Oddball Oklahoma

The weird, the wonderful, and the excruciating tacky aspects of life on the Great Plains

[plainsgirl]

Woman Hit by Space Junk

According to the Aerospace Corporation, an Oklahoman is the only person to have ever been hit by falling “space junk.” The woman, hit by falling debris from the U.S. Delta II rocket, was not injured, but she did think twice before imparting the lessons of Chicken Little’s cautionary tale on her children.

[plainsgirl]

Sod House

The two-room soddy, built in August 1894, is the only remaining homesteader-built sod house in Oklahoma. There used to be thousands of sod houses across the plains in North America, according to Oklahoma Historical Society.

Text and photos via Enid News and Eagle

[plainsgirl]

Oklahoma Mummy

Elmer McCurdy was a criminal who was killed in a gunfight in the Osage Hills in Oklahoma. After death, the corpse was transported to a funeral home in Oklahoma. No one claimed the corpse, so the funeral home put him on display and visitors could see the effectiveness of the arsenic-based preservative for the price of a nickel, “The Bandit Who Wouldn’t Give Up.”

In 1916, McCurdy’s body was claimed by a representative of the Great Patterson Shows who, posing as a relative interested in giving Elmer a proper burial, put the body on exhibition as the ‘Oklahoma Outlaw.’

For much of the 1930’s and 1940’s the mummy was displayed by former police officer Louis Sonney in his ‘Museum of Crime.' It appears that the remains were real was forgotten. McCurdy was sold as a mannequin to a wax museum in 1971.

In December of 1976 the body was part of the stage dressing in ‘Laff in the Dark’ funhouse the Nu-Pike amusement park in Long Beach, California, when it was and a human bone became visible. The medical examiner who took on the case opened the mummy’s mouth to find a 1924 penny and a ticket from the Museum of Crime in Los Angeles. From that he was able to trace the body and ID it.

The mummy was laid to rest in Summit View Cemetery in Guthrie, Oklahoma. The state medical examiner ordered two cubic yards of cement poured over the coffin before the grave was closed.

Text via Fandom/Mummipedia

[plainsgirl]

Guthrie, OK

[plainsgirl]

OKLAHOMA CITY —

A group of Oklahomans painted a rainbow mural on a street in Oklahoma City in support of the LGBTQ community.

The temporary mural can be found at Northwest 39th Street and Barnes Avenue. A block party will take place in that area Friday to kick off a full weekend of activities to celebrate diversity.

Photo and text via KOCO

[plainsgirl]

OKLAHOMA CITY — A federal jury has found Oklahoma’s ‘tiger king’ guilty of twice trying to hire someone to commit murder.

56-year-old Joseph Maldonado-Passage, better known as “Joe Exotic,” was indicted in September on two counts of murder-for-hire and later indicted with more than a dozen wildlife charges.

The alleged intended target was Carole Baskin, a chief critic of Maldonado-Passage.

Baskin successfully sued Maldonado-Passage in 2011 for trademark infringement. A 2013 judgment ordered the former Greater Wynnewood Animal Park owner to pay $1 million.

During cross arguments Tuesday, the government pointed to secretly recorded conversations between Maldonado-Passage, an informant, and an undercover FBI agent posing as a hitman. Maldonado-Passage is heard in one, talking about Baskin’s usual day-to-day locations she would frequent. However, the defense has long claimed their client was framed. They say he was all talk and had no intentions of wanting Baskin dead.

[plainsgirl]

Remains of Six Found in Cars at Bottom of Lake in Oklahoma

By Charlie Hintz on September 18, 2013

The skeletal remains of six bodies in two cars that were last seen over 40 years ago have been found at the bottom of a lake in Oklahoma.

Cars found at the bottom of Foss Lake in Custer County, Oklahoma with the skeletal remains of six missing persons

Oklahoma troopers found the cars decaying side by side in about 12 feet of water during a training exercise with new sonar equipment on September 10. When they were pulled from the lake, bones were found in each – the remains of three people in each car. A human skull was floating in the water. The discovery may potentially solve two decades-old missing persons cases.

One of the cars, a blue 1969 Chevrolet Camaro, is believed to be associated with the disappearance of three high school students from the small town of Sayre, OK. They were last seen on Nov. 20, 1970 heading to a football game in Elk City. The investigation at the time noted speculation that they may have detoured to go hunting at Foss Lake, instead. The case never had a lead.

The missing persons database does not record open cases earlier than 1969, so the local legend is all they have to go on at this point

1950s car found in Foss Lake with the skeletal remains of three bodies insideThe second car is a 1950s-era Chevrolet that may be associated with an old story about a couple or group of three who disappeared in the early 1960s. They were last seen ten miles south of the area in Canute, on their way to Foss Lake.

Via Cult of Weird

[plainsgirl]

Cain’s Ballroom

Sid Vicious famously punched a hole in the wall of this iconic music venue.

[plainsgirl]

The Center of the Universe

The so-called Center of the Universe in downtown Tulsa is marked by a small concrete circle in the middle of a larger circle of bricks. It’s not much to look at, but looking isn’t really the point.

The “Center of the Universe” is a little-known mysterious acoustic phenomenon. If you stand in the middle of the circle and make a noise, the sound is echoed back several times louder than it was made. It’s your own private amplified echo chamber.

As the legend goes, a foghorn could be going off in the center of the circle and those on the outside wouldn’t hear it. This may be an exaggeration, but your voice does sound extremely distorted when heard from outside the circle. It’s an incredible effect.

Atlasobscura.com

[plainsgirl]

Southwest Oklahoma Fisheries - ODWC

Lake Lawtonka/Medicine Creek update We would like to provide some information about the dead fish that have been reported in Lake Lawtonka

Oklahoma has a huge number of man-made lakes that are stocked with fish for sport fishing.

[plainsgirl]

Annual Czech Festival Yukon, Oklahoma, features traditional Czechoslovakian festivities, food, parade, dances and our famous kolaches.

[plainsgirl]

Tulsa: Linde Oktoberfest

Voted best fall festival in Oklahoma

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[plainsgirl]

Route 66

Get your kicks on more than 400 miles of Route 66 in Oklahoma. The nation's longest driveable stretch of Route 66 cuts through Oklahoma, making its way past charming towns, roadside diners and quirky attractions. Experience Oklahoma City, Tulsa and authentic hometowns along the Mother Road where you'll meet friendly people and find unique shopping and dining opportunities.

[plainsgirl]

So true.

[plainsgirl]

P Bar Farms Corn Maze

Located near Hinton, Oklahoma

2018 CORN MAZE DESIGN

Photo via pbarfarms.com

[plainsgirl]

The Talihina Drive, oklahoma