It's meaning is clear by context, but what is the original source of the term?

I don't think there's anything to it. Phil made it up I believe [No offense Phil ]

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"...bartenders and shiny stuff and dreams are made of stooped necromancers he seems like a banana wrist having strayed too close to the constellations on their shaved skulls. The rain of frogs ended and a rain of blood comes down. "

Perhaps Phil did make it. I don't believe I'd ever heard the term before I first visisted this website, although I immediatly knew what it meant.

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"Most editorials are written by people that love to argue but got kicked off debate team for not making any sense." -Seanbaby

I've been wondering the same thing, where the term 'woo-woo' came from. I found these with Google a few months ago, so they're from my bookmarks, but I just checked they still work. But none say who invented 'woo-woo'.

The Woo-Woo Credo
Insolitology - the Woo-Woo Dictionary - I'm not sure about some of the content of the rest of this site, I haven't looked too far, some of it looks a bit, er, crude.
Meredith Brooks Mania Cosmic Woo Woo
BBC - CBeebies - Tweenies - song time - Woo Woo Monster
BBC - CBeebies - Tweenies - messy time - Make a Woo Woo Monster

Edited because I hit Submit instead of Preview ops:

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Carolyn

"All the screens are filled with heroes and losers, but the sky's still filled with stars"
...Midnight Oil - 'Golden Age'

I think the term "woo-woo" comes from the use of the theramin in old science fiction B-movie soundtracks. For those that don't know what a theramin is, it makes a high-pitched "wooWOOOOOwoo" noise (for a good example, just think of the Beach Boys song "Good Vibrations").

Sometimes people will imitate this sound verbally when talking about something creepy or strange. It also can be used to describe a person that believes in the paranormal or UFO/conspiracy mythology (e.g., "Bob? Oh yeah, that guy's a real woooWOOOOOwoooo!"). When describing these people on the web, it was shortened to "woo-woo."

That's what I've always thought was the meaning behind the term, anyway.

I thought it came from Homer Simpson

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That was always where I thought it came from too.

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I had my money on Daffy Duck. 8)

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No, no, no. Daffy Duck goes "Woo-hoo, woo-hoo, woo-hoo..."

It's entirely different.

Homer says "Woo-hoo" amongst other things.

Doh!

I said: Phil-made-it-up.

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"...bartenders and shiny stuff and dreams are made of stooped necromancers he seems like a banana wrist having strayed too close to the constellations on their shaved skulls. The rain of frogs ended and a rain of blood comes down. "

As much as I like Phil and all, he did not make up the phrase "woo woo".

I've been using it for years and years. Not sure where I got it from, but it certainly predates my visiting the board.

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"Trying to wrap my head around creationist astronomy is like trying to ride a unicycle around a Moebius strip: it’s off-balance, physically impossible, full of one-sided arguments, and in the end you don’t go anywhere." Phil Plait

My friend used to work with a guy at Papa John's nick-named "Big Dookie" and every time my friend would call his name, Big Dookie responded with "Woo-Woo!'

Don't think he was big in astronomer circles, though...

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When I was at school if someone was being daft/stupid or acting in a crazy manner you would do the 'going round the bend' gesture with your finger to the side of your head and make a noise. The noise would be to imitate the sound of an ambulance coming to take them away to the 'mental' hospital -as it was called then. (1980s) This noise would be to whistle the ambulance siren OR to say 'Woo Woo, Woo Woo' like an ambulance siren.

I thought that is where it came from.

So I think a WooWoo is a crazy person living in there own world who should be taken away for their own good. 8-[

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I don't know the origin of the word. But I've heard it used to describe folks with crazy theories long before I knew who Phil was. I am sorry, but I don't think he made it up.

Probably just one of those slang phrases that crept into the language from an anonymous source. Heh, who knows, maybe it WAS Phil, but I've heard the phrase since I was a kid.

Unified Woowoo Theory:

“Dr. Drob:

I've read both your book on the new Kabbalah and I was impressed. I've read over 50 books on kabbalah and I have to rate yours at the top. I am a mathematical physicist; I teach math and physics at Cal State Dominguez Hills (the smallest of the4 CSU in L.A. county), my bachelor's degree is in physics and my PhD in math. I do research on my own version of a unified field theory, which is closer to what Einstein envisioned than are the current fads. I am writing a book "God is the Unified Field and Einstein is the Prophet." I've found a lot of similarities between Einstein and Kabbalah. While I know that Pauli studied kabbalah, I have found nothing about Einstein's studies. I do know that he endorsed the view of God expressed in "The Soul of the Universe" by Gustaf Stromberg, which is a modern interpretation of the view of Spinoza.

I've been a student of mysticism in general since 1973 and have studied kabbalah for 10 years. My view is that Ein-Sof is the unified field and in a form of kabbalistic word play. I think that Ein-Sof should be thought of as a code for Einstein-Sofia, meaning a merger of science and ancient wisdom.”

www.newkabbalah.com/dialogue.html+einstein+kabbalah&hl=en&ie=U TF-8]Woowoo Linko[/url]

I've thought that maybe it came from the "woo-woo-woo" noise made by the Three Stooges, I think Curly in particular. But I was never sure that that was The One Reason for it, so I could be wrong, of course.

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I'll stick by what I posted in January:

>>>
I'm convinced these "woo-woos" are a subset of the same population that provided certain members of the audiences of daytime TV talk shows during the 1970s.

They're the ones that, when the invited pseudoscientist revealed a metal bracelet that allowed her to contact telepathically the denizens of Altair 4, all went "woo! woo! woo! woo!" while the others applauded and cheered, and a few whistled.
>>>

So, perhaps it's just onomatopoeia.

:roll:

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I thought that were the Rolling Stones... no, wait...

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"Half of what I say is meaningless, but I say it so that the other half may reach you."

I agree with the Theramin theory...(Try saying that three time fast!!), but don't forget the second Twilight Zone theme......woo woo would fit the tune. The original music to Forbidden Planet, now not available due to royalty dispute, was the first, and the music from "Klaatu Barada Nichto", was also spooky in the same way......Not to mention "When Worlds Collide"and other 1950's classics!

Dale in Ala

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"Ad astra per aspera"

Like a number of phrases/terms, I'm betting that it's got several possible sources, all of which could have contributed.

If I had to pick one, though, my money would be on the ambulance origin.

There is an excellent 1953 film on Turner Classic Movies right now, “It Came From Outer Space”, that uses a lot of theramin woo woo music. The music actually goes “woooo woooo”.

We discussed this back in August 2004. Read thread:

http://www.badastronomy.com/phpBB/vi...t=&#318533

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Yes I know. There are two threads on the subject. This is one of them. The movie I mentioned was on TV last night. I thought some people here would like to hear good theramin woo woo music in the movie.