"Woo Woos"??? Been away a while.. can someone explain?

[opiate69]

[onager]

1. Believers in all sorts of nonsense.

Including, but certainly not limited to: magic crystals, medical exams by space aliens, Pyramidiocy, magic water (a/k/a homeopathy), astrology, phrenology, palm-reading, and generally just about any sort of crackpottery you can find in the "New Age" section of your local bookstore.

DU used to be fairly Woo-Woo free, except for their own groups and threads. But lately they've invaded like cockroaches, and they're stinking up many of the general-purpose groups with their raving bullshit.

[opiate69]

2. Ahh.. got it. Thanks! I shall use it confidently now.

[immoderate]

3. I'm guessing it comes from the music that they play...

...on such programs as "One Step Beyond" to highlight that a supernatural occurrance is taking place. The comedian, Robert Klein was great in working this into his act.

Just a guess.

I also notice the James Randi has been using the expression a lot lately.

--IMM

[YankeyMCC]

4. I've never heard it outside DU

is it a DU invention?

[salvorhardin]

5. There was a discussion about the origins of the term woowoo a while back

I'd link to it, but I'm feeling lazy tonight.

I thought it had originated on Usenet but someone else said it orginated with the woowoos themselves as a description of the newage religions.

Some handy links I have, umm, handy:

The WooWoo Credo
http://www.watchingyou.com/woowoo.html

WooWoo the Drink
http://www.acats.org/drinkdatabase/showdrink.htm?id=1010
Drinktype : Shot
Served in : Shot Glass
Number of glasses : 1

0.5 oz of Vodka
0.5 oz of Peach Liqueur
0.5 oz of Cranberry Juice

Take the shot, ride the chuchu train, 'pulling the chain' with your free hand, scream 'woo woo'.

This drink contains approximately 21.33% alcohol.
(Equals 2.36cl 80-proof alcohol.)

Nothing is known about the creator of Woo Woo. It has been provided to the Aristocats drink database by Elli Miller.

[geniph]

8. Back in the mid-90s,

I used to frequent Usenet a lot, particularly alt.support.depression. There was one particular fellow there who used to refer to fuzzy-minded believers enabling one another's delusions as Huggy-Wuggy Woo-Woo shit. I started using the term myself (he was nearly tarred and feathered and ridden out of Usenet on a rail by the shrieking Sisterhood of Hysteria many times, but some of us agreed with his rather caustic brand of skepticism), but hadn't heard it again until quite recently.

I think he invented it.

[Kolesar]

6. I believe in my mutual fund portfolio

...with a bit of irrational confidence.

[beam me up scottie]

7. From the Double Tongued Word Wrester:

woo-woo adj.
concerned with emotions, mysticism, or spiritualism; other than rational or scientific; mysterious; new agey. Also n., a person who has mystical or new age beliefs.

See the history of the word here:

http://www.doubletongued.org/index.php/woo_woo/