The Weird Museum

[theweirdmuseum-blog]

Myth of the Flat Earth The myth of the Flat Earth is the modern misconception that the prevailing cosmological view during the Middle Ages saw the Earth as flat, instead of spherical. The idea seems to have been widespread during the first half of the 20th century, so that the Members of the Historical Association in 1945 stated that:

"The idea that educated men at the time of Columbus believed that the earth was flat, and that this belief was one of the obstacles to be overcome by Columbus before he could get his project sanctioned, remains one of the hardiest errors in teaching."

During the early Middle Ages, virtually all scholars maintained the spherical viewpoint first expressed by the Ancient Greeks. By the 14th century, belief in a flat earth among the educated was nearly nonexistent. However, the exterior of the famous triptych The Garden of Earthly Delights by Hieronymus Bosch is a Renaissance example in which a disc-shaped earth is shown floating inside a transparent sphere.

In fact, the Kuzari – a major work of the medieval Spanish Jewish philosopher and poet Rabbi Yehuda Halevi which was completed around 1140 – clearly refers to the Earth being spherical. Further, it also shows a clear knowledge of the spherical Earth being divided into different time zones. Fitting with present-day knowledge, the Kuzari correctly states that Sabbath in China would start earlier than in Eretz Yisrael, and in Spain later than in Eretz Yisrael, and discussing what this implies for traveling observant Jews.

According to Stephen Jay Gould, "there never was a period of 'flat earth darkness' among scholars (regardless of how the public at large may have conceptualized our planet both then and now). Greek knowledge of sphericity never faded, and all major medieval scholars accepted the earth's roundness as an established fact of cosmology."Historians of science David Lindberg and Ronald Numbers point out that "there was scarcely a Christian scholar of the Middle Ages who did not acknowledge [Earth's] sphericity and even know its approximate circumference." More: Wikipedia

[physicsphysics]

Close up photography of several periodic elements

via

[thedailywhat]

Software engineer Rob Rhinehart thinks he never has to eat a traditional meal ever again. The 24-year-old from Atlanta, GA has developed a strange beige drink named “Soylent,” in reference to the 1973 science fiction film Soylent Green, which he claims contains all the required nutrients to form a healthy diet. In a recent interview with Vice, Rhinehart revealed he thinks the world would be much better off if his concoction was adopted by the masses, resulting in an overall healthier populace.

[theweirdmuseum-blog]

Wired Magazine: Ukraine Trains Dolphins With Friggin' Pistols On Their Heads Killer dolphins with knives and pistols attached to their heads. It might sound crazy, but that’s reportedly one element of the Ukrainian navy’s restarted marine mammal program. The program reportedly includes training dolphins to search for mines and marking them with buoys. But Ukraine also plans to train the dolphins “to attack enemy combat swimmers using special knives or pistols fixed to their heads,” according to RIA Novosti. A source inside the Ukrainian navy told the agency that the exercises, which are being conducted at the state oceanarium in Sevastopol, are “counter-combat swimmer tasks in order to defend ships in port and on raids.” Largely, using dolphins for military purposes is no secret. The U.S. Navy trains dolphins to hunt mines, and tests several dolphin-based systems designed to stop enemy divers from infiltrating harbors. The Soviet Union had a dolphin program of its own based at the Black Sea port of Sevastopol until the USSR cracked apart. The Soviet dolphin unit stayed in Sevastopol, but ownership was transferred to Ukraine, where it was kept afloat by switching to civilian tasks like working with disabled children, according to the agency. Now they’ll be trained to kill, allegedly. If so, it won’t necessarily be the first time. Russian commandos trained to fight dolphins in case the animals were ever used against them. The Soviet navy once deployed dolphins armed with hypodermic syringes loaded with carbon dioxide, according to one dolphin expert who advised the Sevastopol base on caring for the animals after the program first ended. Soviet dolphins were also purportedly trained to attach mines to ships, and were attached with parachutes before being thrown from helicopters. Read More

[theweirdmuseum-blog]

The Alien Theme Park that Almost Was "The struggle to create the world’s first alien theme park, the Alien Apex Resort in Roswell, New Mexico, continues. For the past year, Resort founder Bryan Temmer has worked to secure $240,000 from New Mexico to complete a site plan for the park. But after agreeing to the arrangement, the state has pulled out of the deal. “The funds were appropriated,” said Temmer, “but now they’re saying that to get the money the city has to be the owner and it has to be built on city property.”

Temmer pledges that he will now go out and get private funding — all serious investors are welcome — so that his alien theme park can be built. “I want to make certain that the world knows that I’m not done with this,” he told us. “It’s a great idea. And this is part of what it takes to create something that’s never been created before. No one said that it would be easy.”"

Story from Roadside America

[odditiesoflife]

Bugs with Bling: Works of Art or Nature?

This science/art experiment is entitled The Caddis Fly Larvae Project. After collecting the larvae of caddis flies from their normal environments, French artist Hubert Duprat, relocates these small winged insects to his studio where he gently removes their own natural cases and then places them in an aquarium that he fills with alternative materials from which they can begin to recreate their protective sheaths. He began with only gold but has since added semi-precious and precious stones including turquoise, opals, and coral, as well as pearls, rubies, sapphires, and diamonds.

But the real question is who is responsible for the art - the bugs or the artist? The insects are doing all the work by recreating their sheaths while the artist merely replaced the materials they had to do it with. Regardless of the answer, the result is bugs with some serious swagger.

[theweirdmuseum-blog]

Bigfoot Sightings in Video Games? "Bigfoot (or Sasquatch) is a mythical ape-like creature claimed to have been spotted around North America, and similar creatures in other locations around the world, such as the Yeti. The existence of Bigfoot in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas has been the center of many Internet-based rumors since the game was released. It is impossible to locate where the idea originated, although one theory suggests that this is due to mention of the artist Bigfoot in the brochure that came with the game. Surprisingly, these rumors still persists despite the fact that Bigfoot does not exist in the game.

The idea of Bigfoot's existence fits nicely into the diverse world of the San Andreas countryside, especially in the Flint County and Whetstone areas, with large virgin forests and "spooky" locations, where sightings are reported most frequently. Several screenshots and videos, often blurry and of low quality (mirroring real-life supposed "footage" of the creature), have been posted claiming to show the creature in the game. Sometimes genuine in-game captures of unofficial modifications or doctored images and videos can fool the the reader."

 More here.

[theweirdmuseum-blog]

The origin of Slenderman.