Weekly Weird News for 22 April 2022

Wacky weather, prehistoric presents, and karma

Hello everybody. Welcome to this edition of the weekly weird newsletter where I provide some strange alternatives to mainstream news feeds. I’m happy to say that the subscribe list and view numbers are climbing each week a little bit. Please share if you love getting a different view from the media delivery of these stories and, often, hear them before they do eventually get circulated on typical media sources. I try to dig into places that others might not look, but I’m always trying to find the best sources. No LadBible or clickbait aggregators here!

There was a stoner’s holiday this week… does anyone else smell that?

420 day

In the 1970s, some dudes coined the term ‘420’ to mean smoking pot. Now, April 20 is a day to celebrate cannabis, whether it’s legal in your area or not. On that day, in Missouri, a three-vehicle crash resulted in 500 pounds of marijuana on the roadway. The pot was stashed in a pickup truck that was involved. The people were charged with illegal possession and trafficking. The police noted the irony. https://www.ksdk.com/article/news/crime/marijuana-missouri-highway-interstate-70-crash/63-281ffd5f-6350-4318-a307-7935011c0e64

That wasn’t oregano in the seasoning

A story of a wacky February wedding reception went viral this week, probably because of the weed-related media push. A bride in Florida and her caterer, with questionable judgment skills, were charged with food tampering and the delivery of marijuana when they secretly laced the reception food with cannabis. Several people went to the hospital or were physically ill. What a dumb stunt. Not everyone reacts to the drug in a positive way. Some people are allergic, others get nauseated, paranoid, dizzy, experience a headache, or just freaked out because they felt ill for no discernable reason. Rescue units and police showed up uninvited to the reception. https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/04/21/florida-caterer-marijuana-wedding/

More evidence of diverse feathers on pterosaurs

Regardless of how Hollywood has portrayed dinosaurs in their blockbusters, paleontologists have known that some dinosaurs had feathers. Birds carry on the genetics of feathers from early dinosaurs. A new finding, however, suggests that feather development occurred earlier and was more ubiquitous. Some downy feathers had been documented in pterosaurs - flying reptiles that were not “dinosaurs” but they had a common ancestor. Scientists can see microscopic features in the fossils that indicate if the preserved feathers were stubby or branching and that they were brightly colored. The pterosaur feathers revealed recently were not downy or used for flying but were found on the head, likely as a display. It’s possible that young dinosaurs and pterosaurs had downy feathers that eventually gave way to different kinds of feathers for different uses. The history and development of feathers keeps getting more interesting. https://www.nbcnews.com/science/science-news/feathers-evolve-pterosaur-fossil-offers-hints-rcna24569

Excitement over Prehistoric Planet

Speaking of depictions of extinct animals of the Mesozoic times (252-66 million years ago), Apple+ is set to premiere in May a documentary series that is generating huge positive buzz in the paleontological community and for dinosaur lovers everywhere. The show, Prehistoric Planet, looks to be, by far, the most stunningly realistic depiction of prehistoric animals (land, sea and air) ever produced. Many well-known scientists have contributed to the project. The trailer already has over a million views. It looks incredible! Very exciting. https://tv.apple.com/us/show/prehistoric-planet/umc.cmc.4lh4bmztauvkooqz400akxav?ctx_brand=tvs.sbd.400

Wind-generated lightning

This is the time of year that some weird spring weather plagues the US. A snow/ice/wind/rain event hit the eastern US. This included lightning in Herkimer County, New York that local weather scientists think may have been produced thanks to a wind turbine farm. The moving blades may aid in charge separation under certain conditions that generate upward-moving lightning. Thus, artificial lightning! https://cbs6albany.com/weather/weather-extra/not-only-snow-but-weird-wind-and-artificial-lightning-part-of-the-april-18-19-2022-storm

False and faked tornado warnings

The National Weather Service is having a crisis after many serious credibility-fails with the weather spotter network they rely upon to report events. The NWS declared a tornado emergency last Friday in Arkansas during a chaotic storm event. The rare alert is supposed to indicate a severe threat from an imminent or ongoing tornado. Except, there wasn’t such a threat. The Service was not only hampered by a radar gap but also false reports from spotters that were never confirmed. https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2022/04/20/arkansas-tornado-emergency-nws-false/

Earlier in the week, five hoaxed reports were filed on the Spotter Network from a woman in Ohio listing coordinates in Arkansas. One of those was that a large tornado was spotted. The Arkansas media reports that this prompted an upgrade of the warning to an emergency on April 11. https://www.nwaonline.com/news/2022/apr/20/ohio-woman-files-five-bogus-arkansas-storm/

The April 15 reports were not suspected to be deliberate hoaxes but, in darkness, it is much more difficult to effectively report atmospheric conditions. It’s also concerning that, in an effort to seem helpful or important, people might post exaggerated or misinterpreted warnings. The lesson here is to rely less on eyewitness reports, even from experienced reporters. Everyone makes mistakes. A false warning is usually better than no warning until the public trust erodes. Protocols are being reviewed. https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2022/04/20/arkansas-tornado-emergency-nws-false/

Glowing swirl spotted in the sky

Footage from a telescope on Mauna Kea in Hawaii captured a glowing swirl that moved through the night sky on April 17. The strange formation was a result of the remains of a Space X Falcon 9 rocket stage that launched a spy satellite. The spiral was caused by the “post deorbit burn fuel vent. The upper stage of the rocket falls back to earth and burns up. In the past, some rocket launches that went wrong produced odd and alarming swirls in the sky that were spotted by people on the ground.  https://www.sciencealert.com/mysterious-flying-whirlpool-over-hawaii-was-actually-a-dying-spacex-rocket 

Flower previously presumed extinct is found

A wildflower thought to be extinct has been rediscovered in Ecuador. The interesting bright orange flowering Gasteranthus extinctus was found in a small patch of remaining forest in the foothills of the Andes. Researchers wish to save the plant by saving the habitat. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/apr/15/wildflower-extinct-ecuador-gasteranthus-extinctus-deforestationflower

Pythons? Aisle 10

A young and feisty domesticated python was found on the shelf of a Bloomington, Indiana Walmart. One media report says that a woman shopper, who had experience with reptiles, noticed the snake and retrieved it from the store. Other sources say that animal control was notified and they retrieved the stressed-out snake was kept in their shelter until it was adopted. It’s unclear how it ended up in the Walmart - there was no word that police were investigating any further. The shelter received an overwhelming number of applications to adopt the ball python and it was rehomed to an experienced keeper. https://fox59.com/indiana-news/python-found-at-bloomington-walmart/ 

Atlanta mayors stopped dreaming

Gizmodo had an interesting feature about those elected to be mayor of Atlanta noting that they stopped dreaming during their tenure. This is a cool article about why that might be. They probably didn’t stop dreaming but just didn’t recall them. Their stressful job caused different sleep patterns. In some cases, people under stress dream about threat situations - a phenomenon that might lead to people thinking they have had premonitions in their dreams if the stressful situation plays out as in their dreams. Dreams are our brain’s way of processing information and are likely an important aspect of our well-being. https://gizmodo.com/why-did-atlanta-s-mayors-stop-dreaming-at-night-1848801318

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FBI better get digging for those records on hidden gold

In my WWN of 25 March, I included the ongoing story of treasure hunters in Pennsylvania searching for answers about a lost cache of Civil War-era gold. Now, a judge has ruled that the FBI must get a move on and turn over the historical records to the petitioners even if the work is onerous. Locating, copying, and distributing old records is time-consuming and expensive. It’s clear that the records were not stored to be easily retrievable. It’s somewhat disturbing that a considerable amount of government money will have to be expended to produce these records of what may be a boondoggle. But, in light of government transparency, it has to be done. It will be interesting to see what is produced. https://www.wtae.com/article/pennsylvania-civil-war-gold-fbi-dig/39761893#

Bouncing bears

In the ongoing parade of news pieces about bears in residential areas that I find interesting, the most unintentionally humorous story this week is of two bears who ended up on a backyard trampoline in British Columbia. The bears are a regular occurrence here but this is the first time the bears explored the trampoline, breaking it under their weight. When researching this story, I found several other incidents of bears and trampolines. Who knew? https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/coquitlam-backyard-bear-wrestling-1.6422159

Do not try to buy a support monkey

This story out of Ontario made me angry in a number of conflicting ways. A family searched online to obtain a monkey as an emotional support animal for family members. They paid a company several thousands of dollars in untraceable funds for two monkeys that never arrived and they are out a lot of money. Importation of monkeys for this purpose is prohibited. Why the family didn’t figure that out is irresponsible. They probably didn’t recognize the obvious scam because they were determined to get their animals. Later, they realized they would have to apply for a prohibited pet license after the animals arrived - terrible planning. But possibly most irresponsible is that they assumed that monkeys would be good for this purpose. Monkeys are wild animals that must be diligently trained to help people. They are not pets. The monkeys promised were young and untrained. I hate to say this family got the outcome they deserved but they did not do their homework. Watching cute monkey videos on social media is not an accurate depiction of owning a monkey. It could have been much worse for them and the monkeys. There is only one organization that trains monkeys to help the disabled and it’s a controversial practice. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ontario-family-says-it-lost-thousands-of-dollars-in-absolutely-sickening-exotic-animals-scam-1.6420580

Karma crash

In another karmic twist news story with an ending that isn’t a happy one, a 72-year-old woman was carjacked and beaten up by an assailant who was found dead shortly after. He crashed her car on the highway and died at the scene. https://www.wcax.com/2022/04/18/carjacker-beats-up-72-year-old-takes-car-only-die-crash-police-say/

Hell cat

Anyone can become mayor of Hell for a day. Michigan, that is. This time, it’s a cat with strikingly large eyes. The odd-looking feline is healthy, just has some unique genetic traits and a big social media following. https://www.mlive.com/life/2022/04/cat-known-for-huge-eyes-wonky-feet-to-become-mayor-of-small-michigan-town.html

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