Weekly Weird News for 17 August 2023

Hello everyone. It’s been a busy week, personally. I’ve been scrambling to collect the week’s best stories. So here they are.

Conspiracies spread like wildfire

Let’s start with the tragic fires in Maui. As with any serious news story that involves horrendous destruction, terrible people make awful suggestions that the cause was not what you are being told. Early on, I saw the fake image of what some were saying was a laser or fire beam that started the fire. In today’s environment, everyone should know better than to believe such trash. It was an evilly repurposed photo of a Falcon 9 launch from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in May 2018. https://arstechnica.com/space/2023/08/how-a-5-year-old-spacex-photo-fueled-maui-wildfire-conspiracy-theorists/

People are having a hard time wrapping their head around the fact that a lush, tropical paradise surrounded by ocean could burn so quickly. So, in their confusion, ignorance, and, probably, egotistical behavior to get attention, some suggested that the scorched trees and poles left standing was mysterious or indicative of a conspiracy. Those posters claim that “Wildfires do not completely burn out vehicles, glass and all, yet leaving nearby trees and utility poles still standing upright.” But they do. This has been WELL documented in many fires. Some people prefer to talk out their asses instead of appropriately looking into the issue. https://apnews.com/article/fact-check-maui-wildfires-trees-poles-standing-944458337667

The cause of the fires are a combination of many factors including drought and high winds made worse by climate change. The Maui wildfires are the deadliest in the U.S. in more than a century.

Choose to listen to reasonable people instead of Xitter or TikTok ignoramuses.

Next, we have more non-credible claims from people who should defer to actual knowledgeable people. But they didn’t. And the media prints their story.

Apartment alligator?

Not the first time this has happened: People who aren’t familiar with animals mistake a tegu lizard for an alligator. This time in Maryland. People in a Beltsville apartment complex were warned that an alligator was spotted nearby. When the photos were reviewed by wildlife officials, they identified it as a tegu, commonly kept as pets and not dangerous. https://wtop.com/prince-georges-county/2023/08/alligator-in-beltsville-apartment-residents-told-to-be-careful-while-walking-pets/ and https://www.fox5dc.com/news/possible-tegu-lizard-sighting-prompts-report-of-alligator-in-beltsville-authorities

Backyard trespasser

A strange animal is getting attention on social media in Texas. An unusual dog-like was seen eating berries in a yard. The resident captured a picture of the animal that has a thin tail and light colored legs. Since it’s in Texas, many people automatically jump to the conclusion “Chupacabra!”. But that term is meaningless anymore - indicating some random unknown animals. Zoo officials are saying it really is just a dog, perhaps with mange. Why was this considered news? Why are people overreacting? https://www.kens5.com/article/life/animals/strange-sighting-hill-country-village-baffled-mysterious-creature/273-fa3a8560-5022-46aa-bbf5-d4ae08cb7332

Coatimundi on the lam

A legitimately unusual animal has been sighted in Durant, OK. Officials think it might be a coatimundi, native to South America and Mexico. Five sightings have reported an animal that looks like a cross between an opossum and a raccoon. It is legal to own one here but they can be deadly to pets. https://www.kxii.com/2023/08/14/exotic-creature-may-be-loose-durant/

Falling ice chunks

Ice falls happened in Massachusetts and in Victoria, Australia this week. Both are suspected to be from planes. In Australia, a shattered chunk of ice appeared on a golf course overnight. No one was around to see it but it created a large divot in the grass. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-08-15/central-victorian-golf-course-pelted-with-ice-megacryometeors/102731600

The Massachusetts fall was more dangerous, hitting a house. It crashed through the roof around 10 PM. The ice split apart in the attic with pieces also landing outside the house so no one was hurt. The weather conditions were not conducive for hail. Boston Logan International Airport is nearby. The FAA is investigating but there is not much that can be done for these events. Unfortunately, we hardly hear anything more about these kinds of cases. But the ice falls seem to be perilously close to hurting someone. https://www.wcvb.com/article/chunks-of-ice-crash-through-roof-shirley-massachusetts/44823881

Heathrow Airport in the UK reports that ice falls are fairly common from aircraft, about 25 per year there. https://www.heathrow.com/company/local-community/noise/what-you-can-do/ice-falls-from-aircraft

Texas tsunami?

Residents of South Texas received a very unusual alert for this dry area - a tsunami warning. The alert came to residents cell phones from the National Weather Service. This area is adjacent to the Gulf of Mexico where tsunamis from earthquakes are highly unlikely. The NWS is reviewing the incident to see what happened. https://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/tsunami-alert-south-texas-18298946.php

Weird ways to lose electricity

A power outage in New Jersey was caused by a fish on the electrical pole. A bird likely dropped it, obviously. But was certainly a weird find for the utility personnel. https://pix11.com/news/morning/fish-blamed-for-destroying-transformer-causing-power-outage-in-new-jersey/

In another power outage story this week, people in a town in Queensland, Australia experienced an outage because someone tried to staple a sign to a utility pole. I always knew this was illegal but I didn’t know it was that dangerous. The stapler was fried. The person who did it was not found. https://www.theaustralian.com.au/breaking-news/blackout-sparked-by-mindblowing-decision-to-staple-poster-to-power-pole/news-story/f6a4b299c64c485a9bd8ff0682d7deae

Lilit fair

Here is definitely something you don’t see everyday: a publicly-funded community center sponsoring a family-themed pagan ritual with a performance to summon a demon called “Lilit the Empathic Demon.” I’m amazed this even happened in today’s hair-trigger reactionary climate, but it did, in Minnesota. Labeled as an art project, you can summon Lilit via text message. OK, then! As expected, conservatives made a fuss about it, but apparently only online. The artist had previously done some controversial boundary-pushing stunts labled “art”. https://alphanews.org/walker-art-center-holds-playful-demon-summoning-session-for-families/ and https://mnartists.walkerart.org/demon-bloomsongs-tamar-ettuns-vivid-somatics

Attack of vibrio the vulnifucus

Ocean water is incredibly warm this year causing all sorts of environmental problems including a rise in flesh-eating bacteria (Vibrio vulnificus). The bacteria can also be harbored in oysters. Climate change could mean that eating raw oysters can be an even more chancy bet. At least three people have died in Connecticut and New York from the bacteria. https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/16/us/flesh-eating-bacteria-deaths-connecticut-new-york/index.html and https://www.sfgate.com/connecticut/article/flesh-eating-bacteria-found-ct-cound-common-18300957.php

Mass seal death

A team clearing up plastic on Russian beaches discovered carcasses of seals, sea lions and birds on Tyuleniy Island in the Sea of Okhotsk. More than 300 northern fur seals and Steller sea lions were found on the uninhabited island. Samples were taken. Researchers suspect toxins or viral infection was the cause of the mass mortality event. https://www.livescience.com/animals/seals/mystery-mass-death-of-seals-on-remote-uninhabited-siberian-island-under-investigation

UFO police

A New Hampshire police department is getting in on the hype around the local UFO festival by wearing a new themed 2023 patch for the upcoming Exeter UFO festival on Sept. 2. The festival celebrates an infamous UFO sighting in Kensington, New Hampshire in 1965. It became known as the "Incident at Exeter” in the UFO lore. Many small towns have UFO, cryptid and paranormal festivals that bring tourist dollars into the area and promote belief (both fun and serious). https://www.wmur.com/article/exeter-new-hampshire-police-ufo-new-patch/44833552