Infocult: Uncanny Informatics

Ghost fleet decays for decades in Maryland

During World War I the United States built a large wooden fleet in a hurry.  Not fast enough, though, because the war ended before the ships could see service.  So they were left over, then docked off the eastern Maryland coast, where they decayed for years, then decades. That ghost fleet is now reclaimed by nature.

An Audubon Society representative testified in 1970 that the wrecks “have been there for so long—nearly half a century—that it is inconceivable that they are not an integral part of the ecosystem.” In the end, regulators decided that removing them would cause more harm than good.

(via Charles Cameron at Zenpundit)

Dollhouse, a reborn documentary

"Dollhouse" is a very short (circa 7 minutes) documentary about the creator of reborn dolls.

It's quite warm, even sympathetic. Even with lines like "Nothing worse than a rattly head".

On YouTube:

(thanks to Thomas Burkdall)

Human skull for Hollywood

A human skull turned up adjacent to the Hollywood sign.

Police say hikers have found a human skull in Griffith Park in Los Angeles. Lt. Ryan Schatz said the two hikers stumbled on the skull Saturday afternoon about 400 feet from the Brush Canyon trail near the Hollywood sign.

A sacrifice to the studio system?  The ultimate act of movie fandom?

A bit more detail:

Schatz said the skull appeared to be several years old. Other body parts have not been located.

Where could they be, eh?

The bejeweled dead in their catacombs

The Catacomb Saints is the name not of a great rock band but a group of massively bedecked skeletons found under Rome.

each skeleton was then clothed and adorned into a variety of precious jewels, expensive cloth, crowns, armour and even given wigs. They were put on display inside their designated churches as a reminder to all who visited, for the riches and wealth that awaited them post death – providing they swore allegiance to the Christian faith.

Such displays!

There's a history of violence to these well-dressed dead, thanks to the Reformation:

Many of these skeletons (given the name ‘The Catacomb Saints’ by those who first discovered them) were then distributed across Europe (predominantly Germany) as replacements for the countless holy relics which had been smashed, stolen or destroyed during the Protestant Reformation.

 

(via Charles Cameron)