Cathedral diver? Sounds like fun, but this might have been the world's worst job. Read on to find out more in this week's weird Wikipedia article... William Walker MVO (1869–1918) was an English diver famous for shoring up the southern and eastern sides of Winchester Cathedral. He was born William Robert Bellenie, in Newington, Surrey, England, in 1869. Around 1900, he ... Read More...
About Author Profile: Worm
A terrifying Russian fairytale in which a child is pursued by a talking wash basin? Just another weird Wikipedia article unearthed by the Wikiworm for the Dabbler... Moydodyr is a Russian poem for children, written in 1923 by Korney Chukovsky about a magical creature by the same name. The name may be literally translated ... Read More...
Could you handle this dubious drinking trend from Australia's past? Another weird Wikipedia article unearthed by the Wikiworm... The six o'clock swill was an Australian and New Zealand slang term for the last-minute rush to buy drinks at a hotel bar before it closed. During a significant part of the 20th century, most Australian and New Zealand hotels shut their public bars at ... Read More...
Want to get your hands on one of the best nature books of the year? Read on to find out how you can win one of 3 copies of Meadowland by John Lewis-Stemple... What really goes on in the long grass? Meadowland gives an unique and intimate account of an English meadow’s life ... Read More...
Did the Japanese really have giant War Tubas? Find out in today's weird Wikipedia article, unearthed by the Wikiworm... The Japanese war tuba (Known in Japanese as: "Large air sound detector ninety formula") is a colloquial name sometimes applied to Imperial Japanese Army acoustic locators due to the visual resemblance to the musical tuba. The name derived ... Read More...
Could this be the reason why the Queen keeps Corgis? A strange forgotten dog breed in today's weird Wikipedia article from the Dabbler's Wikiworm... The Turnspit Dog was a short-legged, long-bodied dog bred to run on a wheel, called a turnspit or dog wheel, in order to turn meat for cooking. The breed is now extinct. It is mentioned ... Read More...
D'ya want some? Do ya? Learn how to batter assailants with your broadsheet newspaper in today's Wikipedia article, unearthed by the Wikiworm... A Millwall brick is an improvised weapon made with a rolled-up newspaper. It was named after supporters of Millwall F.C., who have a reputation for football hooliganism. The Millwall brick was allegedly used as a stealth weapon at football matches ... Read More...
What are the wildest stars of rock and roll like when they're at home with their mum and dad? That was the premise behind these images captured by John Olson for LIFE magazine in 1971. Pictured above is Eric Clapton with his mother at the house in Surrey where he grew up. In 1971 at ... Read More...
A Victorian precursor to Beadle's About in today's weird Wikipedia article, trawled from the interweb by the Wikiworm... The Berners Street hoax was perpetrated by Theodore Hook in the City of Westminster,London, in 1810. Hook had made a bet with his friend, Samuel Beazley, that he could transform any house in London into the most talked-about address in a ... Read More...
Unintended consequences gives some bureaucrats a comeuppance, in this weird Wikipedia article discovered by the Wikiworm... The cobra effect occurs when an attempted solution to a problem actually makes the problem worse. This is an instance of unintended consequences. The term is used to illustrate the causes of incorrect stimulation in economy and politics. ... Read More...
