through a number of videos and sites with everything from TV ghost hunting teams to individuals. There is a lot to see and a quick search will bring it all to you. As a taste, here is an interesting piece of video from an amateur investigator.
According to the notes on YouTube, this video was shot at the Wheatfield, a site of more than 6000 casualties. They did not notice anything at the time of filming, but saw some strange activity at the following marks: 0:44, 0:58, 1:04, 1:30.
This is only one of many pieces of evidence collected around Gettysburg that have convinced people that the spirits of the dead remain. Do you have a personal ghost story related to a war? Share it with us in the comments.
