Weekly Weird News for July 7, 2021
Every week I scour the news feeds for interesting pieces about fringe topics that you may have missed or have gone viral. Here is a roundup of those links with some additional suggestions about story points that have not received due attention. Feel free to comment! Send me stories via Twitter!
Disclaimer: News links go dead really quickly or they may require subscriptions or registration.
Hi everyone. I was out of town last week so didn't get to write up the Weekly Weird News for July 2. But I was watching for news. Always watching. There was lots of it. I picked out some of the best. I'll do another post on the regular schedule.
Foremost in the news were the two "ocean on fire" examples that scared the heck out of observers. The causes of the two events, one in Mexico, one in Azerbaijan, were different.
A gas leak was responsible for what the media dubbed the 'eye of fire' in Mexican waters. At first, these images looked almost like CGI. People were questioning whether it was real or not. There will always be some who assert we've opened another portal to hell or unleashed Godzilla. It was certainly alarming. https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/03/americas/gulf-of-mexico-fire-intl/index.html
Nature was not to be outdone, however... a "natural" gas leak explodes in a Caspian sea fireball. The explosion and fire were witnessed and the ascending flame, which looked like a gas fire, was recorded on video. https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/explosion-fire-reported-near-oil-field-in-caspian-sea-672881
Again, there was initial confusion as it was assumed that perhaps a ship or an oil rig had exploded in this area where oil/gas recovery is ongoing. It turns out this was a natural hydrocarbon release and explosion. Check out the post on Spooky Geology for more on this.
All week, we've been hearing about the tragic building collapse in Miami. A spooky story has emerged whereby a family waiting for news of their missing grandparents received repeated calls from their phone number. The family reported 16 calls that originated from the collapsed building. All they heard was static on the line. Hopeful, they called the number, but the line was busy. It's likely a result of the rubble causing the phone to misdial repeatedly. There is now little hope that residents will be found alive in the ruins. Phone calls from the dead are not that uncommon. Many have been documented. It is unnerving for the survivors and some remain unexplained. https://www.local10.com/news/local/2021/06/26/missing-grandparents-landline-calling-from-inside-champlain-towers-condo-family-says/
In other news, we return to the very bizarre incident of the Slender Man stabbing of 2014. A Wisconsin judge ordered the release of one of the 19-year-old women from a psychiatric hospital where she has been held for more than three years for her role in the nearly fatal stabbing of a friend, a crime she said was carried out to gain the favor of a sinister fictional character called Slender Man. The crime created a huge news buzz at the time when people were astounded that sixth-grade girls could commit such an act and that it was associated with a fictional being. The story is complex. It generated an HBO documentary worth watching. Both Anissa Weier and Morgan Geyser were sentenced to psychiatric care. Weier, who did not wield the knife, was released after doctors deemed she was no longer a threat to herself or others and her 25 yr sentence was commuted. Geyser was sentenced to 40 years in a psychiatric hospital and her appeals to overturn the sentence have been denied. Under Wisconsin law, the 12 yr olds were tried as adults. They did not face prison. But, one could argue that young minds could be rightfully rehabilitated and they deserve to live out their lives in a more normal environment. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/01/us/slender-man-stabbing-anissa-weier-released.html
A new old problem in Barnagat, New Jersey: What to do with old buildings that have some historical or architectural value to the community? Call them haunted. Places are almost considered haunted by default if they were once a busy structure that has now fallen into disrepair. Claims of ghosts often have more to do with the environment, ambiance, and cultural messages we get than about good evidence. The suggestion of ghosts is a way to connect to the past and for people to justify retention of old structures. It's often a way to give them new life, as a paranormal tourism draw. https://www.inquirer.com/news/haunted-school-elizabeth-edwards-new-jersey-20210706.html
Exorcisms Are Back—and More Political Than Ever. In a story related to content in my last post regarding the "tree exorcism" in a Home Depot (if that's what it was), a group of determined people in Massachusetts attempted an exorcism to remove the curse of greed from St. Vincent's Hospital. Weird. Creative, but weird. The organizers seemed to think there was nothing odd about co-opting prayers for the removal of evil from a person to a less specific victim. This article pulls together some examples and suggests that these actions to "remove evil" are public displays of political conflict. Some people welcome them. Others feel they demean Catholic rites. Interesting reading. https://www.thedailybeast.com/exorcisms-are-backand-more-political-than-ever
There were a bunch of animal oddities in the news this past week.
Jordanian attacked by shark while parasailing in Aqaba. A man was bitten by a shark when gliding just above the water in the Aqaba Gulf in the Red Sea in Jordan, an area not commonly known for shark attacks. From the video, shown here, it looks like two people were attached to harnesses and their feet were skimming the water when the shark leaped up and grabbed the leg of one person. According to reports, the man lost his leg even after being quickly rescued and treated. This is a rare thing. I mean, you can't really say you were in the shark's element. Very unexpected. https://gulfnews.com/world/mena/jordanian-attacked-by-shark-while-parasailing-in-aqaba-1.80300575
In another rare event, a man was bitten by a snake in a toilet. An escaped python in Austria was suspected to have swum through pipes and entered the man's home. The article suggests it was dark when the man took the ill-fated relief trip. It is not altogether clear how the snake ended up in the neighboring apartment. It was captured and returned to the owner. This sort of accident has happened before. Some snakes seek out water and dark places to hide. https://apnews.com/article/europe-austria-environment-and-nature-f6197c876b74881cca252980f8ed98c0
In North Carolina, a venomous snake boldly terrorized a neighborhood for three days. A Raleigh neighborhood was on edge for three days where a zebra cobra was on the loose. Several people saw the snake enjoying the sun near their homes. This snake, an escaped pet, can spit venom from its fangs. Authorities cordoned off the area and captured it with a glue trap. The snake was sent to a reptile facility where it was said to be safe, not dead. It's unclear if the snake will be returned to its owner who probably should be cited for lack of a secure enclosure for a dangerous animal. It is legal to own such animals in NC under a permit provided they are “escape-proof” and “bite-proof” enclosures with locks. That was clearly a fail. Snakes are pretty slick escape artists. https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/07/02/raleigh-escaped-zebra-cobra-captured/
A boa has been missing in Texas for several days now. The 8 ft long snake was accidentally released after home workers knocked over the cage. The snake was spotted by a hiker. The owner said it doesn't pose a threat to people. https://ksltv.com/465903/tooele-boa/
In another very unexpected animal encounter, an Atlanta woman awoke to a wild cat on her bed. The cat, later identified as a serval, native to Africa but imported as a pet, had jumped up onto the bed after entering through an open door. Terrified, she left the room and unfortunately, the cat was allowed to escape. It has not yet been found. It is illegal to have servals in Georgia. Going by its behavior, officials say the cat is probably not a serious threat to people. https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/03/us/woman-finds-serval-in-bed-trnd/
Some good news, a story that promoted conspiracy ideas has closed in Scotland. The establishment promoted flat earth, anti-vax, and chemtrails. https://www.inverness-courier.co.uk/news/the-flat-earths-controversial-hq-in-inverness-appears-to-ha-242960/
But the bad news about conspiratorial ideas is that many Americans buy into them. A new Pew Research poll suggests that 51% of those surveyed think that UFOs reported by the military are evidence of alien life visiting earth. The survey is in response to the UAP disclosure report that really gave us no indication that evidence of alien visitation was found in the data. Instead, people assume that military personnel are more accurate observers and know what they see. Thus, the framing has given more credence to UFO reports. As I linked to in the last post, these aren't valid assumptions. There are many potential explanations for anomalous sightings. Polls like this are a shallow measure of a complex subject. The questions oversimplify a complicated cultural phenomenon. Unfortunately, people will make decisions based on a cursory examination of media reports that are designed to promote a specific narrative. We see this happen repeatedly in politically charged subject areas. We lack critical thinking in American society. This poll primarily shows how successful the narrative of UFO/UAP has been to a receptive audience who harbor a deep distrust of authorities. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/06/30/most-americans-believe-in-intelligent-life-beyond-earth-few-see-ufos-as-a-major-national-security-threat/
Finally, this was a hot thing this past week on social media.
It's fake, thank goodness. But not really that weird considering other weird things that are not fake. Brought to you by the Doctor Photograph Instagram account.
Please share this post widely to online groups and with people you know that might be interested in getting a curated selection of weird news directly to their inbox every week. If you have not subscribed, please hit the subscribe button at the top. Thanks for reading! Comments welcome.