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Kiss’s debut album at 50: how the rock legends went from ‘clowns’ to becoming immortalised

<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/charlotte-markowitsch-1507417">Charlotte Markowitsch</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/rmit-university-1063">RMIT University</a></em></p> <p>It has been 50 years since Rock &amp; Roll <a href="https://www.rockhall.com/inductees/kiss">Hall of Famers</a> Kiss launched their thunderock-doused debut album into the pop culture stratosphere. The eponymous album, released on February 18 1974, became a platform-stacked foot in the music industry’s door.</p> <p>What followed established Kiss as one of the most memorable hard-rock bands of the 1970s and ’80s, with a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1386/ejac.37.1.19_1">globally recognised legacy</a>.</p> <p><iframe style="border-radius: 12px;" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/album/0NjpmoajQlllfKH9FaNliD?utm_source=generator" width="100%" height="352" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" loading="lazy"></iframe></p> <p> </p> <h2>The early days</h2> <p>In 1972, Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons shelved their first ever rock outfit following a short stint in a band called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicked_Lester">Wicked Lester</a>. The pair then <a href="https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/kiss-self-titled-debut-album/">hatched a plan</a> to form a far more aggressive and successful rock band. Drummer Peter Criss and guitarist Ace Frehley were recruited, and the new-generation Fab Four renamed themselves Kiss.</p> <p>By late <a href="https://www.kissonline.com/history">November of 1973</a>, the band had developed their bombastic live performance style, perfected their makeup and signed a deal with <a href="https://ultimateclassicrock.com/kiss-first-record-contract/">Casablanca Records</a>. Yet they dealt with some rocky beginnings.</p> <p>Armed with reworked songs from Wicked Lester, Kiss entered New York’s Bell Sound Studios to record their debut. A mere three weeks later the album was complete – but the band quickly realised the studio recordings didn’t capture the essence of their high-energy live shows.</p> <p>As vocalist Paul Stanley <a href="https://loudwire.com/kiss-self-titled-album-anniversary/">told Loudwire</a>: "What was put down on tape was such a timid fraction of what we were in concert. I didn’t understand it because bands who were our contemporaries had much better-sounding albums."</p> <p>They took another blow while shooting the album cover with <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/31/obituaries/31brodsky.html">Joel Brodsky</a> when, after a mishap with Criss’s makeup, the band were allegedly handed balloons by the photographer since he thought they were clowns.</p> <p>Then, soon before the album was released, Warner Brothers pulled its financial backing and <a href="https://www.loudersound.com/features/the-casablanca-records-story">distribution deal from Casablanca Records</a> after witnessing Kiss play a New Year’s eve show. Although it’s said the band’s makeup was the last straw for the label, the show in question also featured Simmons <a href="https://www.loudersound.com/features/kiss-early-years-history">setting his hair alight</a> shortly after throwing a fireball at a fan’s face.</p> <p>Despite the blunders, the release of the first album set Kiss on a path to becoming immortalised. As Stanley says in his book <a href="https://www.paulstanley.com/face-the-music/">Face The Music</a>: "For all the minuses I felt about the sound or the cover, we now had a finished album which was the prerequisite for all the other things we wanted to do. We were in the game now."</p> <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/D0lit2sT6lY?wmode=transparent&amp;start=28" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> <h2>The Kiss sound</h2> <p>I first heard Kiss as a teenager. I’d just thrift-scored a pair of ’80s-era roller-skates with the band’s logo scrawled on the heels in glitter glue. The salesperson, responsible for the glitter glue, enthusiastically recounted seeing Kiss play VFL Park (now <a href="https://footy.fandom.com/wiki/Waverley_Park">Waverley Park</a> stadium) in 1980 and made me promise I’d listen to them.</p> <p>Overwhelmed by the band’s expansive discography, and the possibility that their name stood for <a href="https://www.loudersound.com/news/kiss-squash-long-standing-rumour-that-their-band-name-is-a-satanic-acronym-were-smart-but-were-not-that-smart">Knights In Satan’s Service</a>, I thought it best to begin from the start.</p> <p>With their reputation of on-stage pyrotechnics and gore, I’d expected something more akin to Black Sabbath’s Paranoid than the jangly riffs of Let Me Know or Love Theme From Kiss. A 1978 review by <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/kiss-194584/">Gordon Fletcher</a> for the Rolling Stone also noted this rift. Despite calling the album exceptional, Fletcher described its sound as a cross between Deep Purple and the Doobie Brothers.</p> <p>Stanley and Simmons have <a href="https://www.guitarworld.com/features/kiss-paul-stanley-gene-simmons-classic-tracks">spoken freely</a> about borrowing heavily from a number of mid-century legends, so it’s no surprise that sonically the album was nothing new. The Rolling Stones’ influence can be heard in the songs Deuce and Strutter, while Led Zeppelin and Neil Young are present in Black Diamond.</p> <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PEa4MrrG1xw?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> <p>The album initially hadn’t risen higher than #87 on <a href="https://ultimateclassicrock.com/kiss-kiss-debut-album/">Billboard’s album charts</a>. A studio cover of <a href="https://ultimateclassicrock.com/kiss-nothin-to-lose/?trackback=twitter_mobile">Bobby Rydell’s Kissin’ Time</a> was released next as the lead single, but the track only bumped them up to #83. This <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.A2262575">commercial unviability</a> loomed over Kiss until the release of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alive!_(Kiss_album)">Alive!</a> in 1975.</p> <h2>Success and beyond</h2> <p>As the band’s first live album, Alive! bridged the gap between the audacious intensity of Kiss’s performances and the timidness of their studio recordings. Their early tracks were repurposed to let listeners remotely experience the infamous Kiss live spectacle.</p> <p>As <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFMD7Usflbg&amp;ab_channel=KissVEVO">Rock and Roll All Nite</a> claimed #12 on the <a href="https://loudwire.com/kiss-alive-album-anniversary/">Billboard charts</a>, the platform-stacked foot burst through the door to mainstream success.</p> <p>Fifty years after Kiss first stepped into Bell Sound Studios, the band played their final sold-out show at Madison Square Garden on December 2 2023. The performance served as a crowning jewel on their End of the Road world tour, a four-year effort with more than 250 live shows.</p> <p>Promised to be their <a href="https://www.triplem.com.au/story/kiss-add-more-dates-to-their-end-of-the-road-australian-tour-172305">biggest and best shows ever</a>, the farewell became a colossal celebration of the band’s legacy. Theatrical pyrotechnics, fake blood and Stanley’s classic opening line – “you wanted the best, you got the best” – were featured at each performance.</p> <p>While both Kiss’s anthemic numbers and earlier catalogue were performed in these final shows, the music came second to the celebration of the Kiss live spectacle.</p> <p>From their carefully designed makeup, to bombastic theatrics and hoards of merchandise, it was Kiss’s <a href="https://doi.org/10.1386/ejac.37.1.19_1">brand building</a> that <a href="https://www.wiley.com/en-au/Brands+That+Rock%3A+What+Business+Leaders+Can+Learn+from+the+World+of+Rock+and+Roll-p-9780471455172">set them apart</a> and embedded them in the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.poetic.2009.09.006">heritage bracket</a> of popular culture.</p> <p>Despite the end of their live shows, Kiss endeavours to stay embedded in public memory. Referring to some of the band’s 2,500 licensed products, Simmons recently spoke on <a href="http://www.tommagazine.com.au/2022/08/19/kiss/">what’s next for Kiss</a>: "Kiss the entity will continue; what’s happening now is a metamorphosis. The caterpillar is dying, but the butterfly will be born."</p> <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Yl5PGoy5X6g?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> <p>With a <a href="https://www.billboard.com/music/rock/kiss-biopic-early-years-netflix-2024-1235291572/">Netflix biopic</a> and holographic <a href="https://www.stereogum.com/2246254/kiss-hologram-era-begins-in-2027/news/">avatars on the way</a>, Stanley and Simmons – the band’s two remaining members – <a href="https://www.nme.com/news/music/gene-simmons-says-kiss-farewell-tour-is-end-of-the-road-for-the-band-not-the-brand-3541117">have declared Kiss immortal</a>.</p> <p>Stanley even suggests the Kiss look has become so iconic it’s now bigger than any band member. This means the torch could be passed on to new-generation Kiss members.</p> <p>Kiss has (quite literally) breathed fire into live rock performance. Now, they’re breathing fire into our expectations of what rock royalty retirement looks like. I have to ask, who – or what – will wear the makeup next? <!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222284/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/charlotte-markowitsch-1507417">C<em>harlotte Markowitsch</em></a><em>, PhD candidate in popular music studies, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/rmit-university-1063">RMIT University</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/kisss-debut-album-at-50-how-the-rock-legends-went-from-clowns-to-becoming-immortalised-222284">original article</a>.</em></p>

Music

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Sunshine Coast clown car driver charged with up to 11 offences

<p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #323338; font-family: Roboto, Rubik, 'Noto Kufi Arabic', 'Noto Sans JP', sans-serif; background-color: #ffffff; outline: none !important;">A 29-year-old man from the Sunshine Coast has been charged with multiple offences after allegedly driving a "dangerously modified clown car", also known as "Silly Sid" through the drive-through of a fast-food chain in Caloundra.</p> <p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #323338; font-family: Roboto, Rubik, 'Noto Kufi Arabic', 'Noto Sans JP', sans-serif; background-color: #ffffff; outline: none !important;">It is alleged that Sam Eyles had purchased the vehicle, which was previously used to perform stunts at a circus, and modified it further to be able to perform a range of dangerous maneuvers.</p> <p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #323338; font-family: Roboto, Rubik, 'Noto Kufi Arabic', 'Noto Sans JP', sans-serif; background-color: #ffffff; outline: none !important;">Mr Eyles is facing three counts of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, two counts each of careless driving and drive with passenger unrestrained, as well as one count each of permit drive defective vehicle, drive defective vehicle, drive unrestrained and passenger fail to wear seatbelt.</p> <p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #323338; font-family: Roboto, Rubik, 'Noto Kufi Arabic', 'Noto Sans JP', sans-serif; background-color: #ffffff; outline: none !important;">Police alleged Mr Eyles also performed several other dangerous stunts on separate occasions and uploaded videos to social media that have been viewed millions of times.</p> <p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #323338; font-family: Roboto, Rubik, 'Noto Kufi Arabic', 'Noto Sans JP', sans-serif; background-color: #ffffff; outline: none !important;">Sunshine Coast Highway Patrol officer Darryl Campbell said the car was mechanically defective in a way where its centre of balance was thrown off to enable it to do front wheelies.</p> <p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #323338; font-family: Roboto, Rubik, 'Noto Kufi Arabic', 'Noto Sans JP', sans-serif; background-color: #ffffff; outline: none !important;">Police said after viewing the videos officers issued 70 traffic infringement notices totalling a combined total of $27,800 in fines and 99 demerit points to nine other people.</p> <p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #323338; font-family: Roboto, Rubik, 'Noto Kufi Arabic', 'Noto Sans JP', sans-serif; background-color: #ffffff; outline: none !important;"> </p> <p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #323338; font-family: Roboto, Rubik, 'Noto Kufi Arabic', 'Noto Sans JP', sans-serif; background-color: #ffffff; outline: none !important;"><em>Image: ABC Sunshine Coast</em></p>

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Netflix and gill: TV for fish

<p>If you are a fish and want to watch TV, this might be the invention for you.</p> <p>Researchers from the University of Queensland have developed an ultraviolet “television” display specially designed for fish. This could help them learn more about how fish and other animals see the world, they suggest in their paper, published in Methods in Ecology and Evolution.</p> <p>“We affectionately call it the ‘UV-TV’, but I doubt that anyone would want one in their home!” says study leader Samuel Powell.</p> <p>Display monitors such as TVs or computer screens have previously been used in animal studies to learn how subjects react to a visual stimulus. But these are suited to human eyes and not all animals see the same wavelengths.</p> <p>“Human TVs generally use three colours – red, green and blue – to create images, but our newly-developed displays have five, including violet and ultraviolet,” says Powell.</p> <p>“Using this display, it’s now possible to show animals simple shapes, or to test their ability to tell colours apart, or their perception of motion by moving dot patterns.”</p> <p>This is a big step forward to learning how fish and other animals react to particular patterns, but you won’t be watching Finding Nemo with your pet goldfish yet – the TV’s not just low res, it comes with a health warning.</p> <p>“You’d have to wear sunglasses and sunscreen while watching it, and the resolution is quite low – 8 by 12 pixels in a 4 by 5 centimetre area – so don’t expect to be watching Netflix in ultraviolet anytime soon,” says Powell.</p> <p>“This very low resolution is enough to show dot patterns to test fish perception in what’s known as an Ishihara test, which would be familiar to anyone who’s been tested for colour blindness.</p> <p>“In this test, humans read a number hidden in a bunch of coloured dots, but as animals can’t read numbers back to us, they’re trained to peck the ‘odd dot’ out of a field of differently coloured dots.”</p> <p>The tiny TV is sufficient to learn how fish react to colour patterns in nature. “There are many colour patterns in nature that are invisible to us because we cannot detect UV,” says fellow researcher Karen Cheney.</p> <p>“Bees use UV patterns on flowers to locate nectar, for example, and fish can recognise individuals using UV facial patterns.”</p> <p>They are using this to study recognition between particular marine life based on scale patterns, to establish who is the boss.</p> <p>“We’ve recently started studying the vision of anemonefish or clownfish – aka, Nemo – which, unlike humans, have UV-sensitive vision.</p> <p>“Our research is already showing that the white stripes on anemonefish also reflect UV, so we think UV colour signals may be used to recognise each other and may be involved in signalling dominance within their social group.</p> <p>“Who knows what other discoveries we can now make about how certain animals behave, interact and think?”</p> <p>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/nature/netflix-and-gill-tv-for-fish/">Cosmos Magazine</a>. </p>

TV

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Today host Allison Langdon clowns Boris Johnson’s wedding look

<p><em>Today</em> host Allison Langdon had a few things to say about British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s secret marriage to his 33-year-old partner Carrie Symonds on Saturday.</p> <p>After a slideshow of some wedding photos released, Ally couldn’t help but resist but take a small swipe at the politician’s wedding attire.</p> <p>Newsreader Alex Cullen announced the news during the program, saying: "Here's your first look at Boris Johnson's wedding from the weekend, with these photos emerging this morning."</p> <p>Karl Stefanovic was the first to chime in, saying: "He's quite the catch, isn't he?"</p> <p>To which Ally added: "Reckon he could've ironed his shirt for the occasion?"</p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7841575/boris-johnson-1.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/a7f5e836fca141b09bd94da13d3cd8eb" /></p> <p>Alex also joined in with a jab, saying: "And wore a tie? At least he wore shoes. She [Carrie] didn't apparently. She was barefoot. Nice summer touch."</p> <p>Boris is just the second British Prime Minister to marry while in office, following behind Robert Jenkinson who married in1822.</p> <p>The wedding turned out to be quite a surprise to the public, considering the couple had sent out “save the date” cards to guests for a July 30, 2021, wedding.</p> <p>The pair got engaged in December 2019 and have a one-year-old baby son, Wilfred.</p> <p>Boris and Symonds planned to get married in 2020 but had to thwart the idea once the pandemic hit the UK.</p> <p>Around 30 guests attended Saturday's service in London.</p> <p><em>The Sun</em> reported the pair had been secretly planning the “cloak and danger operation" for up to six months.</p> <p><em>Image: Getty</em></p>

Beauty & Style

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"Shut up, you clown": Sam Neill slams group calling for an end to lockdown laws

<div class="post_body_wrapper"> <div class="post_body"> <div class="body_text "> <p>A video from the Institute of Public Affairs, a conservative think tank, calling for the end of lockdown in Australia is being mocked on social media despite calls for Australia to reconsider its current restrictions.</p> <p>In the footage posted to the social media accounts of the think tank, policy director Gideon Rozner has called for the “sensible” reopening of churches, restaurants, cafes, bars and community sport.</p> <p>“Our response to the coronavirus outbreak has decimated our society, ruined thousands of lives, turned Australia into a police state and, worst of all, put hundreds of thousands of Australians out of work,” Rozner says.</p> <p>He says that it’s time for state and federal governments to come up with a plan to win the lockdown and let people start rebuilding their lives.</p> <p>“Do it safely with appropriate social distancing measures in place, but do it now, not in six months, not in one month. Now, because Australians were not meant to live like this, and we cannot allow this to go on any longer,” he says.</p> <p>“Enough is enough. It is time to begin to end this lockdown now.”</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">📺 NEW VIDEO: <a href="https://twitter.com/GideonCRozner?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GideonCRozner</a> explains why the efforts by state and federal governments to control the health crisis created by the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/covid19au?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#covid19au</a> outbreak risks creating as much bigger economic and humanitarian crisis. We must begin to end this lockdown now. <a href="https://t.co/5q3gXzgZuP">pic.twitter.com/5q3gXzgZuP</a></p> — Institute of Public Affairs (@TheIPA) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheIPA/status/1246173124758028288?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 3, 2020</a></blockquote> <p>Many were quick to condemn the footage, saying that reopening cafes and restaurants would endanger the lives of Australians.</p> <p>“Are you are satirical performer of some kind? Or just a complete imbecile? Shut up, and stop endangering lives, you clown. In a suit,” <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://twitter.com/TwoPaddocks/status/1246338878862053376" target="_blank">actor Sam Neill tweeted</a>.</p> <p>The IPA is not the only group who thinks the restrictions in Australia has gone too far. Australian National University infectious diseases physician Peter Collignon also believes that the restrictions in NSW and VIC have gone too far.</p> <p>“Not letting people go outside and sit on a park bench, for instance; how will that stop transmission?” he told the ABC this morning.</p> <p>However, he doesn’t think Australia should re-open pubs, clubs and dine-in restaurants until September or October at least.</p> <p>University of Melbourne’s epidemiologist Tony Blakely agrees.</p> <p>“If we just open the doors and went back to normal it would be an ugly zone,” he said to<span> </span><em><a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/health-problems/coronavirus-experts-slam-calls-for-lockdown-to-be-reversed-in-australia-but-loosening-some-restrictions-may-be-possible/news-story/6bf4a7d4175a68098a5996184e48748a" target="_blank">news.com.au.</a></em></p> <p>“We would be in Italy’s zone and New York’s zone where their health resources are overstretched. It’s a dumb idea.”</p> <p>“I can’t see us opening pubs and cafes again until we get a vaccine (in about 18 months),” Prof Blakely said.</p> <p>“I can’t quite see that working but I could be wrong.”</p> <p>He wasn’t surprised by the IPA’s push for an end to the lockdown.</p> <p>“These are extraordinary times and the government has been taking action without parliamentary oversight because they needed to move fast,” he said.</p> </div> </div> </div>

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The psychology behind why clowns creep us out

<p>Hollywood<span> </span><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095444/?ref_=nv_sr_1">has</a><span> </span><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1156398/?ref_=nv_sr_1">long</a><span> </span><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2900624/?ref_=fn_al_tt_4">exploited</a><span> </span>our deep ambivalence about clowns, and this fall’s film lineup is no different.</p> <p>Stephen King’s evil clown,<span> </span><a href="https://ramirezmedia.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/wpid-clown-pennywise.jpg">Pennywise</a>, will make his second screen appearance in two years in “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7349950/?ref_=nv_sr_1?ref_=nv_sr_1">It Chapter Two</a>,” while Batman’s demented nemesis The Joker, played by Joaquin Phoenix, will appear as the antihero of his origin story, “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7286456/?ref_=nv_sr_1?ref_=nv_sr_1">Joker</a>.”</p> <p>How did a mainstay of children’s birthday parties start to become an embodiment of pure evil?</p> <p>In fact,<span> </span><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7189401.stm">a 2008 study conducted in England</a><span> </span>revealed that very few children actually like clowns. It also concluded that the common practice of decorating children’s wards in hospitals with pictures of clowns may create the exact opposite of a nurturing environment. It’s no wonder<span> </span><a href="http://hotair.com/archives/2011/05/20/mcdonalds-ceo-to-food-police-the-clowns-going-nowhere/">so many people hate Ronald McDonald</a>.</p> <p>But as a psychologist, I’m not just interested in pointing out that clowns give us the creeps; I’m also interested in why we find them so disturbing. In 2016, I published a study entitled “<a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0732118X16300320">On the Nature of Creepiness</a>” with one of my students, Sara Koehnke, in the journal<span> </span><a href="http://www.journals.elsevier.com/new-ideas-in-psychology">New Ideas in Psychology</a>. While the study was not specifically looking at the creepiness of clowns, much of what we discovered can help explain this intriguing phenomenon.</p> <p><strong>The march of the clowns</strong></p> <p><a href="http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/the-history-and-psychology-of-clowns-being-scary-20394516/?no-ist">Clown-like characters</a><span> </span>have been around for thousands of years. Historically, jesters and clowns have been a vehicle for satire and for poking fun at powerful people. They provided a safety valve for letting off steam and they were granted unique freedom of expression – as long as their value as entertainers outweighed the discomfort they caused the higher-ups.</p> <p>Jesters and others persons of ridicule go back at least to ancient Egypt, and the English word “clown” first appeared sometime in the 1500s, when Shakespeare used the term to describe foolish characters in several of his plays. The now familiar circus clown – with its painted face, wig and oversized clothing – arose in the 19th century and has changed only slightly over the past 150 years.</p> <p>Nor is the trope of the evil clown anything new. In 2016, writer<span> </span><a href="http://benjaminradford.com/">Benjamin Radford</a><span> </span>published “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Bad-Clowns-Benjamin-Radford/dp/0826356664">Bad Clowns</a>,” in which he traces the historical evolution of clowns into unpredictable, menacing creatures.</p> <p>The persona of the creepy clown really came into its own after serial killer<span> </span><a href="http://www.biography.com/people/john-wayne-gacy-10367544">John Wayne Gacy</a><span> </span>was captured. In the 1970s, Gacy appeared at children’s birthday parties as “Pogo the Clown” and also regularly painted pictures of clowns. When the authorities discovered that he had killed at least 33 people, burying most of them in the crawl space of his suburban Chicago home, the connection between clowns and dangerous psychopathic behavior became forever fixed in the collective unconscious of Americans.</p> <p>Then, for several months in 2016,<span> </span><a href="http://www.vocativ.com/356953/creepy-clown-sightings/">creepy clowns terrorized America</a>.</p> <p>Reports emerged from at least 10 different states. In Florida,<span> </span><a href="http://www.sun-sentinel.com/features/gone-viral/sfl-creepy-clowns-lurk-around-florida-as-part-of-dangerous-nationwide-trend-20160927-htmlstory.html">fiendish clowns were spotted lurking by the side of the road</a>. In South Carolina, clowns were reportedly trying to<span> </span><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/31/us/creepy-clown-sightings-in-south-carolina-cause-a-frenzy.html?_r=0">lure women and children into the woods</a>.</p> <p>It isn’t clear which of these incidents were tales of clowning around and which were truly menacing abduction attempts. Nonetheless, the perpetrators seem to be tapping into the primal dread that so many children – and more than a few adults – experience in the presence of clowns.</p> <p><strong>The nature of creepiness</strong></p> <p>Psychology can help explain why clowns – the supposed purveyors of jokes and pranks – often end up sending chills down our spines.</p> <p><a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0732118X16300320">My research</a><span> </span>was the first empirical study of creepiness, and I had a hunch that feeling creeped out might have something to do with ambiguity – about not really being sure how to react to a person or situation.</p> <p>We recruited 1,341 volunteers ranging in age from 18 to 77 to fill out an online survey. In the first section of the survey, our participants rated the likelihood that a hypothetical “creepy person” would exhibit 44 different behaviors, such as unusual patterns of eye contact or physical characteristics like visible tattoos. In the second section of the survey, participants rated the creepiness of 21 different occupations, and in the third section they simply listed two hobbies that they thought were creepy. In the final section, participants noted how much they agreed with 15 statements about the nature of creepy people.</p> <p><a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/out-the-ooze/201505/how-we-decide-whos-creepy">The results</a><span> </span>indicated that people we perceive as creepy are much more likely to be males than females, that unpredictability is an important component of creepiness and that unusual patterns of eye contact and other nonverbal behaviors set off our creepiness detectors big time.</p> <p>Unusual or strange physical characteristics such as bulging eyes, a peculiar smile or inordinately long fingers did not, in and of themselves, cause us to perceive someone as creepy. But the presence of weird physical traits can amplify any other creepy tendencies that the person might be exhibiting, such as persistently steering conversations toward peculiar sexual topics or failing to understand the policy about bringing reptiles into the office.</p> <p>When we asked people to rate the creepiness of different occupations, the one that rose to the top of the creep list was – you guessed it – clowns.</p> <p>The results were consistent with my theory that getting “creeped out” is a response to the ambiguity of threat and that it is only when we are confronted with uncertainty about threat that we get the chills.</p> <p>For example, it would be considered rude and strange to run away in the middle of a conversation with someone who is sending out a creepy vibe but is actually harmless; at the same time, it could be perilous to ignore your intuition and engage with that individual if he is, in fact, a threat. The ambivalence leaves you frozen in place, wallowing in discomfort.</p> <p>This reaction could be adaptive, something humans have evolved to feel, with being “creeped out” a way to maintain vigilance during a situation that could be dangerous.</p> <p><strong>Why clowns set off our creep alert</strong></p> <p>In light of our study’s results, it is not at all surprising that we find them to be creepy.</p> <p><a href="http://www.raminader.com/">Rami Nader</a><span> </span>is a Canadian psychologist who studies coulrophobia, the irrational fear of clowns. Nader believes that clown phobias are fueled by the fact that clowns wear makeup and disguises that hide their true identities and feelings.</p> <p>This is perfectly consistent with my hypothesis that it is the inherent ambiguity surrounding clowns that make them creepy. They seem to be happy, but are they really? And they’re mischievous, which puts people constantly on guard. People interacting with a clown during one of his routines never know if they are about to get a pie in the face or be the victim of some other humiliating prank. The highly unusual physical characteristics of the clown – the wig, the red nose, the makeup, the odd clothing – only magnify the uncertainty of what the clown might do next.</p> <p>There are certainly other types of people who creep us out; taxidermists and undertakers made a good showing on the creepy occupation spectrum. But they have their work cut out for them if they aspire to the level of creepiness that we automatically attribute to clowns.</p> <p>In other words, they have big shoes to fill.</p> <p><em>This is an updated version of an article originally published on Sep. 28, 2016</em>. <em>Written by Frank T. McAndrew. Republished with permission of <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-psychology-behind-why-clowns-creep-us-out-65936">The Conversation.</a></em></p>

Mind

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Karl Stefanovic “tests” man with clown phobia in the most confronting way possible

<p>Former<span> </span><em>Today<span> </span></em>host Karl Stefanovic has dressed up as a clown to test whether or not a man had a phobia on<span> </span><em>This Time Next Year</em>.</p> <p>The 45-year-old put on a red nose, a colourful wig and rode a mini bicycle as guest Scott Cunningham spoke about his intense phobia of clowns.</p> <p>The father-of-two from NSW pledged to overcome his fear.</p> <p>Scott mentioned that his fear came from watching Stephen King’s movie IT as a child.</p> <p>“It's not just scared, but it's even more than that,” Scott revealed.</p> <p>“I actually have a different type of fear where I don't run away, I actually get quite violent and attack the clown.”</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"> <p dir="ltr">Phobias are serious and anyone can be affected. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TTNY?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TTNY</a> <a href="https://t.co/35bbK5qi0r">pic.twitter.com/35bbK5qi0r</a></p> — This Time Next Year (@TTNY) <a href="https://twitter.com/TTNY/status/1168485501998792705?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 2, 2019</a></blockquote> <p>Scott said that when he sees a clown, he “gets anxiety straight away, my heart pounds and I get short of breath.”</p> <p>Scott also said that he wants to get over his fear of clowns so he can take his children to the circus.</p> <p>After 12 months of receiving therapy treatment from psychologist John Malouff, Scott returned back to<span> </span><em>This Time Last Year</em><span> </span>to update the show on his progress.</p> <p>“I've completely overcome my fear of clowns,” Scott said, as he revealed that he'd taken his wife and children to the circus and even got a tattoo of a clown on his leg.</p> <p>Karl put on a red nose, colourful wig and rode a bike on stage to test whether Scott had really dealt with his fear.</p> <p>“Any anxiety?” Karl asked the father-of-two as he put on his costume. </p> <p>“None whatsoever, you just look a bit silly,” Scott laughed.</p> <p><em>This Time Next Year<span> </span></em>is on Channel Nine at 8:40 pm on Monday night.</p>

Caring

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US airports use clowns, candy and ponies to relax passengers

<p>Airports across the US are recruiting clowns and miniature animals in a bid to soothe grumpy passengers.</p> <p>As the busy summer season kicks off, droves of holidaymakers are facing lengthy airport security queues and delayed flights.</p> <p>Many have been venting their frustration with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) on Twitter, using the hashtag #iHateTheWait.</p> <p>Desperate to lighten the mood, airport bosses have been forced to come up with some creative solutions.</p> <p>San Diego International Airport has brought in circus performers to help keep delayed passengers smiling, Good Morning America reported.</p> <p><img width="500" height="394" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/24050/airport-pony-in-text-1_500x394.jpg" alt="Airport Pony In Text 1"/></p> <p>Meanwhile, Denver International Airport is literally sweetening up its customers, offering candy to those waiting in long lines.</p> <p>And Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport has even enlisted "therapy ponies", miniature horses whose sole job is to delight passengers.</p> <p>"Animals help reduce stress and anxiety levels and put smiles on people's faces," airport spokeswoman Mindy Kershner told NBC news.</p> <p>"Unlike service animals, who are working and should not be touched, therapy animals can be patted and hugged."</p> <p><img width="500" height="254" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/24049/airport-pony-in-text-2_500x254.jpg" alt="Airport Pony In Text 2"/></p> <p>The TSA has attributed the long lines to an increased number of travellers, more passengers bringing carry-on bags, the need for more robust security screenings, and a decrease in the number of security officers.</p> <p>This week USA Today reported 450 American Airlines passengers were stranded at Chicago's O'Hare Airport overnight after getting stuck in TSA queues.</p> <p>What do you think about the US airport’s solution? Do you think you could use something like this to brighten your mood on overseas trips?</p> <p>Share your thoughts in the comments.</p> <p><em>First appeared on <a href="http://Stuff.co.nz" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Stuff.co.nz</span></strong></a>.</em></p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><a href="/travel/international/2016/06/beautiful-european-cities-you-never-thought-to-visit/"><strong><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;">15 beautiful European cities you never thought to visit</span></em></strong></a></p> <p><strong><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="/travel/international/2016/06/10-best-rated-tourist-landmarks-in-europe-tripadvisor/">10 best-rated tourist landmarks in Europe revealed</a></span></em></strong></p> <p><strong><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="/travel/international/2016/06/worlds-longest-train-tunnel-to-open-under-swiss-alps/">World’s longest train tunnel to open under Swiss Alps</a></span></em></strong></p>

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