Weekly Weird News for 23 September 2022
We can’t stop doing dumb stuff
Welcome to another weird week in news, my roundup of the most interesting stories I’ve found around the web.
As usual, I skip the ultra-pathetic offerings from sites that make military flares and sky spotlights into mysterious UFOs. But, being that it’s the end of summer, we undoubtedly have an (alleged) appearance of an alligator in a strange place. This week, it’s Wisconsin.
Out of place alligator of the week - Wisconsin
The Kewaskum Police Department received a report that someone saw an alligator in the Reigle Family Park pond. No alligator was found. But what makes this a bit weirder than usual is the statement that the Department of Natural Resources said it may be a black caiman, not an alligator. An alligator would be weird, but not crazy. A black caiman is a very rare animal in captivity so the odds that someone had one as a pet in Wisconsin and let it go is absurd. https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/wisconsin/2022/09/20/kewaskum-police-receive-report-alligator-reigle-family-park-pond/10433780002/
Next…. NyQuil chicken. I kid you not. Actually, I’m sort of kidding.
Sleepy chicken
This story was all the rage this week. The idea of cooking chicken in the nighttime medicinal green liquid that tastes like burning licorice hell is clearly a joke. It appeared as a joke in the world’s worst online forum, 4chan, in 2017. The stunt appeared occasionally on video-sharing sites like TikTok but it wasn’t actually a “trend” or one of the infamous “TikTok challenges”. What it appears to be is… a meme. Let’s be clear - no one is eating NyQuil chicken. It was the joke that went viral and the US FDA just fell for it. They issued a warning against boiling NyQuil and using it to cook chicken, elevating the stupidity to new levels, and maybe even making people want to try it to see just how awful it was. Embarrassing ineptness from a federal agency. The non-story blew up - another example of scaremongering by officials that don’t get social media. These overreactions to a non-story, especially one that taps into a sense of moral panic, are rampant, and probably do more harm than good. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/nyquil-chicken-fda-warning/ and https://www.eater.com/23365749/sleepy-nyquil-chicken-tiktok-stunt-food and https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/education/article/Nyquil-chicken-FDA-warning-video-17459856.php
Tainted candy 2022
Speaking of moral panics and official overreaction, here’s a heads up for the top 2022 Halloween scare - rainbow fentanyl. Republican chairwoman fired the flames by saying on Fox News that every mom is worried that multicolored tablets will be mistaken for candy and end up in Halloween loot. Anyone who has looked into the tainted candy history knows that it’s a manufactured scare. The idea that expensive drugs will be wasted in a ridiculous plot to poison children is held most certainly by the same people who believe that Satanists are practicing dark arts in the woods outside of town and that kids are preparing NyQuil chicken as a late-night snack. And is also believed by the US Drug enforcement agency who, you guessed it, issued a warning to parents. https://www.dea.gov/press-releases/2022/08/30/dea-warns-brightly-colored-fentanyl-used-target-young-americans https://knowyourmeme.com/news/this-year-the-halloween-candy-moral-panic-seems-to-be-centering-around-on-rainbow-fentanyl
Spreading fake rumors in India? That’s an arresting!
It’s not just the US, though. In India, a youth was arrested for spreading rumors about child abductors. He was charged with circulating a rumor and a fake video that could have caused violence and disruption in the community. The video passed along was old and fake and there have been no missing children reported. The article suggests there are some racial, religious or ethnic tones to the rumor. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhopal/man-booked-for-spreading-fake-child-lifter-video/articleshow/94258317.cms
Grief ghoul
A Kansas man was sentenced to almost 6 years in prison for doing illegal autopsies. He ran National Autopsy Service along with two other companies where he collected money from people to do autopsies. He was “self-taught” in pathology and didn’t do most of the examinations himself but it appears he did author at least one autopsy report. He had more than 350 clients whom he defrauded by collecting money through the mail from 2016 to 2019. He also collected human tissue. It wasn’t his first go-round with the law. https://www.wibw.com/2022/09/19/man-convicted-performing-illegal-autopsies-sentenced-prison-wire-fraud/
Why did a woman eat batteries?
A woman in Ireland swallowed 50 small batteries in an attempt at self-harm. Doctors had to surgically remove the ones in her stomach. She is recovering. Typically children accidentally swallow small button batteries but this was a highly unusual case. https://www.sciencealert.com/the-unfortunate-reason-a-woman-swallowed-55-aa-and-aaa-batteries
Stray fox needed help
A woman in Tennessee discovered an unusual animal scratching at her door. She identified it as a “silver fox”. It turned out to be an Arctic Fox that someone was keeping as a pet. But it was kept very poorly and was emaciated. The fox was turned over to a rescue center. The wildlife rescue rep said that it’s becoming more common for people to have foxes as pets, even though it is illegal in most states. They are difficult to take care of and can’t be house-trained. And, they are good at escaping. https://newschannel9.com/sports/outdoors/not-so-great-pets-escaped-arctic-fox-found-in-soddy-daisy-now-getting-proper-care
Godzilla lizard in Florida
A central Florida homeowner found a giant monitor lizard crawling up the window. The invasive, non-native Nile monitor has sharp teeth and claws and should not be handled. It is illegal to import or keep the animals in Florida but they’re here now and not going anywhere, except maybe into your house. https://www.wfla.com/news/florida/watch-huge-monitor-lizard-climbs-up-florida-homeowners-window
Otterly annoying
A surfer had his board hijacked by a sea otter in California. The otter, possibly a pregnant female, commandeered the board and chased anyone who tried to retrieve it. Otters have sharp teeth and can cause serious injuries. The incident was caught on video. https://www.ksbw.com/article/santa-cruz-sea-otter-takes-surfers-board/41300201
Attack of the aggressive turkeys
Wild turkeys are harassing residents of a Massachusetts neighborhood. The animals are habituated with people and will chase and nip at children, take over yards, and chase residents getting out of their cars. Turkeys have become more prevalent in residential areas in the past few years and have become used to suburban living. As of right now, they remain frightened of umbrellas. So use that to your advantage. https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/aggressive-turkeys-take-over-woburn-neighborhood/
Crappy music
A community in Salt Lake City reported mystery musical sounds outside. It’s coming from the sewer lines. The utility crews use a tool that creates a tone that is detected by another transmitter in order to detect potential blockages. The world is a noisy place! Now that people know what it is, they seem less disturbed by it. https://www.ksl.com/article/50479968/its-aliens-sewer-technology-tooting-causes-mysterious-music-in-salt-lake-city-homes-toilets
Blue goo
We’ve seen a number of seafloor live streams that make the news when an unexpected object or feature surprises the researchers. This time, the object, a gel-like nubbly blue ball spotted in the Caribbean remains a mystery. Scientists saw several of the creatures and assume they are a soft coral, sponge or tunicate. The images will be sent to experts to try to identify the organism. https://www.livescience.com/mysterious-blue-goo-deep-sea
Ghost voice during funeral procession
During the Queen’s funeral, a video clip included a woman’s voice whispering “death is irreversible”. The voice then cut out and the presenter’s resumed. The live clip went viral with some people labeling it as “spooky”. ITV declined to address the mystery but it was later revealed by news sources that the voice was from a non-media person whose comment was picked up by the live mic. https://www.thenational.scot/news/22315453.death-irreversible--mystery-behind-creepy-itv-clip-queens-funeral-solved/
Not aliens
Back in 2018, the Sunspot Solar Observatory in New Mexico was the focus of conspiratorial speculation as the facility was evacuated and closed by federal law enforcement for 11 days. It was explained that there was suspected criminal activity but some more creative commenters thought perhaps aliens had been spotted. It turns out it was an investigation for possession of child pornography. It took a while for the community to find out the truth. https://www.vice.com/en/article/qjkzmw/how-and-why-the-fbi-mysteriously-shut-down-a-federal-solar-observatory
If I was the surfer I would have been at least a little bit concerned as to WHY the sea otter had climbed onto my board. In the past, sea mammals have hopped aboard boats to evade predators like sharks. They're no dummies!
And the aggressive turkeys - I was told by a park ranger in a wildlife management area near me that umbrellas are very good at dissuading them and geese when they get too aggressive. Of course, you have to actually be carrying an umbrella at the time. Lol!
If I was the surfer I would have been at least a little bit concerned as to WHY the sea otter had climbed onto my board. In the past, sea mammals have hopped aboard boats to evade predators like sharks. They're no dummies!
And the aggressive turkeys - I was told by a park ranger in a wildlife management area near me that umbrellas are very good at dissuading them and geese when they get too aggressive. Of course, you have to actually be carrying an umbrella at the time. Lol!