Weekly Weird News for 7 April 2023

Welcome to another weird week. But this newsletter addresses the stuff that wasn’t in the headlines. Once again, alligators feature in the news, which is almost always disturbing. Other reptiles also made annoying appearances.

Ally and Gator find a new home

In some good news, the stories about alligators and other crocodilians being abandoned in crates or ponds in Pennsylvania, led to one owner voluntarily surrendering his animals instead. Two alligators were given to a Philadelphia area animal welfare organization after the publicity surrounding an abandoned caiman released into the cold. The animal was put down because no animal sanctuary would take it. But its story probably saved these animals who were quickly rehomed. https://www.axios.com/newsletters/axios-philadelphia-798e3b1b-a324-40db-87f0-95773e989f6e.html?chunk=1&utm_term=emshare#story1

Alligator shot holding human remains

It’s tough to hear stories like this one: A toddler is dead in a horrific way after his father throws him in a Florida lake and the 2-yr old’s remains are found in the mouth of an alligator. It’s not clear if the boy was dead prior to the alligator encounter because the man had attacked and killed the child’s mother beforehand. The animal was killed in order to retrieve the remains that confirmed it was the child. The 21 yr old man faces two counts of murder for the deaths of his son and the child’s mother. https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/03/us/florida-alligator-toddler-taylen-mosley-lake-father/index.html and https://www.tampabay.com/news/breaking-news/2023/04/02/update-what-happened-st-petersburg-woman-dead-toddler-son-father-arrest/

Iguana infection

A child contracted an unusual infection after being bitten by an iguana while on vacation in Costa Rica. The 3-yr old girl had an encounter with the lizard after it tried to steal some cake. Her wound was treated but several months later developed an infected lump. The new condition was the result of mycobacterium that had infected the wound. It took that long to incubate. She was treated with antibiotics. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2023/mar/31/toddlers-mystery-infection-traced-back-to-cake-snatching-iguana

Snake on a plane

The sole pilot of a private small plane in South Africa had an unwanted visitor in the cockpit during the flight, a Cape cobra. He felt the snake in his midsection during the trip and was able to then visually confirm its description as the animal went under the seat. He calmly informed the passengers and was able to make an emergency landing without incident. The bite of this snake can kill someone within an hour. Upon landing, the native snake was not found. https://www.npr.org/2023/04/05/1168206000/snake-on-a-plane-cobra-cockpit-south-africa

Plane trips will get bumpier due to climate change

Why are we hearing more about severe turbulence encountered by aircraft? Because it’s getting more common. Over the past year, there have been several incidents of dangerous clear-air turbulence experienced by commercial fliers resulting in rattled nerves, illness, and serious injuries. A new study suggests that climate change is causing increase wind shear in the upper atmosphere that results in bumpier sky travel. At the most risk is flight attendants who aren’t able to be seated and bucked all the time and who can be injured. Some turbulence can be predicted and people can prepare. Or, planes can fly lower but this uses more fuel because it takes longer without taking advantage of natural air currents to propel the plane. https://www.npr.org/2023/04/06/1166993992/turbulence-climate-change

Officer Thumper

A police Department in California adopted a bunny that one officer found abandoned. Now, this “wellness officer” is a welcome break for the staff who have to deal with some heavy stuff. https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-us-canada-65209664

Oooh, free samples

A moose walked into the lobby of a health care facility in Anchorage, Alaska in order to sample what he thought was the snack bar. The moose, probably only a yearling, appeared to notice the potted plants in the lobby and came in to have a look. Moose encounters can be extremely dangerous, obviously. Security officers pushed furniture towards the animal to encourage it to leave which it did. Surprisingly, this was not the first time a moose walked into a hospital. It also happened in 2019 at another Alaska facility. https://www.alaskasnewssource.com/2023/04/07/whats-code-this-moose-wanders-into-providence-hospital-lobby-anchorage/

Italian ELVE

A nature photographer captured a rare atmospheric phenomenon called an “ELVE” or emission of light and very low frequency electromagnetic pulses”. A glowing red ring appeared in the sky on March 27 over Possagno, Italy after a storm. The huge formation was over 200 miles across in the ionosphere. This is the best photo of an ELVE which were only understood relatively recently. The photographer has made an effort to photograph transient luminous events like this and posted the picture on Spaceweather.com where it was popularized. https://www.livescience.com/eerie-ring-of-red-light-flashes-like-a-massive-ufo-above-italy-what-was-it

Always check your pockets

A laundromat in Spain exploded after a customer left a butane lighter inside clothes that were in the dryer. A security video shows another customer just leaving seconds prior to the dryer igniting and blowing the glass out of the front of the store. https://au.news.yahoo.com/laundromat-explodes-almost-killing-man-after-simple-washing-mistake-081822726.html

Woman accused of witchcraft by family and neighbors

A woman in Nigeria was forced to carry the body of her dead child when she was accused of witchcraft that resulted in the child’s death. The community blamed her for the child’s unexpected death so her corpse was dumped in front of the house. The brother of the dead child, a pastor, urged people to dig for hidden buried charms, which people conveniently “found”. It’s unclear if the woman was the pastor’s mother. The woman was taunted and collapsed during the ordeal, proclaiming her innocence, until others intervened and removed the child’s body from her. Authorities and anti-witchcraft activists are working on the case. It is not uncommon for witchcraft claims to be lodged against women, some of whom can be beaten or killed. Some Nigerians still believe that strange happenings are caused from deliberate evil means. https://communityreporters.com.ng/2023/04/02/anambra-widow-humiliated-forced-to-carry-daughters-corpse-over-alleged-witchcraft/

Family harassed with trash

A family in Buckinghamshire, England felt harassed and disturbed by pranksters who were repeatedly leaving trash arranged outside their home. On three consecutive Saturdays, cereal boxes, and even milk and a spoon, were left outside the door. They eventually called police and set up a camera. Other residents think it might be a TikTok challenge to harass neighbors this way but no one had really heard of this kind of trend. https://www.bucksfreepress.co.uk/news/23436591.amersham-police-investigate-cereal-box-mystery/

Chatbot implicated in suicide

In the past few weeks, we’ve been hearing a LOT about chat bots. But they are not new and have been around for a long time improving in their realism and becoming more popular. A man in Belgium recently committed suicide after conversing with a chatbot named ELIZA over his increasing concern over environmental worries. The man, who was married with a family, would have long and intense exchanges with the chatbot that his wife feels contributed to the decline in his mental health. The family met with government officials to discuss the problem of unregulated apps that can lead to abuse and additional tragedies. It’s not something we think about in our daily lives but we are being manipulated by AI all the time. https://www.firstpost.com/world/belgian-man-dies-by-suicide-after-chatting-about-climate-change-with-ai-bot-12382752.html

That story reminded me of the Kate Bush song Deeper Understanding about a person sucked into a dangerous relationship with a chat bot. That was back in 2011. But a longer version of the song was made into a video by Kate Bush where [Spoilers] Robbie Coltrane offs Noel Fielding.

Sorry about the downers this week. It’s tough out there and the news reminds us of it constantly, if we let it. Shutting of the news stream is one thing you can control. Take a break from media and try to reconnect with family, friends, nature, and pets. It’s not healthy to absorb too much information.

Take care!