Posted on January 1, 2016 by MOTW Admin

Weird New Year Traditions

In an earlier entry I shared some bizarre December traditions around the world. Of course there are some strange choices to ring in the New Year. It may be too late for you to try some of these, but there’s always next year (unless those doomsday guys are finally right this time).

To help you choose I’ve put everything in convenient categories.

Burning things

Fire is always festive. You could go with the fireworks, but there are so many more interesting things to burn! In Scotland they have the fireball ceremony—the best one is in Stonehaven—where local people of all ages walk through the streets spinning flaming wire cages around their heads. The cages are designed to keep the spinners safe but the onlookers may be vulnerable! The purpose is to burn off the bad spirits from last year and bring the new spirits in clean and fresh.

In Ecuador and Panama they celebrate the New Year by burning scarecrows and effigies of famous people. Ecuadorians also burn photographs from last year. (Unfortunately those embarrassing ones you posted to social media are there forever.)

Wearing things

new-year-red_underwear — Red underwear is a popular item around Christmas in Turkey.

You’ve probably packed that Santa hat away, but there are fun things to wear for the New Year. In South America colorful underwear is encouraged. (Here’s a guide to help you pick the right one.) In Turkey, red is the preferred color and it’s very common for women to receive red panties as a Christmas gift to help them prepare.

In Mexico it’s traditional to wear white for good luck. In Chile they put money in their shoes. Of course, the silly hat is always an option.

Throwing things

3936422_20130102031524 — The street is littered with furniture tossed from windows in South Africa as people clear for the new year

What could start the new year better than a little healthy flinging things about. You might follow the lead of the Romanians who toss coins into the river to bring prosperity into the new year. You might bang the walls and doors with Christmas bread like they do in Ireland.

People in Denmark smash old plates on people’s doorsteps. The more broken plates you find on your doorstep the more friends you are seen to have. People actually save dishes throughout the year to have a good stash of ammunition come December.

If you live in an apartment overlooking the street you could delight the neighbors with the Puerto Rican tradition of throwing a bucket of water out the window to drive away evil spirits.

The big winners of the throwing-things competition have to be in Johannesburg, South Africa. They don’t mess around on New Years! They throw old furniture out the windows to make way for new things in the new year!

Eating things

pancakes-with-butter-and-maple-syrup — Enjoy a plate of pancakes as they do in France

You may demand your black eyed peas or tamales on New Year’s eve, but have you thought of eating twelve grapes like they do in Spain (and Puerto Rico). Hungarians enjoy kocsonya (a cold pork aspic) but no fish or chicken, which might cause luck to fly (or swim) away.

Bolivia has a fun tradition of baking coins into cakes and other sweets. If you find one in your sweet you get good luck in the coming year.

If all that sounds too complicated, join the French and just enjoy some pancakes to bring in the new year.

Other things

Need more? Japan really rings in the new year with a ceremony where they ring bells 108 times to correspond to the number of evil desires that need to be cleansed. In Venice they enjoy fireworks over the Piazza San Marco, and a bit of snogging, as many gather to kiss in the new year!. (You can probably try this out at home as well.)

Romanian_bear_dance — Revelers don bear skins for the traditional Romanian bear dance

Animals play a big part in new year traditions around the world. Romanians dance with bears. (I know one that might dance with me if I bought him a drink.) Belgians try to talk to their cows and Romanians talk to other animals. Success means good luck for the year. The people in Brasstown, NC do an “opossum-drop” where an opossum in a transparent box is lowered over a crowd of revelers. (Perhaps this is a new adventure for your cat.)

A Latin tradition is walking your suitcase around the block to encourage travel. What could it hurt?

My favorite tradition, though, is from central Chile. Apparently they have a sort of campout in the graveyard. It apparently all started with a family who broke into the cemetery to be near their dead father. The mayor now opens the yard for a vigil where many gather to remember loved ones.

However you choose to celebrate this new year I hope it is truly prosperous and joyful for you all. Keep it weird!

Posted on December 4, 2015 by MOTW Admin

Try these weird Christmas traditions

It’s December and the final holidays of the year are in full swing. Christmas gets most of the attention, but it’s certainly not the only one in town. Mental Floss has an article featuring a few other holidays you might want to celebrate this year.

Of course, if you are going to stick with Christmas, there are many strange traditions available there as well. This infographic on Love Home Swap has a list to view, but we’ve grabbed some favorites for you right here.

Strange foods

Every holiday has it’s foods. Thanks to the 1983 film A Christmas Story, a generation of people in the United States (and maybe around the world) think about having Chinese food for Christmas dinner, but there are other bizarre traditions. Try one of these:

Mopane-worm-meal — A delicious dish of mopane worms
Photo by Ling Symon [CC BY-SA 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons”

South Africans enjoy a traditional delicacy of fried mopane worms. These are actually caterpillars for the Emperor Moth. They are high in protein and can be prepared as a simple fried snack or an elaborate dish like the picture.If that’s not to your taste, you might enjoy some Greenland traditions. Have a little Mattak (also known as Muktuk), made from raw whale skin. If that’s too tame, and you really want to do it up right you might prepare Kiviak. That’s essentially 400-500 whole auk birds that are left to ferment in a hollowed-out seal carcass for 3-18 months. The fermentation softens the auks so that every part can be eaten except for the feathers. I guess there’s a bucket for those. Kiviak is best served cold and outdoors. (That will never come out of the drapes!)Of course, you don’t have to go for something that exotic. An advertising campaign in 1974 left ripples in time as many Japanese families eat at KFC on Christmas Eve. This is especially interesting as the day is not a national holiday in Japan and not widely celebrated there.

Bizarre decorations

If the person across the street has had their Christmas decorations up since before Halloween you can add a little challenge to the scene with some of these lovely twists on the traditional holiday theme.

If you really want to get some attention you might consider adding the Catalonian caganer to your crèche this season. The BBC has a full article on this little bad boy, but it’s basically a figure defecating (yes you read that right). It’s been a part of decorations in this area of Spain for about two centuries. Why? It probably started as a joke in poor taste and then marketing got hold of it. Caganer figures come in an enormous variety of styles. You can even find pictures of giant displays in the shopping centers.

If the poo theme has appeal, you can continue it with another Catalonian tradition called the Tio de Nadal. As this article on Atlas Obscura explains, this is an adorable decorated log which is filled with presents for the family. It is cared for and even given a blanket to keep it warm. Finally, on Christmas Eve the little guy is put into the fireplace and the family takes turns beating it while commanding it to poop out presents. It’s like a piñata but Quentin-Tarantino-style.

I have to admit that I like the Ukrainian style for decorating trees. Along with the traditional decorations they include spider webs and spiders. This tradition stems from a legend about a poor widow and her children who were excited to find a pine tree growing next to their house, meaning they would have a Christmas tree. However, they were too poor to decorate it. The spiders in the area heard their tears and spent the night covering the tree with their intricate webs. When the family awoke they found the tree covered in the ethereal silken lace. As the sun rose and the golden rays touched the webs they turned each one into silver and gold and the widow and her children never wanted for anything again.

So, don’t put all those Halloween decorations away!

Supernatural beings

Jólakötturinn will get you if you don't get new clothes. — Jólakötturinn will get you if you don’t get new clothes.

Kallikatzaros by ΟΕΔΒ 1961 [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

You’ve all heard about Santa Claus, and you’ve probably been hearing plenty about Krampus lately, but there are plenty of other interesting creatures who reward and terrorize people for Christmas. Try these on for size:

Cats are notoriously dangerous to Christmas trees, but in Iceland the Yule Cat (or Jólakötturinn) will devour anyone who doesn’t receive a new item of clothing. Socks probably count. We don’t know about ties. This seems to be a more recent tradition, started in the 19th century, but so did the ghosts of Christmases past, present and future. We don’t require our child-devouring beasts to be ancient, as long as children are being devoured. (…so buy someone some socks!)

You might also experience a horde of Kallikantzaroi from Greece, evil goblins that lurk underground but escape to the surface for the 12 days of Christmas, wreaking havoc. They are essentially destructive hooligans but rather than wearing sports team paraphernalia they are black-haired, dog-faced creatures with goat hooves.

A wine-drinking, present-delivering Christmas witch? Sign us up!

Of course, not all supernatural creatures of the season are bad. Some are rather nice. For example, In Italy, the friendly witch, Befana, delivers toys and sweets on the 5th of January. (Clever that, because everything is on the after-holiday sale!) She sounds like a hoot, too, flying around on her broom delivering presents for good children—leaving coal for the naughty ones—and consuming wine left as a gift for her.

So, there you have it! Several interesting traditions you can use to spice up your holiday. Of course, you should also add the tradition of visiting the Museum of the Weird to pick up some unique gifts and see our exhibits. See you soon!

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Posted on September 24, 2015 by MOTW Admin

Hendrix seance artifact up for auction

Waxwork of Jimi Hendrix posed playing guitar — This wax figure of Jimi Hendrix stands in Mme Tussauds of London
Photo by Denis Bourez [CC BY 2.0] via Wikimedia Commons.

We have a number of bizarre artifacts in the Museum of the Weird, but I don’t think I’ll be able to talk Steve into bidding on this one. It’s a hair charm that Jimi Hendrix wore and it contains some of his actual hair!

You don’t think that’s weird enough? According to this article from the radio station 3WV site, this charm was actually used in a séance held by Guitar World Magazine in 1993, 23 years after the guitarist’s death in 1970.

Celebrity séances are not at all unusual. Who wouldn’t like the opportunity to talk to somebody famous? Even in the Bible we have the tale of King Saul who asked the Witch of Endor to put him in touch with Samuel (1 Samuel, Ch 28). That did not go so well.

Harry Houdini, famed turn-of-the-20th-century magician who spoke out aggressively against mediums and séance, died from an accident in 1929—Halloween night to be exact. For years after his death, his wife, Bess, worked to contact him through an annual séance. They were supposed to have a code word he would giverher to prove it was him. Her final attempt was in 1936. While the code was never received, a horrible storm raged over the rooftop where this final event was held. It seems that the storm was isolated to that area and did not affect those surrounding. Weird…

A story in the biography of William Butler Yeats tells how the poet was inspired by a séance to do automatic writing, which resulted in his book A Vision.

Photo of Mary Todd Lincoln — Portrait of Mary Todd Lincoln somewhere between 1860 and 1865. This is around the time she tried to contact her dead son.

After their son Willie died, Mary Todd Lincoln, wife of Abraham Lincoln, held several séances in the White House. Abraham was also said to have had some troubling dreams and visions that could have pointed to his assassination in 1865. Lincoln was not the only First Lady with an interest in this sort of thing. This article on FirstLadies.org describes ways that many presidential wives brought more than cookie recipes into the White House.

Some stars such as Elvis, John Lennon, and Michael Jackson attract a lot of attention. I talk to someone at least once a week who would like to reach Elvis if they could.

So, if we had this very personal item from Jimi Hendrix would we be able to contact him? There’s really only one way to find out. What I do know is that, before you go to bed, if you focus deeply and ask sincerely, Hendrix—or anyone for that matter—can visit you in your dreams. You might be very surprised at the connection!

Posted on September 23, 2015 by MOTW Admin

Phobia causes actions beyond reason

sept-18-1-kcsd — Aftermath of freak crash by wane.com

You may have heard of the bizarre accident in Northern Indiana where a woman found a spider on her shoulder and leapt from a moving car. Her nine-year old son was in the back seat and tried in vain to get control of the car, which crashed into a school bus. If you managed to miss it, here’s a brief report from local TV station WXIN.

While most stories have focused on the strange nature of the crash, we are interested in the incredible fear that caused a mother to overcome her instinct to protect her son in order to flee a spider. You see, at the Museum of the Weird we encounter certain levels of fear like this daily.

Small children will sometimes be nervous about the shadowy nature of our artifacts, expecting something to jump out at them, though it never does. However, adults are sometimes taken aback by the idea of our ghost and the dealings that I might have with objects and spirits. Some people have needed to leave the Museum at the very thought of such things.

What causes such strong reactions? The term “irrational” is sometimes used, but is that a fair judgment? This article from Scientific American talks about the nature of phobias and our difficulty in finding root causes for them. There doesn’t seem to be a specific genetic reason for an overpowering fear of spiders, but there might be genetics that would make one more susceptible to environmental issues or conditioning. What would develop as an aversion becomes a devastating fight or flight reaction.

One thing to keep in mind is that someone experiencing such a phobia is not thinking rationally. They may even be fully aware of the way their response is out of proportion to the situation. That doesn’t matter. Understanding that it’s irrational doesn’t fix it. It must be treated using methods that range from hypnosis to reconditioning.

When I encounter a child who is scared I will get on their level and do my best to assure them that everything in the Museum is safe and that they are surrounded by parents and myself who want to look out for them. When I encounter this reaction from adults I have to do my best to simply bypass the subjects altogether. In either case I take their concerns seriously and don’t use it to mess with them.

As we saw in the news story, fear like this can drive people to do things that are far beyond even their own expectations. They can abandon their own safety and yours just to get away from what frightens them. If you are lucky it’s just awkward. In a worse-case scenario someone gets hurt.

The 9-year-old boy, who sprang into action to stop the moving vehicle, thwarted only by not having driving instincts—because he’s 9—received some minor head injuries, but seemed to be otherwise OK. The school bus that collided with the car had no children and its driver was unharmed. The mother will be haunted by the fact that something she could not control made her do something unimaginable.

Please respect people’s fears rather than preying on them. If you know you have a serious phobia consider looking into ways to conquer it. We want you safe!

Posted on September 16, 2015 by MOTW Admin

Who’s your Buddie?

NOTE: This information is provided for entertainment purposes only and is not intended to express support or opposition to the legalization of marijuana.

Photo of Buddie, a green-headed superhero shaped like a marijuana bud — ResponsibleOhio’s mascot, Buddie, cheerfully endorses the legalization of gajna.

Ohio is preparing for a vote on the legalization of marijuana. Pot, weed, Mary Jane, reefer, grass… It goes by many names and many are lobbying to legalize this plant. Is that a good idea? It’s not really our place to say. We are just thrilled by all the weird ways that people are using to get their message out.

We’ve seen one side of the argument, eloquently depicted in the classic Reefer Madness film from 1938 and on police dramas, from the Dragnet of radio days to whatever was on last week.

As the ballot moves forward in Ohio, the ResponsibleOhio group has unleashed a new superhero. His name is Buddie, and he’s got a big, green, leafy head and the kind of muscles that you won’t typically find in a donut shop. He’s part of the Green Rush Bus tour of college campuses. Some are comparing him to Joe Camel, the infamous cigarette icon which was banned because of its appeal to children. Is Buddie using the same playbook?

In these matters, it’s important to have someone we can trust to help boil it all down. Fortunately, Stephen Colbert has examined this issue and provides insight.

Good luck, Ohio, whatever you decide!

Posted on September 9, 2015 by MOTW Admin

Fatal selfie

GunSelfie — Artist rendering shows how an unsuccessful gun selfie might look before the final moment.

In a previous article from July we highlighted some of the amazing ways that people have died while taking selfies and the steps the Russian government took to warn people of the danger. Apparently these tips have gone unheeded.

A Reuters report describes how a 19-year old Houston, Texas man fatally shot himself while posing with his gun for social media.

Houston police spokeswoman said “A witness told police he was taking a selfie with a gun. The gun accidentally discharged.”

We regret any unnecessary death and our heart goes out to this young man’s family. We hope that anyone reading this will take the following steps if choosing to take firearm pictures.

Make sure that the firearm is not loaded.
Do not point the gun at your head or at anyone. Treat it as if it were loaded.
MAKE SURE that the firearm is not loaded.
Use a timer to free yourself to give proper focus to the firearm so you are not distracted. Treat it as a dangerous thing that can hurt you if you’re not careful.
MAKE SURE THAT THE FIREARM IS NOT LOADED.

Of course, accidents do happen. Even people trained with firearms can have unfortunate incidents, as we are reminded by this footage from January, 2015 where a Kentucky police officer accidentally shot himself in an elevator

We hope that all of our readers take heed and are exceedingly careful with weapons. Guns aren’t the only danger. This story from the Rakyat Post tells how a man from Kuala Lumpur had a similar accident, shooting himself with a steel arrow!

Please be safe!

Posted on September 8, 2015 by MOTW Admin

Adventures in time and space

Can you tell the difference between the blue boxes below?

Photo of two blue portaloos standing in a lush field — Photo © Copyright Karl and Ali and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence

tardis_in_the_wild — Photo © Copyright Meirion and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence

The first ones are a welcome site for someone who has had two much beer at the festival. The next one is a welcome sight for someone who wants to leave their humdrum life behind and go adventuring through time and space with The Doctor.

A woman who attended the Newlyn Fish Festival in Cornwall may not be able to tell the difference any more. She stepped into a porta-potty to take care of some personal business. While she was inside a forklift picked the unit up and moved it to a new location on the other side of the harbor. The woman was not injured, but confused about how she got to the new location.

She must have been very confused. How could someone not be aware that the “little room” they were in was being hoisted and rolled to a new location? Perhaps it’s one of the new, smooth-riding forklifts. The incident was reported by BBC news, so we know it’s true!

Posted on August 28, 2015 by MOTW Admin

Blood Moon

You may have heard some things about the Blood Moon in 2015. Some say it’s the Apocalypse. Some say it’s a time of strong magic and connection.

So, what is this Blood Moon anyway? Let’s see what NASA has to say about it.

Basically, it’s a lunar eclipse, but the corona of the sun around Earth casts a reddish light. I like the phrase they use in the video. From the moon’s perspective, you are simultaneously seeing every sunrise and sunset happening on Earth at that time.

What makes this unusual is that this is the 4th eclipse like this within a year. (A group of 4 is called a tetrad.) Humans have always gotten excited about things that connect with the numbers 2, 3 and 4. It is special that we are getting such a grouping of this event. It’s unclear how such a thing will affect you directly.

Should you prepare for this final eclipse in the tetrad, coming in September? You most certainly should consider setting your alarm clock so that you have a chance to view it. Outside of that it really depends on your traditions.

I’m not a big believer in global apocalypse scenarios, but if enough people are tensed for something to happen it won’t take much to push things over the edge. I predict that some people will have a pretty bad day on September 28. Some will have a day of growth and prosperity. Which one of those people do you want to be?

I think that we all make have free will and we get to choose a lot of things in our life. Also, my numerology calculations tell me that for me this will be a day of exploration and curiosity, so I will probably try to plan some sort of excursion or dig into something new and interesting.

I hope that you will spend that day enjoying the marvels of being alive, regardless of your own traditions.

Posted on August 25, 2015 by MOTW Admin

Welcome to snake island

We’ve shown you islands of cats and bunnies. We shared the island of lost dolls. Now it’s time to stir up the nightmares with a trip to Snake Island. Ilha da Queimada Grande, in Brazil, is home to thousands of Golden Lancehead Viper, one of the most venomous snakes in the world. Thousands of these snakes inhabit the island, climbing trees to hunt birds that are migrating through the area. The local birds are too savvy to the snakes’ technique, which consist of gently wiggling the end of their tail, like a grub, as they lie otherwise still and ready to strike.

The venom is very strong and can melt human flesh! Even with treatment, someone bitten by a Golden Lancehead Viper has a 3% chance of dying!

Travel to the island is illegal without permission from the government, which is obtained by some researchers and other special visitors. A military team also goes to the island periodically to service the automated lighthouse which sits on the island. This island was once manned and there is a tale of a keeper and his family who were killed when they left a window opened and let in a dozen of the vipers while they slept.

This video shows a visit to the island by an ABC news reporter.

Did you see that snake strike the camera at about 1:52? We like lizards and snakes, but we’re perfectly happy to leave Ilha da Queimada Grande to be ruled by the serpents.

Posted on August 19, 2015 by MOTW Admin

Roanoke mystery solved?

One American mystery that has lasted for more than three hundred years is the colony of Roanoke, Virginia. Led by John White, they were sent by Walter Raleigh in 1587. White returned to England that year for supplies and was delayed until 1590 because of the war with Spain. (Remember, there was no overseas communication in that time and travel was slow and difficult.) When he did return, the colonists were gone. The word Croatoan was carved on a post and the letters “CRO” were found on a nearby tree. There was an island nearby known as Croatoan—now called Hatteras—where there were friendly natives.

This video from the Travel Channel gives details to the story along with what might have been a solution, an artifact suggesting that the colonists were attacked and destroyed by natives.

The “attacked by natives” theory might have been appealing at one time, but as we learn more about the cultures in that time it makes less sense. This article from Ancient Origins, describes how archaeologists have been discovering clues that suggest that at least a portion of the colonists did go to the island. Pieces of rapiers, nails and other obviously European artifacts have been found on the island.

Meanwhile, work happening in North Carolina have yielded results suggesting that some of the colonists ended up there. The First Colony Foundation has been digging for three years above the Albemarle Sound, based on hidden markings found on a map drawn by John White, himself.

So, it appears that the colonists did not move to a single location but may have split up. Why? Were some of them less comfortable with adopting a more native lifestyle? Are there Roanoke descendants amongst us now who don’t even know it?

Clearly the mystery is not fully solved, but we are getting closer. I think that after the delay in White’s return with supplies that those left had to make decisions for their survival. They disagreed on what was best and broke into groups to continue on. At least they did not seem to turn to cannibalism, like appears to have happened in Jamestown.

I like mysteries. It’s fun to wonder…but it’s also good to find answers and I hope that we are closing in on a happy ending to a troubling question in American history.