Strange Times for 14 November 2023

Killer robot, killer religious leader, killer pink pond, killer giant's lair

Hi, all. Welcome to another roundup of some weird news. When I do these weird news posts, I try to get the best local news source possible. I’m noticing that several search engines are returning results from aggregators (like MSN or Yahoo). That’s not cool. Internet search is in terrible shape these days. Be careful on how you get your news. The stuff out there is probably 90% repeated or made up. It’s difficult to find a good source. Even when I find what looks like a good source, so much of the important details of the story are missing. There is little we can do about that. Always be skeptical of what you read online and try to verify instead of just accept what they tell you. It’s certainly, at least partly, incorrect.

The robot who mistook a man for a box

A South Korean man working on a robot that lifts boxes was killed by that robot when it mistook him for a box and crushed him. This is not sci-fi. This is not the first time this has happened but another guy who had an encounter with a robot in an auto plant was only injured. Normally, you “lock out” equipment while you are working on it. The man was trying to repair the sensor (hmm, obviously?) when the robot arm malfunctioned and pushed the man against the conveyor belt. This is terrifyingly unfortunate. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-67354709

Cult leader gets slap on the wrist for 400 deaths

Last spring (April and May) I linked to the story of a mass death of parishioners in Kenya who starved themselves to death under the orders of their leader who said it was to “meet Jesus”. According to reports on the 400 bodies, it appeared some children may have been beaten or strangled to death. That religious leader, Paul Nthenge Mackenzie, was charged… with operating a studio and distributing films without a license. Nothing else. He had been held in custody for six months and that’s the best they could do. There are calls to crack down on extreme religious organizations in Kenya. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/ap-kenya-nairobi-muslims-hindus-b2445429.html

Lion roamed near Rome

Remember when people swore they saw a lion in Berlin back in July but there was no lion? This time the lion was real and he didn’t sneak around. He walked right down the street in Italy, just like lions do. I mean, what are they afraid of? Nothing. The male lion escaped from a circus in Ladispoli, near Rome, and walked around for 5 hours as people hid in their homes. It was reported that the lock on his cage was broken. Good news, though. No harm was done to anything, including the lion. He was tranquilized and returned safely. The escape renewed calls to stop housing wild animals in circuses. https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/12/europe/circus-lion-captured-loose-italy-intl/index.html

No kidding, Echinda

Researchers captured video of a species of echidna in Indonesia that had only been known from an old specimen in a museum. Zaglossus attenboroughi was a surprise find on the last camera card examined. The animal is seen ambling through the forest. Cryptozoologists love the idea that a species feared extinct was rediscovered, but confirmation of an elusive already-known species is not comparable to finding a completely new and unique land or sea creature that has no fossil or ecological history, like a Bigfoot or the (fictional) chupacabra. Take a moment to learn about the amazing echidna - most people have no idea what it is. https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-67363874

Hawaii pond gets a bit too salty

The Kealia Pond National Wildlife Refuge on Maui has made headline news because it’s bright pink. The pink water appeared over the last two weeks due to the ongoing drought that has made the pond twice as salty as seawater, resulting in halobacteria (salt-loving) to bloom. This also happens in the Great Salt Lake. The pond normally receives enough freshwater for this not to happen, so the pink is an indicator that the ecosystem is out of balance. Many news sources have called this “mysterious” but it’s not. It’s now very clear what the cause is. Tourists are flocking to it. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/11/us/hawaii-kaelia-pond-pink.html and https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2023/11/09/pepto-bismol-pink-waters-maui-cause-stir-draw-crowd/

Man claims he saw giants

A man walking in Whitcomb Creek County Park in Oregon claims that a rock face opened like a door and a giant peeked out. He’s since taken down the video from TikTok and is making many more stupendous claims. But not once does he go up to the door and get in close. He entertains lots of commenters’ wild ideas about caves and paths. None of this is very unusual, it is volcanic terrane. People who understand nothing about how geology and erosion works are grabbing attention with ludicrous claims. This is how social media goes these days. Fun story. Complete bunk. https://www.koin.com/news/oregon/giants-are-real-former-sweet-home-oregon-city-official-goes-viral-for-mythical-sighting-claim-tiktok/

Family dog saves family cat

The family cat was missing for six days when the family dog acted strange in the woods near the home in Cornwall, England. Daisy the dog led the family to a mine shaft where the cat, Mowgli had fallen 100 feet down. The next day, rescuers retrieved the cat unharmed. The owners say there is no way they would have known to search the mine shaft if not for Daisy. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-cornwall-67349494

Spider web caught on camera

This past week, I’ve seen two videos labeled as “mysterious” that show a spiderweb catching the light on a surveillance camera. These are easy to spot. Here's a tip - they appear as lights in a line that move back and forth or up and down with the slightest breeze, and people are completely baffled by it! You may not be able to see the entire web because it’s so thin, it’s invisible to the camera. But condensation on the web reflects the light. Sometimes, long strands are visible that play in front of the camera. The movement gives it away instantly. Mystery-mongering sites can’t even fathom such an explanation and instead call them spirits or UAPs. Now you know. Make sure you add your comment to every wacky Facebook post that shows this. They are everywhere.

Here’s one of many examples from a Ring camera.

Thanks for reading!