Because everyone needs their gourd rattled from time-to-time.
In January 1960, white jazz pianist Dave Brubeck canceled a twenty-five-date tour of colleges and universities across the American South after twenty-two schools had refused to allow his black bassist, Eugene Wright, to perform. He also canceled a tv show where they didn’t want to show him.
Syndrome K was a fake disease that Italian doctors made up to save Jews who had fled to their hospital seeking protection from the Nazis. Syndrome K “patients” were quarantined and the Nazis were told that it was a deadly, disfiguring, and highly contagious illness. They saved up to 100 lives.
Former World Chess Champion G. Kasparov described Hungarian female chess player Polgár as a “circus puppet” and said that women chess players should stick to having children. Later in September 2002, in the Russia versus the Rest of the World Match, Polgár defeated Garry Kasparov.
Romans were known to create tombs for their dogs and gave them epitaphs to remember them by. One such inscription read, “I am in tears, while carrying you to your last resting place as much as I rejoiced when bringing you home with my own hands 15 years ago.”
A Japanese company has awarded its non-smoking employees 6 extra vacation days to compensate for the smoker’s smoke breaks.
Hundreds of love letters between two gay World War II soldiers were found and are being made into a book. In one, one of them wrote, “Wouldn’t it be wonderful if all our letters could be published in the future in a more enlightened time. Then all the world could see how in love we are.”
Dr. Donald Hopkins helped eradicate Smallpox, and is on the verge of killing another disease. He’s taken Guinea Worm Disease down from 3.5 million cases a year to just 13 cases last year.
Everyone in Singapore above the age of 21 is automatically registered as an organ donor. Opting out from this Act will result in you being put at the very bottom of the organ priority list should you need an organ transplantation.
In 1959, police were called to a segregated library in S. Carolina when a 9 year old Black boy refused to leave. He later got a PhD in Physics from MIT, and died in 1986, one of the astronauts aboard the space shuttle Challenger. The library that refused to lend him books is now named after him.
A 13-year-old opened a hot dog stand in front of his home in Minnesota, causing a complaint to the health department. Instead of shutting him down, the inspectors helped him bring his stand up to code and paid the $87 fee for his permit out of their own pockets.
When NASA used electronic computers for the first time – to calculate John Glenn’s orbit around Earth – officials called on Katherine Johnson to verify the computer’s numbers; Glenn had asked for her specifically and had refused to fly unless Johnson verified the calculations.
Dogs get sprayed by Skunks so often because Skunks lift their tails as a warning, Dogs see this as “Come smell my butt” which is the EXACT OPPOSITE MESSAGE from what the Skunk is trying to send.
There is a symbiotic relationship between wolves and ravens. Ravens will lead wolves to prey so that they can take a portion of the leftovers. They play games of tail chasing with each other and develop individual friendships.
Researchers taught African grey parrots to buy food using tokens. They were then paired up, one parrot given ten tokens and the other none. Without any incentive for sharing, parrots with tokens started to give some to their broke partners so that everyone could eat.
After losing her position in her university’s anatomy department in 1938, Rita Levi-Montalcini set up a laboratory in her bedroom and studied the growth of nerve fibers in chicken embryos. This work led to her discovery of nerve growth factor, for which she was awarded a Nobel Prize in 1986.
There’s a cemetery in the Netherlands consisting of 8,300 US veterans who died in WWII. For the past 70 years, Dutch families have come to the cemetery every Sunday to care for a grave they adopted. Hundreds of people are currently on a waiting list to become caretakers.
Slaveholders in the US knew that enslaved people were escaping to Mexico, so the U.S. tried to get Mexico to sign a fugitive slave treaty. Mexico refused to sign such a treaty, insisting that all enslaved people were free once they set foot on Mexican soil.
A Scottish woman was sentenced to death by hanging around 1721. Maggie Dickson was hung, declared dead, put in a wooden coffin and carted off. She woke up enroute to the churchyard, the law said her sentence had been carried out and she lived another 40 years known as ‘Half-hangit Maggie’.
Prairie dog language is complex. They don’t just have a call for “danger”: their calls differentiate human, hawk, domesticated dog, coyote etc. and specify size & color. One study found that they can communicate “Here comes the short human in the yellow” (vs the tall human in blue) to each other.
If you grind a marine sponge through a sieve into salt water, it’ll reorganize itself back into a sponge. It’s the only animal that we know of that can do that.
There is an Australian pine growing out of an old railroad bridge in the Florida Keys named Fred the Tree. Fred survives with salt spray, lots of sunshine, and no apparent soil. Fred even withstood Hurricane Irma!
The Schiphol fly is a fly engraved on urinals at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport. The psychology is that men will want to “wash” the fly off the urinal so they focus more when urinating, lowering cleaning bills in public bathrooms.
For those of you who don’t know, my mom was a saint. If you ask anyone who knew Kathryn Shoemaker or had her as a teacher they will say the same. I have never met a person my mother taught that didn’t say she touched them deeply and had a positive effect on their lives. If I’ve been lucky enough to have had that same effect on a student, they can thank my mom. She’s the reason I became a teacher.
You know how many times I’ve screwed up in my lifetime? I mean really screwed up? Made some damn poor life decisions that hurt people I love? Do you know the one person who stood by me, loved me unconditionally, and believed in me no matter how big of an idiot I was?
Mom.
My mother believed I could do literally anything, which in turn has always made me believe that, damn it, maybe I could. It’s amazing what you can do when one person totally and completely believes in you. It makes you want to prove them right.
And it makes you want to never, ever, let them down.
My mom taught me many things, not the least of which was independence. Let me tell you a story about the day I entered 1st Grade. We lived across from Twin School in Bourneville, and my sisters and I were to walk to school from there, a short jaunt of perhaps 50-yards or so. I don’t remember what I wore, but I remember carrying a lunch pail that was yellow and in the shape of a school bus. I was very excited to go to my first-ever day of school.
Anyway, Mom was staying at home at the time and she’d sent us off, probably enjoying the thought that summer was over and she wouldn’t have the three of us in her hair all day.
I should probably add here that my sisters are older than me, Karen by 8-years and Sara by 4-years. So, at the time I was entering 1st Grade, Sara was entering 5th and Karen the 9th. Their job? Walk their innocent little brother to his first day of school.
And that they did until I got about halfway there. At that point I got cold feet and hightailed it back home. My sisters, loving siblings that they were, waited about half a second and continued on to school without me.
Thanks sisters!
Note: My sisters claim no memory of this, but I’d probably block it from my mind too had I performed such a heinous act.
But anyway, I didn’t care, I was heading back to Mom and the safety of my home. Screw this school stuff, I’d made the decision. Even if I hadn’t even started yet, it wasn’t for me. Mom would understand. With all this in mind I get back home, walk up the steps and open the front door, or try to.
Locked.
But hey, I knew Mom was in there because I’d just left 3-minutes ago.
“Mom!”
Knock knock.
“MOM!”
Knock.
“Mom?”
After a few minutes of knocking, yelling and getting no response, I did the only thing I could do. I walked back to school, by myself.
I don’t know what happened when I finally walked in, but I survived. The point is Mom knew that it wouldn’t help me to hold my hand and walk me to school. I’d learn more quickly and get over my fear by doing it myself.
That’s my mother in a nutshell. She never jumped in to rescue me from adversity because she knew that letting me get through it by myself is what would build my self-esteem and confidence.
Why is that so hard of a concept for some parents to understand?
There are a thousand other stories I could tell about my mom, Kathryn Shoemaker. She was honest to a fault, just ask my sisters. I distinctly remember Mom opening up a Christmas present one of my sisters had given her. I don’t remember what it was, but I remember her opening it, taking a look and saying “What am I going to do with that?”
Of course, since I was her favorite she liked everything I got her.
Mom passed away a few years ago but I still think of her several times a day and how she smiled every single time she saw me. Mom was always happy to see me.
So if you have a mom you love like I loved mine, appreciate every moment you have with her. If you’re driving by her house and think of stopping but you’re in a hurry to go somewhere else, stop anyway. If you’re thinking of calling but don’t really have the time, call her.
Because one day she’ll be gone, and that’s when you’ll realize what she truly meant to you.
I’ve always been a big gym guy. I love to walk into high school gyms when I’m out of town, look at the banners, old team photos, all of that stuff really fascinates me. I also love the college and NBA arenas too, although I’ve been to many more college facilities than pros. That said, I was talking with a friend the other day she was asking me where my favorite place to watch a basketball game would be. Aha! Writing material. What follows are some of the favorite arenas I have been to personally and my thoughts regarding each. I’ve omitted high school gyms because really, nothing compares to Donald E. Anderson Gymnasium, better know as The Jigger. Aaaaand we’re off . . .
Cole Field House, College Park, MD – Ah, Cole Field House on the campus of the beautiful University of Maryland. I worked summer camps there from 1989-2003 and became a big Terrapin fan, thanks to my friends Billy Hahn and Gary Williams. Cole was an old, hangar shaped, no air conditioned monstrosity, and God was it awesome. I was behind the bench for many a Maryland game, and when Duke, North Carolina or a number of other teams rolled into that place it rocked. The Maryland student section was insane, man. Here’s something I wrote about my experiences there: Memories of College Park. The story I tell at the end illustrates what Cole Field House meant to Hall of Famer Gary Williams. Cole also hosted the historic 1966 National Championship game where an all black Texas Western team coached by Don Haskins beat the all white Kentucky squad led by Adolph Rupp. Bottom line, I put Cole Field House at the top of my list regarding basketball arenas. And oh, the new Xfinity Center is great but it ain’t Cole.
St. John Arena, Columbus, OH – Once again, a case of the old being better than the supposed newer, and better, arena. St. John Arena, which still stands on the campus of The Ohio State University, is an incredible venue. When you’re on the floor it appears as if the seats and crowd go straight up, and when it was filled to capacity it was loud. Its replacement was The Schottenstein Center (or Value City Arena) and its antiseptic, industrial feel where the fans in the upper seats seem a mile away from the action. Nope, it has never come close to matching the atmosphere of St. John Arena. Note: Nationwide Arena, Columbus’s other downtown arena, is better too.
Shoemaker Center, Cincinnati, OH – Shoemaker Center has succumbed to the corporate naming game and is now sadly known as 5th Third Arena. It’s a place that’s near and dear to my heart because 1) It was named after my late great Uncle Myrl Shoemaker, and 2) It’s the home of the Cincinnati Bearcats, a team coached by my friend Bob Huggins from 1989-2005. I have many great memories of Shoemaker Center, but none better than the night Huggs returned to the city with his West Virginia Mountaineers and I was behind the Neers bench.
Good God.
West Virginia Coliseum, Morgantown, WV – I’ve had some amazing times in the WVU Coliseum, seeing some great games and having some incredible experiences thanks to my old friends Huggs and Billy Hahn. WVU Coliseum is unique in that, although it holds 14,000 people, seems almost like a high school gym. I mean, you walk in and it seems everyone knows you. People are friendly and extremely rabid in their love for their ‘Neers. And when that muzzle loader fires after a big win or important moment in the game? Good God man, you will jump. And I’ll never forget the night I met Hot Rod Hundley and Freddie Schaus. You can read those stories by clicking on these links: My Father, WVU and Meeting the Legends and Helping Hot Rod Hundley.
Convocation Center, Athens, OH – If you’re a high school coach in southern Ohio “The Convo” is the mecca of basketball. It’s where you want to make it to and it’s where the District and Regional Tournaments are played. My teams played there 9 times in my 13-year high school coaching career, and every single game was special. It’s the crown jewel of Harvard on the Hocking.
UD Arena, Dayton, OH – Dayton may have the most underrated facility in the country, and they have a rabid, basketball smart fan base to boot. There’s really not a bad seat in the house, and during games there’s something about those dark upper corners that are intimidating. Home of the NCAA play-in games.
Assembly Hall, Bloomington, IN – Ah, the home of the great Bobby Knight. It’s now Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, and I spent a weekend there back in the mid-80s and even got to meet The General himself as well as Shawn Kemp. Good times and great memories indeed. The arena rocks, and it’s also the site of the 1979 National Championship game between Magic Johnson’s Michigan State Spartans and Larry Bird’s Indiana State Sycamores. Classic.
The Metrodome, Minneapolis, MN – I’ve only been to The Metrodome once, but the games were doozies. It was the 2001 Final Four and my Maryland Terrapins were there playing the Evil Empire, Duke. Arizona vs. Michigan State was the other matchup, and when Duke took the floor the fans of the three other teams booed them mercilessly. Looooved it. Maryland lost the game after losing a 17-point lead (I won’t blame the officials but damn they had their heads up Coach K’s ass the whole game), but bounced back the next year and won it all in Atlanta.
Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY – I haven’t actually watched a game there but I did take a tour of this legendary arena. Knowing that The Fight of the Century between Muhammed Ali and Joe Frazier took place there as well as the legendary Will Reed game in the 1970 NBA Finals gave me chills. Can’t leave out all the rock bands either as virtually every famous band has played there.
Cintas Center, Cincinnati, OH – LOVE the home of the Xavier Musketeers. It seats a little over 10,000 but seems much smaller. It really has an intimate feel. I was on the floor for Xavier’s upset of #1 Villanova a few years ago and the place was electric.
Rupp Arena, Lexington, KY – I’ve seen several games at Rupp, the first being when I watched the Rex Chapman’s team in the 1980s. The place was huge, holding 23,000 people. My best memory though? Attending the last show of the 1978 Peter Frampton Tour and J. Geils Band lead singer Peter Wolf pouring champagne into my mouth from the stage. Weirdly memorable, man.
Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas, NV – Long story here, but I became acquainted with UNLV legend Jerry Tarkanian after I met him in a bar in the aforementioned Lexington, Kentucky. It’s actually a pretty cool story that I called Meeting Tark the Shark. Tark was a cool dude, man. A few years after I met him I gave him a call when I was in Vegas with my friend Jigger, and long story short I was given a tour of the arena and locker room facilities by The Shark himself. I even got to meet Stacey “Plastic Man” Augmon, a starter on the 1990 National Championship team and future NBA player. All told Tark probably spent an hour that day with me, a guy he’d met in a hotel bar years prior. Unforgettable memory, and I’ll never forget Tark’s kindness and generosity. I never saw a game in the Shark Tank, but I’ll be damned if I didn’t sit in Tark’s chair and look around in wonderment at the arena. Thanks, Tark.
Breslin Center, Lansing, MI – Again, I’ve never seen a game on Michigan State campus but I did go to MSU to coach a couple summer camps back in the late 90s so I spent some time in the arena. Very cool, historic place that gave off some really cool vibes. I also spent a night in Head Coach Tom Izzo’s basement, which is whole other story to tell on another day. By the way, Izzo? Great guy.
Cincinnati Gardens, Cincinnati, OH – I have so many great memories of Cincinnati Gardens, which was sadly demolished in 2018. My father took us to many games there to watch the Cincinnati Royals, an NBA team that featured hoop legends Oscar Robertson and Jerry Lucas. I also watched players like Wilt Chamberlain, Pete Maravich, Jerry West and many more there. We were once at a Royals-76ers game and I really wanted Wilt Chamberlain’s autograph. He was by far my favorite player. Anyway, not knowing any better I decided to go down at halftime and tried to get it as the players walked off the court. At that time both teams exited at the same point, right at half-court, walking together and then going into opposite locker rooms. So, I’m standing there waiting for my hero when there he comes. Listen, I was probably 10-years old but Wilt looked 20-feet tall to me. He was walking right beside Jerry Lucas, and they were yelling at each other, saying words I’d never before heard in my young life. Then, right in front of me they stopped. They were nose-to-nose, just completely going at it. Other players came in and broke it up, but before Wilt left he looked down at me, rubbed my head, and shook my hand. I guess I should say he shook my forearm because his hand gripped mine practically all the way up to my elbow. Hell, even then I realized that was WAY better than an autograph. And years later, in 1992, I got to watch one of my former players Roman Diekan play in The Gardens as a member of the Xavier Musketeers. Special for sure.
Mackey Arena, West Lafayette, IN – I only visited Mackey once, but I loved it. My friend Jimmy Patsos was coaching at Siena and they played a game at Purdue. I loved the atmosphere of the arena. The floor is elevated which is always a unique feature. Siena came close to winning, too.
Millett Hall, Oxford, OH – My memories of Millet Hall are special because my cousin John Shoemaker played there from 1974-75 to 1977-78. Miami was really good back then (made the NCAA tourney) and the crowds were insane. Loved that arena.
Riverfront Coliseum, Cincinnati, OH – I attended many a rock show at this arena, and I even had tickets to the infamous Who concert on my birthday in 1979. Yep, my buddies Tom, Andy and I had tickets the night 11-people were crushed to death, and we were actually on the way to the concert. Fortunately, since it was my birthday we thought a party in Chillicothe would be more fun, and that fact might have saved our lives. And yes, I know about a million people claim to have had tickets to that show. We actually did. We went to the party, and we found out what happened when we returned to Andy’s house around 2:30 in the morning and found his wife sitting on the floor in front of the TV, crying. She thought we’d gone to the concert, and when she saw us walk in she leaped up, hugged us all, and told us the news. Chilling stuff, and I’m glad we turned back. I also saw the Elton John Yellow Brick Road Tour, the Eagle’s Hotel California Tour, Led Zeppelin, Peter Frampton, ELO, R.E.M. and many more acts there. On the sports side I watched my cousin Mick play his home games for the University of Cincinnati there and it was generally not a good experience. UC students actually had to be bussed to the games. Fun Fact: My Uncle Myrl (Mick’s father), unhappy with this setup, soon directed funds so a new on-campus arena could be built – the soon to be named Myrl H. Shoemaker Center.
Georgia Dome, Atlanta, GA – This arena holds a special place in my heart for one reason and one reason only – it’s where Gary Williams and his Maryland Terrapins won the NCAA Championship in 2002. I’ll never forget it. Sadly, the Georgia Dome has since been imploded.
Cameron Indoor Stadium, Durham, NC – Yes, I ventured into this den of iniquity several years ago just to have a look-see. I was actually offered a personal tour by a friendly Duke employee after I stopped in on the way to the Outer Banks. It’s bigger than I thought and holds 9300 idiot Duke nerds named Hunter, Chase, Bradford, Geoffrey, and well, you get the idea. Anywho, overrated.
Dean Smith Center, Chapel Hill, NC – Of course after visiting Cameron Indoor I had to make the 12-mile drive over to the The Dean Dome, and once again I simply walked in an open door and sauntered around. What can I say? People generally leave me alone for some reason. Anyway, Dean Dome? BIG. It holds 21,750. Place is cavernous, man, and sort of had that antiseptic Schottenstein Center feel to it. On a positive note it lacked that Duke stench, so there’s that.
United Center, Chicago, IL – Ah, yes. The United Center. Famed home of the Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan. It is with a heavy heart that I tell you I have not watched a game in the United Center, although I have been in the lobby. Sigh. Ah, hell, it’s too embarrasing to type again. Just click this damn link: Regrets, I’ve Had A Few: Missing One Of The Graetest Moments In Sports History. I’m sorry. I truly am.
PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, PA – I was invited to watch some NCAA tournament games there a few years ago (2012 I believe) when some coaching friends all happened to have teams playing there on the same day/night. Those friends were Bob Huggins at WVU, Dave Dickerson at Ohio State and Jimmy Patsos at Loyola-Maryland. Gonzaga was also there. I watched Ohio State beat Loyola and Gonzaga beat WVU. It was a very cool experience knowing coaches from three of the four teams though. Cool venue as well.
So those are the arenas I can think of off the top of my head, arenas I’ve either been to or had some type of involvement with. I’m sure I’ve forgotten something, but if one comes back into my addled brain I’ll let you know.
I was in Columbus at a Barnes & Noble recently, perusing the history section. Big history guy here as you know. Anyway, I’d grabbed a couple books and was headed out when I heard my name being called . . .
“Dave? Is that you?”
I turned to look and three women were walking towards me, one of which was the person who’d called my name. They were well dressed, attractive ladies who appeared to be on a weekday shopping excursion. Who they were was a mystery to me.
“Dave! It’s been years! Where have you been? What have you been up to?”
I’ve been in these situations before with men, women and kids, and my usual modus operandi is to pretend I know them, ask some relevant questions, and sort feel them out with the hope that something will click in my addled brain and I’ll remember to whom it is I’m talking.
In this case, though, nothing was clicking.
As we talked, though, I did garner information. I hadn’t seen this person in over 25-years, she was married to an attorney in Columbus, and although she had that psychology degree she’d worked so hard for she’d never used it.
Still, nothing.
How did I know this person? Through family? School? Politics? Sports? I was lost, man.
I must have been looking at her a little too intently, because she finally paused, cocked her head, and said this:
“You don’t remember me, do you?”
Crap. I’d been called out. At this point I figured I could either say, “Of course I do!” and take my chances, but I was afraid she’d say “What’s my name, then?” and I’d then be exposed as not only an insensitive, forgetful fool but also a liar.
So, I decided to be honest . . .
“No, I don’t. I’m terrible with faces. I’m so sorry.”
It was then she dropped the hammer:
“We dated for three months in college.”
Crickets.
She stared.
I stared.
Her friends stared.
Somewhere, a loon called.
What to do? Well, what I wanted to do was crawl under the nearby Nora Roberts book display, get in the fetal position, and suck my thumb.
Instead, I sort of stammered another apology, because really, what could be said at that point? Three months? She wasn’t a casual acquaintance, a friend of a friend, even a business associate. And we hadn’t gone out on a few dates. We’d dated for three freakin’ months.
Good God.
The fact the her two friends witnessed this whole ordeal didn’t help a whole lot, and after a few stilted, awkward goodbyes I got a stilted, awkward hug and she left, undoubtedly muttering under her breath to her friends about what a horrible, insensitive person I’d become.
All I could do was watch them go, shaking my head at my callousness, unintentional as it was.
Disclaimer: This story took place over 45-years ago. As I’ve admitted before, I was young and stupid then. I strongly recommend that nobody acts the way I did back then. Or now for that matter.
When the Great Blizzard of 1978 hit I was living at 178 West 8th Avenue, Apartment C in Columbus, Ohio, just off The Ohio State University Campus. My apartment was in an old house that was split up into three apartments.
A friend and I shared the top floor and other students occupied the other two apartments. Several people I knew lived nearby. Anyway, when the blizzard hit in the middle of the night I thought the place was going to blow up. We’re talking 75-mph winds if I remember correctly.
When the sun came up the next morning the blizzard was still going strong. Everything was buried under snow, and I mean buried. Ohio State was closed. Hell, 51-people died and Major General James C. Clem of the Ohio National Guard described the storm as “comparable to a nuclear attack.” One man reported having to dig down a foot to put his key in his front door. Semi-trucks were actually buried off of I-71.
Anyway, bad.
Naturally my father was worried about me, so he called early the next morning to check on me. Here’s the conversation he later recounted to me. Several times over the years, in fact . . .
“Hello?”
“Hello, this is Dave’s father. I know it’s bad up there and I wanted to check on my son to make sure he’s O.K. Can you have him come to the phone?”
“Well, I would but he’s out getting beer.”
Click.
Oh boy. That didn’t do much to restore old Ralph’s faith in his only son. I hadn’t been the greatest kid up to that point anyway, then he calls to check on me in the middle of the greatest blizzard in Ohio history only to be told by my friend that I’m on a beer run.
And what, he couldn’t tell him I was helping an elderly neighbor shovel her sidewalk or something? Maybe over at the local Red Cross volunteering my services? Geez.
What my housemate didn’t tell him was that I’d slogged down to the corner store. It was owned by some guy who’d stayed open to gouge fools like my friends and I and take advantage of our needs. It wasn’t like I was driving or anything. Besides, somebody had to go. Classes were cancelled and it was a crisis. It just so happened that the crisis, for us, was that we were out of beer.
Key Biscayne: In Central America, iguanas are a delicacy. They’re actually farmed for food. So, a gentleman in Key Biscayne, though originally from Central America, began picking up iguanas that appeared to be dead on the road that had fallen out of trees. They had turned gray and were not moving at all and were very cold to the touch. He put them into his vehicle. Unfortunately, the vehicle warmed up, and the iguanas started coming back to life. They started getting up and running around in the car, causing an accident on Route 913.
Tough day for this guy, huh? All the dude was thinking about was inviting his friends over for a big Iguana barbeque and the next thing you knows his 1973 Ford Pinto is being ravaged by Zombie Iguanas like you read about. That had to be just pure terror, man, sorta like when the deer came back to life in Tommy Boy. On a related note, Florida, man. Don’t get too close to the animals.
I’ve written about my love of Grindhouse movies before. For those of you that don’t know, Grindhouse is an American term for a theatre that mainly shows low-budget horror, splatter and exploitation films for adults. There’s just always been something about the low budget, cheesy way these movies were made that fascinates me. Maybe it was growing up watching Chiller Theater at 11:30 every Friday night that started it all, I can’t be certain. Films like Attack of the 50-foot Woman, Psycho Beach Party and Plan 9 From Outer Space were spectacular. Oh, and those 70s films that were shown at the drive-in? Loved ’em. With this in mind I took a deep dive into YouTube looking for some vintage Grindhouse movie trailers and found some absolute gems. I also love the narrators of many of these traiIers, there’s just something about their tone and cadence that is chilling. I hope you enjoy these as much as I do. Let’s get down to it.
Warning: Most of these films were, by today’s standards, really really politically incorrect.
THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT (1972)
Ah, the Last House on the Left. This movie left me flabbergasted, thrilled and disgusted. It was made with a budget of $87,000, a paltry sum even for 1972. It’s the heartwarming tale of two teenage girls who are taken into the woods and tortured by a gang of murderous thugs. Long story short the girls are murdered, one of girls’ parents find out, and what the mother does to one of the killers still makes me wince to even think about. Shockingly, most of the critics loved this movie. Even more shocking was that my date’s parents let me take her to see this.
I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE (1978)
Famed film critic Roger Ebert lovingly referred to this film as “a vile bag of garbage” and he was right. It’s about a woman who was raped by four men and the revenge she takes on each of them. It is bloody, gory, nasty and violently evil. Watch the trailer, don’t watch the movie.
LET’S SCARE JESSICA TO DEATH (1971)
Newly released from a mental ward, Jessica hopes to return to life the way it was before her nervous breakdown. But when she moves to a country house with her husband and a close friend, she finds a mysterious girl living there who may or may not be a vampire. Jessica’s terror and paranoia resurface as evil forces surround her, making her wonder: Are the visions real or is she slipping back into madness? Really good movie in my opinion.
THE TOWN THAT DREADED SUNDOWN (1976)
This may be the most little known scary as hell movie in history. Even the trailer is spooky. Forget the awful remake from a few years ago, the 1976 original was chilling. It’s about a hooded madman that stalked the lovers’ lanes of Texarkana back in 1946. And get this – it’s a true story. Without giving anything away, the ending was stellar.
VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED (1960)
One day the peaceful village of Midwich is cast into a mysterious sleep for several hours, but with no obvious consequences until all the women of child-bearing age turn out to be pregnant. Their children are all born at the exact same time and grow quickly into very spooky young people with strange white-blonde hair and eerie eyes. Good times!
SCHLOCK (1973)
Ladies and gentlemen, the mighty prehistoric ape Schlockthropus has emerged from hiding after 20-million years to embark on a full-scale rampage across a quiet Southern California suburb, leaving the police baffled and the army powerless. What will we do?
Fun fact – this movie was directed by John Landis.
THE CREEPING FLESH (1973)
A Victorian scientist injects his daughter with the essence of evil. Not even kidding. This film actually stars Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, two respectable actors. That’s nuts man.
VAMPIRE CIRCUS (1972)
What’s better than a circus? Why, a Vampire Circus of course. In 1825 a mysterious circus visits a Serbian village cut off from the world by an outbreak of plague, and corpses start being found totally drained of blood. Jeebus.
THEM (1954)
While investigating a series of mysterious deaths, Sergeant Ben Peterson (played by legendary actor James Whitmore) finds a young girl who is unable to speak. As Peterson joins forces with FBI agent Robert Graham (played by James Arness who later became Matt Dillon on Gunsmoke!) and scientist Dr. Harold Medford, he discovers that all the incidents are due to giant ants that have been mutated by atomic radiation. Peterson and Graham, with the aid of the military, attempt to find the queen ants and destroy the nests before the danger spreads. This movie was one of many made in the 50s that was influenced by the threat of nuclear power and atomic radiation.
MASSACRE AT CENTRAL HIGH (1976)
Maimed by bullies at a California high school, a new student engineers acts of revenge. This movie was made before school shootings began taking place in the USA, making it even more chilling when viewed today.
THE HILLS HAVE EYES (1977)
On the way to California a family has the misfortune to have their car break down in an area closed to the public, which also happens to be inhabited by violent savages ready to attack. A Wes Craven classic whose premise has hence been copied a million times..
PEEPING TOM (1960)
This one was chilling even for 1960. It’s about a loner who works at a film studio during the day and secretly takes racy photographs of women at night. Also he’s making a documentary on fear, which involves recording the reactions of his victims as he murders them. He befriends Helen, the daughter of the family living in the apartment below his, and he tells her vaguely about the movie he is making. She sneaks into Mark’s apartment to watch it and is horrified by what she sees – especially when Mark catches her. Run Helen, RUN!
WILLARD (1971)
Loved Willard and also its follow up, Ben. Willard is a guy who was squeezed out of the company started by his deceased father. His only friends are a couple of rats he raised at home, and their increasing number of friends. When one of them is killed at work, Willard goes on a rampage using his rats to attack. Yes kids, he had a Rat Army! Willard was a weird dude.
Fun Fact: Ben (Willard’s head rat) had a song written about him by none other than Michael Jackson.Here ’tis, with the movie trailer to follow:
THE CRAZIES (1973)
A military plane crashes near a small town, infecting the water supply with a deadly virus that causes insanity and then death. The army moves in to control the situation, only for the civilians to treat them as invaders and then infect them as well. It was a lose-lose situation really.
THE LEECH WOMAN (1960)
A scientist’s wife must kill men to make the serum that keeps her looking young. That’s really the gist of it, the age old battle against, well, aging.
And here are the movie posters for each film listed. Click and scroll accordingly.
BONUS VIDEO! 1950s SCI-FI MOVIES TRAILER COLLECTION
Check out that Spider-Tailed Horned Viper. Dude has a tail that looks like a damn spider. The tail tip is waved around and used to lure insectivorous birds to within striking range and then it’s all she wrote for said birds. Also, this venom is highly specialized for birds. That’s just diabolical, man. Anywho, Spider-Tailed Horned Viper.
[For more cool animals, type “Cool Animal” into the search box over yonder on your left]
![My Concert History: 1974-2024 [UPDATED 4.21.24]](https://shoeuntied.files.wordpress.com/2018/07/crowd3.jpg?w=40&h=40&crop=1){kind=small}
Shoe: Untied 