Weekly Weird News for 2 June 2023

Water woes

Good Friday, everyone. Several of the stories this week have to do with water but I’m going to start with a topic I normally don’t cover.

Only a small percentage of “unexplained”

I normally avoid UFO talk but I do break my own soft rule occasionally when something more interesting than the usual boring blather happens. This week, NASA had a public meeting of its research team into unidentified aerial phenomena and what was stated was… actually more boring stuff that the more objectively critical observers among us already knew: There is nothing much out there that is unexplained. And the small residuum of cases that are unexplained (2-5%) are so because the data is poor. We don’t have enough information to determine what something is. That does not in any way equate to “it’s aliens or supernatural”. Much was made about metallic orbs seen by military drones. But, again, to jump to the conclusion that they are something new and exciting is a leap too far. They are far more likely to be something mundane, like a mylar balloon. We just can’t view it clearly enough.

“While a large number of cases in AARO’s holdings remain technically unresolved, this is primarily due to a lack of data associated with those cases.”

-Sean Kirkpatrick, director of the US Department of Defense’s All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO)

Other examples of oddities that ended up with mundane but less obvious causes include a Bart Simpson-shaped balloon thought to be a UFO by pilots, and radio waves captured by sensitive instrumentation that was picking up signals from the lunchroom microwave. If you prefer to live in dramatic times, feel free to indulge. The media usually obliges by sensationalizing to extremes. But the underlying lesson here is that there may not be any “there” there.

https://www.vice.com/en/article/n7ezaz/mysterious-metallic-orbs-flying-all-over-the-world-pentagon-says-at-nasa-ufo-panel and https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-65729356

Tis the season

A lovely crop circle appeared in Italy. http://cropcircleconnector.com/2023/Cascina/Cascina2023.html

Climate klaxons

There was a blast of climate-related bad news stories this week. I don’t want to ruin your day but everyone really should be clear that effects are going to continue to manifest in major, life-altering ways.

Phoenix development to be affected due to groundwater shortage https://www.npr.org/2023/06/01/1179570051/arizona-water-shortages-phoenix-subdivisions

Wildfires in Nova Scotia causing widespread air quality issues down the east coast https://apnews.com/article/canada-wildfires-halifax-firefighters-us-south-africa-20f340036282d892aaa5528f1e48e618

A case of malaria has appeared in Florida https://www.wfla.com/news/local-news/sarasota-manatee-counties-issue-mosquito-borne-illness-advisory-after-malaria-case-reported/

Grand Green Canal

Venice, Italy’s grand canal turned fluorescent green this past week. As a geologist, it was immediately clear to me that this was the result of fluorescein dye that is used to trace water flow in groundwater and pipes. But, understandably, people panicked. The dye is not harmful but looks very bad. Police are wondering if it was a protest or art stunt. https://www.npr.org/2023/05/29/1178676824/green-venice-canal-italy

What incriminating stuff was on this phone, really?

Did you hear about the government official in India who dropped his phone in the reservoir while taking a selfie? Claiming the phone contained sensitive data, he ordered the section of the reservoir to be pumped down for three days, wasting 2 million liters of water. This did not go over well in an area that is short on water resources. He was suspended. https://apnews.com/article/indian-official-smartphone-selfie-reservoir-drained-9003842b621297cc6a21f9bef5902771

All boat ramps lead to water

For the second time in a month, a tourist following GPS directions drove down the boat ramp and into the Honokohau harbor in Hawaii. A fishing crew was nearby to film it and helped rescue the clueless driver. Had she not evacuated the car quickly, she could have been sucked under. The video shows the rescuer saying he had a “lot of questions” for the driver. Signs are present to signal the boat ramp. https://www.sfgate.com/hawaii/article/hawaii-tourist-follows-gps-into-harbor-18126281.php

Flesh-eating seaweed

I previously posted about how the extra large blob of sargassum seaweed was heading to Atlantic shores just in time for beach season. It turns out that the “blob” is a great place for flesh-eating bacteria to thrive. The vibrio bacteria latch onto the plastic particles carried in the vegetation mass. Researchers have discovered that the bacteria Vibro, which is not uncommon, latches onto plastic and then ends up on the beaches where people can be exposed. https://caymannewsservice.com/2023/05/new-horror-revealed-in-sargassum-blob/

Waterspout interrupts spy party in Italy

A storm that hit Italy’s Lake Maggiore created a waterspout that capsized a houseboat. Four of the 21 passengers drowned. But that’s not even the weirdest part: eight of the passengers either currently or formerly served with Italy’s secret service, and 13 had ties with Israel’s secret service. While trying to trace the identities, authorities are now very curious about what everyone with those credentials were doing together in Italy. The plot thickens. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jun/02/lake-maggiore-deaths-why-were-italian-and-israeli-secret-service-agents-on-a-boat-in-northern-italy

You were supposed to roll the cheese, not yourself

I bet you wouldn’t have guessed that a cheese-rolling contest could be so dangerous to anything but the cheese wheel. Turns out the popular event in Gloucestershire is a drain on emergency services because so many people get hurt. From the photo - which is unintentionally hilarious, it seems people misunderstood and rolled themselves instead. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-65776772

This is the most wonderful picture of the week.

TB Mary caught

Back in April, I linked to a story of a Washington woman who had an arrest warrant on her because she refused to be treated for tuberculosis. She has been found, quarantined and treated. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/woman-refused-tuberculosis-treatment-custody-months-arrest-warrant-was-rcna87372

Incorruptible nun

People are flocking to a small town in Missouri to see for themselves the body of a nun, Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster, who was not embalmed upon death, but whose body has apparently not decayed for four years. This is leading many to say she will be recognized as a saint. Visitors admit they want very badly to believe in this miracle. The body was exhumed from a wooden coffin and put on display. She will be placed in a glass enclosure. Catholic officials may investigate but no path to sainthood has been pursued. Incorruptibility is rare but most likely because people don’t regularly dig up bodies to check. Decomposition experts say it’s not a miracle as there are natural reasons why a body might fail to decay as expected. That reasonable view is missing or hidden at the end of most sensational stories about this incident. https://abc7chicago.com/missouri-gower-sister-wilhelmina-lancaster-no-decay/13315793/

Dashboard melted

We don’t usually think much about setting down sunglasses in random places but when conditions align, the lenses can spark fires. In Wales, a car was badly damaged after sunglasses left on the dashboard caused the interior to literally melt and the windshield busted open. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-65756001

Well, it could have been, should have been worse than you will ever know… (if only I had a giant fish story this week, I could have tied four stories together in one cool musical wrapup). Enjoy Dashboard Melted + Sargassum + boat in a storm reference below.

Thanks for reading!