Weekly Weird News for 6 October 2023

It's a hot one

Hi, everyone. Welcome to this week’s very full edition of WWN. I even left out a number of things to keep this to a reasonable length.

National conspiracy emergency alert system

Let me start by saying that we are all OK after the Nationwide emergency mobile warning system test failed to activate whatever secret stuff injected into us via COVID vaccines. This rumor was circulating shortly after FEMA announced the test. It’s hard to tell how many people actually believed it but there are many unstable people who rant on social media. Luckily, most of the population turned it into a big joke. The rumors do reveal that many people still are woefully ignorant about how vaccines work and why they are important, sowing fear and lower uptake. The alert warnings did work, although they occurred in a strange rolling wave that reached some phones much earlier than others. https://www.rumorguard.org/post/fema-emergency-alert-creates-conspiracy-fodder-spree and https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-66990739

Record September heat

This should have been the top story of the week. “Gobsmackingly bananas” was the term used by one scientist to describe the data on global temperature for this September. July and August 2023 were already the hottest months respectively with July being the hottest month ever recorded. September broke that record by 0.5C. Lest conspiracists try to deny it, the measurement were confirmed by European and Japanese scientists as well. This is no laughing matter. This is dire. The huge jump was continuing effects of global warming combined with the El Niño natural phenomenon which drives up ocean heat. The effects are likely to be felt next year as well. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/oct/05/gobsmackingly-bananas-scientists-stunned-by-planets-record-september-heat and https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2023/10/03/september-global-temperature-record-climate/

Underwater features exposed in Texas

The continued drought in the south has revealed more features previously hidden underwater. At Canyon Lake in Texas, a manmade lake, low water levels revealed a cave feature and rubble from a house that existed before the lake was created. https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/30/us/canyon-lake-cave-texas/index.html

Fake fire decor

An impressive, but simple, Halloween setup was so realistic that someone called to report a real fire inside the house. Using LED lights, a box fan, a silver sheet, and a fog machine, a home in Glens Falls appeared to be on fire. https://www.ndtv.com/offbeat/watch-firefighters-in-us-rush-to-put-out-house-fire-it-turned-out-to-be-amazing-halloween-decor-4445992

Alien evidence for a million

There is no doubt that doorbell cameras create mysteries as well as recording clear events. The company who makes these cameras is hosting a contest to award a million dollars to the person who captured “unaltered Scientific Evidence” of an extraterrestrial life form on their Ring device. Of course, this is impossible because this kind of evidence is not scientific by any stretch. It’s uncontrolled, unrepeatable, and unverified. No image can be definitely identified as of an “extraterrestrial”. It’s a Halloween publicity stunt that will surely net many creative video samples. The prize for creative interpretation is a $500 Amazon gift card. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ring-announces-million-dollar-search-for-extraterrestrials-this-halloween-season-301946484.html

Spooky find at abandoned farmstead

Here is a story that will most certainly contribute to the belief that aliens abduct cattle. A photographer who specializes in abandoned structures visited Utah when she found a property with several cow carcasses lying about. Three of them were on the roof of an old house. The Department of Agriculture was alerted and determined the cow on the roof had to be dead already or it would not have stayed there. he location of the property remains secret. Additional articles note that the carcasses had straps attached. So possibly the farmer put them there to deter coyotes. That doesn’t stop people from suggesting not only aliens but more extreme causes such as skinwalkers. https://www.abc4.com/news/southern-utah/photographer-comes-across-cattle-carcasses-on-top-of-sw-utah-farmstead-home/ and https://www.newsweek.com/mystery-3-intact-cattle-skeletons-found-roof-abandoned-utah-home-1831599

Still from TikTok user @stephaniekay522

Target-ing theft deception

There is considerable media attention about the increase in retail theft these days. Target announced they were closing 9 stores because of it, saying that the “organized” crime was “contributing to unsustainable business performance”. But a look at crime statistics in these areas didn’t support this claim. The news media reports on it but didn’t check the foundation. A report from Popular Information (one of the BEST sources of investigative journalism) reveals that Target may be using theft as an excuse for other business problems, such as low staffing levels (correlated to low wages).

Target says it's closing 9 stores due to theft. The crime data tells a different story.

Kidney thefts in Pakistan

We’ve all heard the urban legend story of the drugged traveler waking up in a bathtub full of ice with the realization that his kidney was stolen. In Pakistan, eight people were arrested for extracting kidneys from desperate or unwilling donors to sell to rich clients. The illegal surgeries resulted in three deaths, at least. The story is unclear if the donors or recipients are the victims. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-66988933

Woman dies after psychic visit

Here’s a weird and highly suspicious story from Brazil. A 27 yr old woman died after sitting with a palm reader who predicted she would die in a few days. The woman had been approached by the psychic who then offered her a piece of chocolate. A few hours later, she was ill and subsequently died in the hospital. An autopsy showed the chocolate contained high levels of common pesticides that contributed to her death. Police suspect murder. https://www.news18.com/viral/brazilian-woman-dies-after-eating-chocolate-she-got-from-palm-reader-who-predicted-her-death-8601150.html

Otter-eating orca surprises researchers

Russian scientists published a journal article on Sept 28 detailing the discovery of a beached female orca that may have died due to eating otters. Orcas do not normally eat otters but this one was found with seven of them in her stomach, whole, one of which was lodged in the esophagus. That could have contributed to her death. In addition to this strange behavior, the whale was outside normal hunting areas. Researcher think she may have been lacking regular prey. But the finding suggests other orcas may be consuming sea otters, contributing to the otters’ decreasing population. https://www.livescience.com/animals/orcas/scientists-investigate-mysterious-case-of-orca-that-swallowed-7-sea-otters-whole

Chinese jellyfish in California reservoir

A person took a video at the Stumpy Meadows Reservoir in the Eldorado National Forest in California that revealed an invasive freshwater jellyfish was living in the waters. The cnidarian is native to China. While harmless to humans, it is not clear what impact the species could have on the environment. It’s unknown how it got there. If you see it, you are asked to report it to the USGS. The jellyfish has also been found in other areas of the US. https://www.cbsnews.com/sacramento/news/mysterious-freshwater-peach-blossom-jellyfish-spotted-in-northern-california-reservoir/

When is an antlered deer not a buck

A Missouri hunter was pretty pleased when he downed a deer with an 18 pt rack of antlers. When he examined the animal, he discovered it wasn’t a buck but a doe. The chance that a whitetail doe will grow antlers is 1:10,000. The unusual antlers are suspected to be the result of a hormonal imbalance where the antlers kept growing and not shed. The catch will be added to the list of biggest antlered does ever recorded. The record is currently held by another Missouri hunter from 2014. https://www.outdoorlife.com/hunting/eighteen-point-missouri-doe/

OK, we admit there may be a python on the loose

Residents of an Oklahoma City trailer park knew that something was responsible for the missing cats in their community. Then someone took a photo of a large albino python outside one of homes. The management had known the snake was loose since June and didn’t inform the residents or do anything about it. Instead, the residents were told to keep quiet about the rumor or they might be evicted. Once the news got too big to conceal, a wildlife control service was called in to wrangle the snake, which was estimated at 13 feet long and a possible threat to children. The expert noted that the escaped snake was no longer safe to keep as a pet since it had been eating wild animals and free for so long. There was no update that it had been captured. https://kfor.com/news/local/13-foot-long-python-survives-five-months-eating-cats-in-okc-trailer-park/

Spider webs falling

Ballooning baby spiders caused a stir in Salinas, California this week as many people saw the silky threads flying through the air and landing on the ground. It was an opportune time for the spiders to spread by emitting a burst of silk that gets taken up by the wind and carries them aloft to new areas. At first, observers were concerned the substance was something dangerous. But the news media got the scoop and turned the story into an educational one about how nature works. https://www.ksbw.com/article/web-like-substance-seen-falling-from-the-sky-across-the-central-coast/45445759

Loch Fresh monster

This news story holds a few lessons, foremost of which is that people see what they want to believe. A pond in Cambridge Massachusetts was the focus of monster watchers as rumor circulated that some kind of big creature existed in the reservoir. The bubbles, ripples, and objects sighted were assumed by witnesses to represent a living underwater animal. But officials say there is no way a 15 ft monster exists here. The bubbles are caused by an aeration system. The pond also has a floating log that bobbed on the surface, diving birds, and fish that account for the sightings that people exaggerate or misinterpret as something larger and more exciting. Signs even appeared around the pond and locals named it “Freshie” the Loch Fresh monster. As usual, some refuse to believe it’s nothing and you can bet they will continue to spread the tall tales. https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/10/05/metro/loch-fresh-monster-cambridge/

Log Ness monster from Massachusetts

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