Weekly Weird News for 16 December 2022

What trouble did the animals get up to this week?

Hello and welcome to this week’s roundup of weird news. Readership is rising. Please share this on your social media (but here’s hoping you are less active on the Twitter cesspool site these days). As always, you can follow me on Mastodon or use an RSS reader to do that as well as follow my websites - all in one place!

Let’s get to the news

Crying tree

The most interesting story this week was a viral video of an actor in Pakistan who filmed a tree that was emitting a disturbing human-like sound from a hole in its trunk. Ahmed Ali Akbar posted the video to Instagram after discovering the phenomenon on a trail in the Margalla Hills in Islamabad. The initial report was that the crying sound, which is suggested was audible only very near this coin-sized hole in the tree, was a natural response from the tree to extreme drought. Many outlets repeated the claim that trees make sounds when drought-stressed. However, astute readers of the referenced pieces noted that the ultrasonic sounds captured by researchers in the lab were nothing like the crying sound in this video. Other guesses included djinn, a 4 yr old child inside the tree, woodworms, or some other trapped animal. The hole had been made by a woodpecker and beetle damage was visible on the tree.

The problems with the claim are many: There was no follow-up. There was basically no attempt to find out what the noise was. Critically, we can’t even be sure the video is authentic in its depiction. If real (and not a hoax), more likely explanations include a winged insect in the hole making a whirring sound. Or branches or bark rubbing together and transmitting the sound through the hole. I looked for as many sources as I could find and no expert opinion was available to shed light on a probable cause. The language barrier didn’t help. I also found no other examples of a similar sound from trees or animals. Why didn’t someone go back with a tiny camera and see if there is anything in the hole!? If any readers have an informed opinion, please leave a comment! I remain dubious. The story is now circulating widely. https://www.globalvillagespace.com/actor-ahmed-ali-akbar-shares-creepy-video-of-crying-tree/ 

Florida’s psychic frauds - caught!

Some interesting psychics in the news this week. Both stories are about a certain kind of fraud perpetuated on very gullible and superstitious people who think they may be victims of curses or bad luck and turn to psychics to help them. Both reports are from a place where psychics live and thrive - Florida. Sometimes, they get caught. 

A spiritual consultant was sentenced to 2.5 years in federal prison and her partner over 3 years in prison after they convinced people that they were cursed forcing victims to give them large amounts of cash that they would “cleanse”. They cleansed the victims of their funds, about $3 million worth, but that was it. https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/fake-psychic-partner-sentenced-3m-fraud-scheme-95099594

Cursed criminals

In a more complicated case that followed the same storyline, jewel thieves sent incredible gems from Qatar to Florida in order to have them “cleansed” because they were causing negative feelings and bad luck. Surprisingly, the jewels including a $25 million pink diamond, made it into the country. The so-called psychic turned around and pawned them. When they were later put up for auction where federal authorities confiscated them and arrested one “John Lee” (a faked named) for wire fraud, mail fraud, and transportation of stolen goods. Sometimes criminals aren’t that smart. It’s not clear if the original thieves were caught. https://komonews.com/news/nation-world/report-diamond-stolen-in-90m-jewel-heist-sent-to-psychic-to-be-cleansed-crime-fraud-christies-qatar-middle-east-pink-diamond-wire-fraud-mail-flaud and https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.flmd.408457/gov.uscourts.flmd.408457.1.0.pdf

Monkeys falling from the sky

Still in Florida (Jesus!), here is a very weird scene of monkeys leaping into the water in Silver Springs State Park. The boaters just watch the animals smack into the water making little attempt to back up. The rhesus macaques were forced from the high tree branches into the water apparently because of a dispute between monkey tribes, not to entertain the irritatingly amused and laughing boaters. The non-native animals that have been there since the late 1930s have become increasingly aggressive, sometimes forcing the closure of the park because they attack people. It is also not the first time people have recorded the monkeys jumping into the river and swimming across. https://www.fox13news.com/news/its-raining-monkeys-florida-man-records-monkeys-jumping-from-trees-into-river-at-silver-springs-state-park

Hungry hippo gives up its snack

Did you ever play Hungry Hungry Hippos where you grabbed and ate a marble only to have it come flying back out? That’s sort of what happened to a 2 yr old child in Uganda who was grabbed by a hippo at a local lake. A quick-reacting and very brave hero threw stones at the animal and got it to release the toddler from its mouth. The boy was taken to a hospital for only minor injuries and a rabies vaccine. Headlines report that the hippo “swallowed” him halfway and then regurgitated him but, that seems like an exaggeration. Maybe he was too big to swallow but hippos aren’t carnivores. Regardless, he was very very lucky. https://www.upf.go.ug/two-year-old-boy-survives-hippo-attack-in-katwe-kabatoro/

Treasure nets over $1 million

A few weeks ago, I posted that Forrest Fenn’s treasure was put up for auction. The haul was $1.3 million for 476 lots of items. The finder of the treasure had sold it to a private company that put it up for auction. The top seller was a gold nugget. Let’s hope that the end to the twisted tale of a treasure hunt that cost many their lives. https://www.krqe.com/news/new-mexico/forrest-fenns-buried-found-treasure-nets-over-1-million-in-auction-sales/

Desert mystery may be solved

Strange land features called “kites” visible in the Arabian desert now have more evidence to bolster the explanation that they were used long ago as animal traps for mass hunting. They seem to point to a cliff or other enclosure and may have been used to corral gazelle, or other ungulates, wild horses, and ostriches. Hundreds of these structures have been spotted by drone surveys. The area would have once had seasonal grasslands with herds of such animals. https://www.sciencealert.com/mysterious-patterns-span-the-arabian-desert-and-we-may-finally-know-why

Eating roadkill

It’s a redneck joke to collect roadkill for dinner. But now the idea is more palatable, even to chefs. This article from Minnesota tells how a chef discovered that an accident with a deer revealed a fresh meat source. His opinion is that the stigma needs to go and the meat should not go to waste. With proper processing and preparation, it’s good stuff. In most states, it is legal to take roadkill and usually perfectly safe unless the accident has damaged the internal organs. The meat cannot be served in restaurants however because of food safety provisions. https://www.startribune.com/minnesota-roadkill-enthusiasts-eat-thousands-of-animals-killed-by-cars/600234775/

Murder? Or virus?

Dead crows have been found en masse in an area of British Columbia. It’s unclear what killed them but a new corvid virus is suspected. If it is a virus, it is strange that it’s just in that area. An alternative explanation could be poisoning. Any time a mass mortality event occurs, locals understandably become concerned that they may be at risk as well. https://burnabybeacon.com/article/murder-mystery-crows-found-dead/

Death by musk ox

A man in Alaska attempted to scare away a herd of muskox from his property when one of the animals attacked him and he was killed. The huge animals were native to Alaska, were extirpated, and then reintroduced. The particular animal that killed the resident, an on-duty Alaskan Court Services Officer, is considered a risk to public safety and will be located and “dispatched”. The Officer died from being gored in the leg. https://www.alaskasnewssource.com/2022/12/14/alaska-court-services-officer-dies-musk-ox-attack-near-nome/

That’s a rough bed

Here is a story that is baffling to me. Apparently, in Tokyo, drunk people fall asleep in the road. Now that social activity has resumed, deaths from this type of incident are on the rise. I tried to find out why people fall asleep on the streets and could not. It is prevalent in Japan. The victims are too drunk to make it home and may use the curbs as a pillow. Authorities are making efforts to stop it, obviously, but warn drivers, particularly on holidays and weekends, to drive slower and be aware of people literally on the road. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/dec/14/road-sleeping-deaths-soar-in-tokyo-as-socialising-returns-to-pre-covid-levels

Thanks for reading. Please note there will be no WWN next week because I’m going on a much-needed vacation! Happy holidays. Make sure to subscribe so you don’t miss the last issue of the year and hopefully a “Best Of” feature!