Weekly Weird News for 17 February 2023

Balloon Wars

Well, hello! It’s been quite a whirlwind week of weird news, hasn’t it. As I began to think about how to write up this newsletter, I got a bit of a headache. There were so many words written about the #BalloonWars and information changed every day since January 28 when the Chinese “spy” balloon was first identified. This object was shot down in a very public way on February 4th off the coast of South Carolina.

Suddenly, North America seemed to be inundated by “balloon-like entities”. A second Chines balloon ended up in Latin America. Then high-altitude objects (almost certainly balloons of some sort, but probably not spy tech) were shot down over Alaska, Yukon, and Lake Huron.

Spy balloons, and high altitude monitoring devices are not new. But for some odd reason, the social setting was primed for this to blow up out of proportion. And, government sources did a poor job of attempted to prevent that from happening. So, people supposed that it really might be aliens. Of course, that’s the least plausible conclusion.

Have a HiBal!

It’s hard to avoid the conclusion that the US agencies monitoring high altitude objects were a bit behind in their knowledge of HIBALs (high altitude balloons). It’s hard to say what the heck happened here but it wasn’t a good look. Clearly, many UFOs and UAPs are balloons. If you’ve ever seen the social media feeds, many objects people are seeing are weather balloons, solar balloons (heated by the sun) or even mylar party balloons. It’s a bit embarrassing to expend ridiculous amounts of money and effort to shoot down benign objects via military aircraft. Most certainly other countries are closely watching this reaction by officials and the population. We came off as mighty panicked. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/the-skys-full-of-balloons-heres-where-some-of-them-are-coming-from/ar-AA17zSVB

I can’t help but think of this.

You shot down our balloon!

The Northern Illinois Bottlecap Balloon Brigade has also been watching. They seem a bit put out that it might have been their balloon that was shot down over the Yukon. But they can’t get an answer. I’m all for publicizing this so that NORAD or USAF or whomever is worried about things in the sky doesn’t decide to randomly use someone’s hobby or science experiment as target practice. https://aviationweek.com/defense-space/aircraft-propulsion/hobby-clubs-missing-balloon-feared-shot-down-usaf

Balloon disclosure could backfire

Some knowledgeable people that follow mass sociogenic events and, particularly, ideas associated with UAP/UFOs and concerns about alien technology were observing the events of the week closely. UFO-positive communities were flush with comments about how this was disclosure. A few thought we’d see aliens land at the Super Bowl. Even though the balloon story was big, the average person is now scanning the skies with the popular idea that UAPs are out there. And they see what they believe. While some might think that the balloon exposure is a reckoning for UFO belief, I’m not that optimistic. I think people will become more paranoid about things they see in the sky. So, ironically, we may seen another wave of interest in the extraterrestrial hypothesis. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/feb/14/prepare-for-wave-of-extraterrestrial-sightings-in-uk-say-ufo-experts

False flag balloons

Conspiracists thought that the balloon/spy/UFO business was a distraction from the catastrophic environmental disaster in East Palestine, Ohio where a train derailment caused a large release of toxic chemicals. I’m just the messenger here. I don’t agree with this line of thinking at all but the unpacking one would have to do to explain why this is a thing is beyond my capabilities for this newsletter. Ruminate upon it at your leisure. https://www.vice.com/en/article/m7g8x8/the-conspiracy-verse-thinks-fake-ufos-are-a-distraction-from-a-disastrous-train-derailment

Floating on…

Return to nature

In better news, the Eurasian eagle owl that escaped from a NY zoo after its enclosure was vandalized is having a grand time, apparently. The animal has been observed hunting and eating rats in Central Park. This news eases concerns that the Flaco the owl is in trouble. But the aim is still to capture him and return him to captivity. The city holds too many unnatural hazards. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/14/nyregion/flaco-owl-central-park-zoo.html

Yew should not plant this

Nineteen elk were found dead in Utah over six days at the end of January. Wildlife officials thing they died from eating poisonous yew - a non-native and toxic landscape plant. The elk may have eaten shrub when other greens weren’t readily available. https://outsider.com/outdoors/news-outdoors/19-elk-reported-dead-utah-officials-point-plant-poisoning/

Girls report a monster on the roof, panic ensues

In the Philippines village of Talisay City, two girls (listed as “young” but ages not given) going from one house to another at night said they saw a supernatural creature called a manananggal on the roof of a neighbors house. The owner reported heard the girls but heard no commotion at his residents. The report of the vampire-like creature that eats fetuses and is depicted with bat wings with the ability to separate from its lower half causes panic in neighborhood. Additional sightings were then reported. Now police are trying to quell the rumors. They ask that people not pass on sightings but to report to them to investigate. As with any such tail coming from a different culture and tongue, it is extremely difficult to say much about it. But we can see this as another example of how rumor becomes “fact” so quickly to those that are willing to readily accept it. https://mb.com.ph/2023/02/10/manananggal-rumor-terrifies-residents-of-barangay-in-cebu/ and https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/488899/cebu-police-asks-public-to-refrain-from-spreading-misinformation-on-sightings-of-supernatural-creatures

Inquest into a murdering chicken

An aggressive chicken is being blamed for the death of a man in Ireland. The elderly man, who was in poor health, was found with bleeding wounds. The trail of blood led to the chicken house where a rooster who had previously attacked a child was implicated. Reportedly, the man said “rooster” before he died (and before paramedics arrived). The animal was implicated in the wounds but the official cause of death was heart issues. https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-41070338.html

Cancer treatment had strange side effect

A man in the US developed foreign accent syndrome (FAS) after undergoing treatment for prostate cancer. This was the first time such an incident has been recorded. The man died 20 months later. FAS is suspected to be caused by neurological damage that affects speech, such as a stroke. The words appears to sound like they are spoken by a person native to another area. But that appears to be the listeners interpretation. The patient does not deliberately speak in an accent. FAS is involuntary. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/feb/16/us-cancer-patient-develops-uncontrollable-irish-accent-doctors-say

You’re not Jesus, eat something

No matter how much faith you have, you can’t make it 40 days without food. A pastor in Mozambique tried to emulate Jesus with a 40 day fast. He succumbed to acute anemia and organ failure after 25 days. Previously, other people have tried the same and failed. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-64659798

Dam fool

A Michigan man blew up a beaver dam by shooting tannerite explosive. The gunshots and subsequent explosion causes neighbors to call police. Soon after, they notice water in the stream began to rise and flood their properties. The idiot with the gun admitted he didn’t think about the water behind the dam. Charges have been filed. https://www.mlive.com/news/2023/02/northern-michigan-man-blows-up-beaver-dam-with-explosives-floods-neighbors-properties.html

That’s it for this time.

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Stay grounded!