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Babies born on the Indonesian island of Bali are still today treated regally under an obscure Hindu tradition and must not be allowed to touch the earth for 105 days. (Carrying the infant in a bucket and setting that on the ground is apparently acceptable.) Each birth is actually a rebirth, they say, with ancestors returning as their own descendants.(Accidentally touching the ground does not condemn the baby but may leave questions about negative influences.)
Peacocks are well known to flash their erect, sometimes six foot high rack of colorful tail feathers to attract mating opportunities. However researchers find that the display might not be important. Body cameras placed on peahens at eye level (to learn how they check out strutting males) revealed that the females gazed mostly at the lowest level of feathers as if attracted only to certain colors rather than the towering flourish.
When I was a kid back in the 60s I saw a comic book in a store that had a shrunken head on the cover. It was a Ripley's and I wanted it bad but didn't have the 12 cents to buy it so I rolled it up, stuck it in my sock and pulled my pant leg back down to conceal it. I collected every Ripley book I could find. I have all the Palance Ripley TV shows on DVD but would love to get any of the original Robert Ripley episodes.
When I was a kid back in the 60s I saw a comic book in a store that had a shrunken head on the cover. It was a Ripley's and I wanted it bad but didn't have the 12 cents to buy it so I rolled it up, stuck it in my sock and pulled my pant leg back down to conceal it. I collected every Ripley book I could find. I have all the Palance Ripley TV shows on DVD but would love to get any of the original Robert Ripley episodes.
I never had any of those magazines that Finn mentioned but I still remember the Ripley section in the Sunday papers during the 1960's. They were in the comic strip section because Robert Ripley was a talented illustrator as well. Do Finn or Wyoming remember that Sunday series? At that time,I was a toddler because it was the early 60s or maybe even the 50s, so I was more interested in the Phantom series then.
It was several years later when I ran across the Ripley paperback books and got hooked. One that stands out for me from those books is the Human-Candle. The surgical procedure was called trephination, meaning to surgically drill a hole in the skull. Normally used for medical purposes but in this case of a man from ancient China, it was done to insert a candlestick so that a lit candle could be permanently ensconced in his skull. The reason he did that was because he was a night watchman.
I never had any of those magazines that Finn mentioned but I still remember the Ripley section in the Sunday papers during the 1960's. They were in the comic strip section because Robert Ripley was a talented illustrator as well. Do Finn or Wyoming remember that Sunday series? At that time,I was a toddler because it was the early 60s or maybe even the 50s, so I was more interested in the Phantom series then.
It was several years later when I ran across the Ripley paperback books and got hooked. One that stands out for me from those books is the Human-Candle. The surgical procedure was called trephination, meaning to surgically drill a hole in the skull. Normally used for medical purposes but in this case of a man from ancient China, it was done to insert a candlestick so that a lit candle could be permanently ensconced in his skull. The reason he did that was because he was a night watchman.
I remember it well. I believe that it dates back to the forties, but ran into at least the early sixties. I remember The Phantom (The Ghost who walks) along with the Pygmy Poison People. There is at least one Phantom serial. It's strange and wonderful.
Good to see you again, Wyoming. Are you still active on the Collectors section? I should re-visit there. I'm still looking for taxidermy of the Two-headed squirrel.
Much as I hate to say it, contrary to the so-called good ol' days that you mentioned, my childhood was very sad and dreary. In comparison, I am much much happier nowadays, thanks largely to the internet. Whenever finding it hard to find a cribbage game partner, I can nowadays easily find a partner online at cribbage websites. And get my "fix" every day! I still marvel at the fact that I can play cribbage with people from all over the world online. It's a wonder. Something that even Robert Ripley would marvel at.
The Phantom is a classic superhero of course but the superhero from my childhood which still excites me to this day is the Elongated Man. It's because in a Ripley book was a true-life oddity called the Elastic-Skin Man who could stretch his skin 8 inches which is what the comic book hero could do! For that, I thank the Ripley books.
Grammatical Oddity: the word "Facetious" features all the vowels in alphabetical order. Makes me wonder whether that's the only English word with that peculiarity or not. If someone can find another such word, they can post here. But so far that's the only one with that particular oddity that I've found.
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