Institute of Weirdness

weird = fantastic, bizarre, eccentric, unconventional in behavior

This page was updated on 30 June 1996.

The Institute of Weirdness is founded on the idea that "Weird is Wonderful." It is being created now in San Luis Obispo County, California. Initially, it will be located in the home of its founder, Mark Hutchenreuther, who lives in the south county community of Oceano. The title of the Institute is tentative, but descriptive. Its current address is a post office box assigned to an prospective entity called Weird Enterprises.

Current activities include:

The Creative Mischief SIG
Weird ElectroMechanics
The Weird Singles Club

The Creative Mischief SIG

This established Special Interest Group of American Mensa was founded in July of 1992 at the Mensa Annual Gathering in San Francisco. The SIG was founded to counter the belief that Mensa was taking itself far too seriously and needed to lighten up a bit. The modus operendi of the CM SIG is to post signs at Mensa gatherings that are hoaxes:

Added imaginary events, such as High Impact Aerobics which requires extensive protective gear and a signed waiver
Cancelled imaginary events, such as a party to toilet paper the adjacent hotel
Meetings of non-existent SIGs, such as The Evil Twin SIG
Preposterous business opportunities, such as raising Desert Hot Springs Pupfish (an endangered species) in a home hot tub
Fake pleas from the organizing committee, such as a request for volunteers to segregate the green M& Ms
Fake apologies from the organizing committee, such as a substitution of giant mutant chickens from the area around Three Mile Island for Thanksgiving turkeys

Beginning with the Mensa Annual Gathering in Orlando in 1993, the SIG has also held some sort of silly parade. It has now become an expectation at subsequent Annual Gatherings.

The activities of the Creative Mischief SIG are documented on a separate home page.

Weird ElectroMechanics

Originally this was a series of lectures in a class on Electrical Machinery taught by the founder at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo and subsequently at work at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Port Hueneme, CA. These lectures included such topics as stepper motors, linear induction motors, micromachinery, and shape memory alloys. More recently, these topics have been presented in a condensed format at Mensa gatherings. Current plans are to publish a periodic newsletter of this title, which is being test marketed. Topics include both state-of-the-art technologies and other technologies with growth potential, such as:

Micromachinery including gnat robots
Shape memory alloys such as nitinol
Superconducting alloys and the Meissner Effect
Compounds exhibiting Piezoelectric properties
New applications for the Hall Effect
Stepper motors and robotics
Linear induction motors and devices
Other unusual motor types

It is the founder's feeling that the older strange technologies will find new applications in the solution of problems dealing with the newer strange technologies. For example, that superconductors may make micromachinery practical through the application of the Hall Effect. Or that shape memory alloys may find an application as substrates for micromachinery or high-frequency integrated circuits.

The Weird Singles Club

The founder, who is single, has noted that singles clubs continue to proliferate and are getting increasingly specific. There are specialty singles clubs for booklovers, science people, classical music listeners, and artists. There are singles dining clubs, dance clubs, clubs for professionals, clubs for singles with children, and clubs for singles with degrees. Many of these clubs, and the people in them, are a bit boring. The really interesting people are considered "weird," hence the apparent need for the club.

Unlike the proliferating singles clubs, the also-proliferating singles services are incredibly expensive. A number of these are popping up all over, and actively soliciting new clients. With annual fees in the thousands of dollars, it is no wonder the other singles clubs are proliferating, and singles ads are appearing in more and more media outlets.

Whether the people in this proposed singles club are truly weird or merely eccentric, the need for the club is apparent. The name of the club is preliminary, yet descriptive. After upcoming market testing is completed, it could become the Creative Singles Club, or maybe even simply the Interesting Singles Club.

Please contact the Institute founder for more information.

Mark Hutchenreuther is on the Internet and Compuserve.

Weird Enterprises
P.O. Box 13028
San Luis Obispo, CA 93406