Weekly Weird News for 14 October 2022

Fact checking isn't enough

Hello and welcome to another edition of my weekly summary of curated weird news. It’s been a busier week than the last two so let’s get right to it - a lot to digest.

Lost wedding ring found after Ian

A woman lost her wedding ring in her yard in the days prior to Hurricane Ian hitting the area. She and her family looked for it for two days. During the after-storm cleanup, the ring was found under a brush pile. She took it as a sign of hope for their community. https://apnews.com/article/hurricanes-florida-storms-fort-myers-f29aab17a00d5d92df557ac4db693c4e

Large bird attacks small dog

A small dog was attacked by a large bird on the Isle of Man. The elderly dog suffered puncture wounds and the owner thinks the bird may have tried multiple times to carry the dog away. People should be watchful of small dogs from attacks by mainly larger land predators like mountain lions or coyotes where they exist. But even large raptors have trouble lifting more than 2 lbs and carrying it for any distance. It doesn’t mean some won’t try. There have been many stories and outright hoaxes about large birds carrying away children. While some birds do try, they don’t succeed although that may not have been the result centuries ago. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-isle-of-man-63175647

Holy croc

A large crocodile that lived in an Indian lake and was seen as the protector of the nearby temple has died. It was given an elaborate funeral by the villagers. The animal was fed sacred food in keeping with the Hindu tradition. “Babiya” reportedly never attacked anyone and was revered as “divine”. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/crocodile-babia-dies-guarding-temple-nearly-80-years-india/

Weird things washing up on Oregon beaches

I’ve found two stories this week of odd things appearing on Oregon shores. First. Police released a warning that three military explosives training devices have been found in the Newport area. People should not touch them but call police. Their origin is yet undetermined. https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/09/us/newport-beach-hand-grenades/index.html

Secondly, a globster! A massive blob of unknown animal material washed up on shore in Florence. It appears to have been floating around and washing up repeatedly for a while. The remains look strange, as if the creature had “hair” and tentacles. Most people don’t realize that remains of whales and basking sharks take on this bizarre appearance as the hard-to-break-down collagen parts are all that remain and renders the thing unidentifiable. Luckily, pictures posted to Facebook resulted in someone pointing out what it was (and was not). And the reporters were able to then Google it to flesh out the mystery. https://ktla.com/news/what-the-large-mysterious-blob-like-creature-washes-ashore-in-oregon/

Doctor says Australian man wasn’t dead at the morgue

A doctor in Perth, Australia registered a complaint that a man might still have been alive when his body was sent to the morgue in a body bag. In a weird vampirish twist, the doctor said he noticed the body had open eyes and fresh blood. The family, however, is having none of that. They accept that the man, who had been ill, received excellent care and they confirmed his death in the hospital. An investigation may still be ordered. https://www.smh.com.au/national/western-australia/he-had-left-this-life-kevin-reid-s-family-in-no-doubt-he-died-in-hospital-not-morgue-20221010-p5bopx.html

No resolution to Holmfield Hum

Mysterious hums that plague residents occur in many places in the world. Some people are unphased by it and others can’t tolerate it. Lots of money has been spent by communities trying to suss out the source of such noise. In the UK, the Calderdale Council looked but couldn’t find a source to the sound in the Halifax area of Yorkshire. The independent sources all confirmed - there was no conclusion on the source or even if it existed at all. Some residents are unhappy. The world is a noisy place. https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/news/west-yorkshire-news/woman-plagued-mystery-halifax-hum-25187554

Teen swallows dog toy

I’m not sure whether to chuckle or shake my head at this one. A teen accidentally swallowed the whistle in a dog toy while he was chewing on it. It got lodged in his throat. He was still able to breathe, thankfully, but it caused him to squeak. Doctors were able to remove the item but I think he wasn’t laughing during that part. https://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/watch-teen-accidentally-swallows-dog-toy-and-then-squeaks

Bigfoot warning hoaxes in PA

For the past few months, someone is putting up notices in Pennsylvania state parks warning of Bigfoot encounters. The PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, which manages the state parks, stated that the signs have not been placed there by the state but someone has used the logo to make the notices look official. The signs are removed when they are found. https://news.yahoo.com/pennsylvania-parks-officials-release-curious-082822084.html

Swatting on the rise

Because active shooter situations are so prevalent in the US, it’s not unreasonable that police take such calls very seriously. Often, the calls are genuine but another event has been mistakenly attributed to a shooter and panic ensues. A dangerous and irresponsible tactic that is growing in popularity is when people call in fake reports deliberately with the intent to cause police to swarm a location. Called “swatting”, events occurred last week in the Bay Area https://www.ktvu.com/news/false-calls-about-active-shooters-plague-multiple-bay-area-schools and across Florida. https://www.baynews9.com/fl/tampa/news/2022/10/11/numerous--swatting--calls-plague-schools-across-florida The calls disrupt school days and neighborhoods. This is 2022 America where gun violence is a daily fact of life.

The Watcher Movie

Remember the story of the family who were getting threatening letters delivered to them by “The Watcher”? It was a very popular story for years. Now it’s a movie on Netflix. It’s got big stars and even bigger displays of creative fiction and exaggeration. Looks like a “based on a true story” dud to me, but people will remember this hyped-up version as the legend. 

A new paranormal network

Free paranormal content is available on a new streaming platform called HAUNTD. Though it says it will offer high-quality shows, that’s debatable because a ton of paranormal content these days consists of self-made “series” or documentaries for YouTube or Amazon Prime. The quality is not good and the evidence is often manufactured or exaggerated to be extra spooky. I don’t think they will be showing hours and hours of ghost investigators sitting in the dark while nothing happens. https://www.higgypop.com/news/hauntd/

Speaking out about fake news

I am a person who will not hesitate to tell a friend or family member that their Facebook post or repeated news claim is false. That is annoying to them but they should know. There are many platforms in addition to and much larger than my online efforts over the past 10 years that attempt to dispel fake news. It’s a very difficult effort. Just reposting the news as “No, this thing that the media says happened didn’t really happen” is not an effective means of correcting the problem. But outlets still do this. The newest effort is called Rumor Guard https://www.rumorguard.org/. I will be submitting comments to them for improvements for whatever that’s worth. Read about why it’s important to speak out about fake news and to keep repeating the true version and pointing out when outlets post fake news. https://chicago.suntimes.com/2022/10/12/23399580/fact-checking-isnt-enough-truth-journalism

Remember - Speak up about the rainbow fentanyl hoax

I LOVE that at least some media outlets are speaking out against a profoundly stupid warning by the DEA over a non-existent threat of fentanyl distribution to children on Halloween. It’s a fact that government agencies get public warnings very wrong on occasion. If you get a chance to tell people that this is nonsense, say it loud and proud. https://www.npr.org/2022/10/11/1127168627/is-rainbow-fentanyl-a-threat-to-your-kids-this-halloween-experts-say-no