Month: October 2021

This Halloween, Step Into a Mannequin Graveyard

Aside Markozen.com Offbeat

You can even take these unnerving, almost-human figures home with you.

Film crews, like the one pictured here, have used the 20-foot-tall mountain of mannequins as a backdrop for horror movies and music videos.

Film crews, like the one pictured here, have used the 20-foot-tall mountain of mannequins as a backdrop for horror movies and music videos. DAVE HOLLOWAY

IN LINCOLNSHIRE, ENGLAND, ROZ EDWARDS is known as the “Mannequin Lady.” Over the past fifteen years, Edwards has built an impressive a collection of some 15,000 human-like forms. She regularly rents them to shows like “X Factor” and “Top Gear,” but she has amassed so many that the majority now form a mountain. The 20-foot-tall mound that stretches for 150 feet was originally christened Dollywood, but is now called Manakin Hall—to sound more posh, Edwards jokes. Photography, film and music video shoots have used the mannequins as creepy backdrop.

And Edwards now offers what might be the world’s most unique souvenir: For about $70, you have 15 minutes to fill your car trunk with as many mannequins as you like; she calls it the “Body Part Heist.” Atlas Obscura chatted with Edwards about — literally — building her unique business and the unexpected appeal of mannequins.

Roz Edwards says that counting the mannequins in the mountain is "like herding cats." She puts the number somewhere around 15,000.
Roz Edwards says that counting the mannequins in the mountain is “like herding cats.” She puts the number somewhere around 15,000. PAUL GREEVES

What inspired you to start Mannakin Hall?

I lived in Malawi for 10 years, went through a relationship breakdown, and returned to England with literally nothing. I was determined to get a business going. I used to have an African art shop, so I thought I’d be a retail consultant. Whilst I was building the website, I thought “What else can I write about retail?” So I wrote down everything I knew. Then I thought, “I don’t know anything about mannequins.” I got pictures off the internet and wrote, “These mannequins are for hire and here’s my phone number.” Within 24 hours my phone started ringing with people asking for them. But I didn’t have any mannequins, so I said, “Oh, terribly sorry, they’re all out on hire at the moment.”

How did you go from zero mannequins to a mountain?

This was about the time the credit crunch started in 2007. A lot of shops were closing, especially people who had clothing businesses for years and had all these old mannequins. I drove around the countryside picking them up. They take up a lot of space. I had mannequins in the house, then I moved them into a shipping container, and then I rented a warehouse. The business was doing well, so I bought a property. When the trucks first started coming, we said, “Well put the men there, the women there, the children there, the legs there, the bums there.” Then we’d have four big trucks a day. It was a case of “ just empty them there.” That’s how the mountain grew. We’ve got about 3,000 for rent. In the mountain, I’m not sure of the number because when you start counting, it’s like herding cats.

"People who come in the daytime say, 'I bet it's scary here at night,'" says Edwards. She offers Halloween tours of the eerie property.
“People who come in the daytime say, ‘I bet it’s scary here at night,’” says Edwards. She offers Halloween tours of the eerie property. ROZ EDWARDS

What makes mannequins appealing?

First of all, they’re very unusual things to look at. We’re geared up as human beings to respond to the human form. Mannequins attract our attention because if we see the shape of a human out of the corner of our eye, our survival instincts are geared to turn the head and look. They’re so unusual, visually, when they’re bought into creative environments. For a Halloween-inspired performance, “X Factor” rented about 10 mannequins to go along with 10 dancers. The mannequins were all white with plain faces and the dancers wore white body suits. Obviously they moved but the mannequins didn’t. It looked amazing.

You also specialize in obscure mannequins; what are some of the most interesting ones?

We have one we named Audrey after Audrey Hepburn. Christie’s is one of my clients and they were auctioning all of Hepburn’s clothes, so they needed the right-sized mannequin, with a 21-inch waist. I also have a full-sized artist’s mannequin called Bertie. Artist mannequins are articulated; you compose them for what you’re drawing. He’s very rare. Also sizing: Most mannequins are between sizes 8 and 10. We have bigger ones that are 16 to 18 for plus-sized fashion, but they’re quite rare.

Hands are one of the most popular items in the "Body Part Heist." "I’ve had people just fill up the car with hands," Edwards says. There is now a five-pair limit.
Hands are one of the most popular items in the “Body Part Heist.” “I’ve had people just fill up the car with hands,” Edwards says. There is now a five-pair limit. PAUL GREEVES

Who participates in the “Body Part Heist”?

We just had somebody who’s building a Halloween set in their garden for which they’ll probably put a bucket outside and raise money for charity. We had a university fine art tutor who collected bits for his students to work on as blank canvases. We’ve had people making props for films. One person was building a robot, which is so cute. Then we get lots of people who’ve got a small business or side hustle. They make lamps or planters with the body parts and then decorate and sell them, usually somewhere like Etsy. I mean it really caters to everybody.

What would happen to these mannequins if they weren’t a part of the mountain?

Normally they get crushed and go into landfill. I’ve seen it with the roller crusher; it’s heartbreaking. The new ones are made of hard plastic resin, but old ones are made of fiberglass, which you can’t recycle. When you look at mannequins being thrown away, there’s nothing wrong with them. They need a bit of repair here and there.

“Birds Aren’t Real”

Aside Markozen.com Bizarre, Satire, Scary

‘Birds Aren’t Real’: Whether comedy or conspiracy, the movement explains the post-truth era

'Birds Aren't Real': Whether comedy or conspiracy, the movement explains the post-truth era

via Birds Aren’t Real / Instagram

A lot of talking heads have remarked that we live in a post-truth era. In 2016, the Oxford Dictionary defined it as “Relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.”

Media bias, political microtargeting, social media, fake news websites, Donald Trump, and man’s innate desire to prefer being right over correct, have all unwillingly conspired to create a society where people cling to tribal beliefs, regardless of their validity.

This has resulted in a social milieu where conspiracy theories have become mainstream. Sure, they’ve always been around, but they seem to have recently graduated from the basement to the mainstream.

Open up Facebook and you’re sure to find a post from someone about QAnon, flat-Earth theory, pizzagate, faked moon landings, false-flag shootings, 9/11 truth, Bill Gates’ microchips, and Birds Aren’t Real.

Yep, Birds Aren’t Real is a thing. A pretty big one, too. Birds Aren’t Real has over 300,000 followers on Instagram and 66,000 on Twitter. Plus, there are local Birds Aren’t Real chapters sprouting up all over the U.S.

The theory postulates that in the ’50s, the CIA began killing off America’s bird population and replacing them with flying surveillance robots. Birds Aren’t Real estimates there are currently 12 billion birds watching us from above.

The group recently held a rally in the non-specific town of Springfield.

However, it’s pretty clear that Birds Aren’t Real isn’t an actual conspiracy theory. Rather, a piece of comedic performance art revealing how ridiculous ideas take hold in the post-truth era.

Its de facto leader Peter McIndoe won’t tell you that it’s a fake conspiracy, at least not overtly.

“That’s one of the saddest things, that people consider that this could be some sort of mass-improvisational performance, or some sort of showcasing, highlighting a new era we’ve entered into as a society where anything can be true,” he told Newsweek. “Even if [the movement being satirical] was the case, you really wouldn’t even be able to tell.”

He thinks that if it were a parody movement, it could help people cope with living in absurd times.

“I think if it were a parody movement, that might be a point it was trying to make, or maybe, allowing people to cope with those types of presences in our society in a way where you can come together and laugh about the absurdity of a post-truth era, because it’s a horrifying thing,” he said. “The thing is, we’re not that, though.”

While for many, the conspiracy theory is a way to shine a light on the ridiculous conspiracy theories corrupting society, McIndoe claims he isn’t stopping until all of the birds are culled from the sky.

“The end to this project would only exist in the case of societal acceptance and shutting down the 12 billion robot birds that currently swarm the skies of our nation,” McIndoe said, tongue planted firmly in cheek.

Drones Rain from the Sky onto Chinese City Following Light Show Fail

Aside Markozen.com Bizarre, Technology

A wild video out of China shows the moment when an elaborate light show went awry and dozens of drones began raining down onto stunned spectators watching from below. The eerie scene reportedly unfolded last Friday evening as part of an event celebrating the anniversary of a prominent shopping mall in the city of Zhengzhou. Part of the festivities included a light show wherein around 200 illuminated drones would form the name of the mall, Wanda Plaza, over a crowd of onlookers. However, shortly after the UAVs took flight, the performance took a rather dystopian turn as several of the devices suddenly began to falter and subsequently drop from the sky.

One witness managed to capture the chaos on film and, in the video, dozens of the ‘dead’ drones can be seen falling to the Earth like wayward stars as the people in the crowd shout to each other watch out for the errant UAVs. Some onlookers took cover from the deluge of devices that were crashing onto the pavement, cars, and trees, while other enterprising individuals attempted to snag the downed drones, perhaps thinking that they would be of some value or maybe as merely a memento from the very weird incident. As for what could have caused the mishap, the leading theory is that it was simply a dropped internet connection, though there are also rumblings that it could have been the result of a rival drone company sabotaging the event.

Orphaned Gorilla Passes Away in the Arms of Best Friend

Aside Markozen.com Animals

Orphaned mountain gorilla, Ndakasi, dies in the arms of lifelong caretaker and friend, Andre Bauma.

Ndakazi “took her final breath in the loving arms of her caretaker and lifelong friend, Andre Bauma,” a statement from the Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo said Tuesday.

She died last month after battling a prolonged illness at the park’s Senkwekwe Center where she had lived for more than a decade, the statement added.

Bauma had looked after Ndakasi ever since she was found clinging to her dead mother’s body by national park rangers and taken to the center which is known for taking care of orphaned mountain gorillas, the statement said.

Her mother had been shot by armed militia as part of a series of killings of gorilla families, it added.

Prometheus Film Included Stunning Landscapes of Iceland

Markozen.com Offbeat

Markozen.com's avatarThe MarkoZen Blog

rometheus ( pro-MEE-thee-uhs) is a 2012 American science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott. It is set in the late 21st century and centers on the crew of the spaceship Prometheus as it follows a star map discovered among the artifacts of several ancient Earth cultures. Seeking the origins of humanity, the crew arrives on a distant world and discovers a threat that could cause the extinction of the human race.

Exterior shots of the alien world were shot in Iceland, where filming occurred for two weeks. It commenced on July 11, 2011, at the base of Hekla, an active volcano in southern Iceland. Speaking about working at the volcano, Scott said, “If one is afraid of nature in this profession then it would be best to find a different job”. Filming also took place at Dettifoss, one of the most powerful waterfalls in Europe.

Scott said…

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“Know what I’m saying?”

Aside Markozen.com Language

(yoo no hwut im sa’in), pron., v., pron., n., v.

  1. To let the person your addressing understand what you mean.
  2. Is used frequently through an educating conversation.
  3. A mating call
    1., 2. The carbon-14 atoms that cosmic rays produce, coalesce with oxygen to structure carbon dioxide, which plants take in naturally and integrate into plant fibers by photosynthesis. You know what i’m sayin?
  4. Hey girl, why don’t we go to my place and connect our genitalia, you know what i’m sayin?