Weekly Weird News for June 18, 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.
Viral video shows sinkhole swallowing parked car at housing society in Mumbai
People are calling this a sinkhole. But rains had washed away concrete that covered a long-standing well. The rains likely had caused a very high water table. The car was just parked in the wrong spot and sunk into the water. This was all around bad engineering for a parking lot as the well was never properly sealed and the car had little support. The car was later retrieved via a crane.
https://www.indiatoday.in/cities/mumbai/story/mumbai-ghatkopar-parked-car-sinkhole-sealed-well-bmc-viral-video-1814335-2021-06-13
Mysterious Ailment Blinding and Killing Birds in Washington, D.C. Area
A disturbing mass mortality event is affecting songbirds in DC, Virginia, Maryland and West Virginia. Birds are being found with swollen, crusted eyes. Some are blind and have neurological impairments. Federal officials are urging the public to take down bird feeders to help stop the unknown disease from spreading.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/mysterious-ailment-blinding-and-killing-birds-washington-dc-area-180978002/
A Mango with a "face" makes people in Kenya freak out.
This is not the first time an unripe mango fruit took on the look of a face. And it probably won't be the last. People seem to have gone a bit crazy about it, though. Some think it was witchcraft and attribute other unusual events around town to the same weird reason.
https://kenyanlyrics.co.ke/2021/06/11/hii-ni-uchawi-imeenda-shule-reactions-as-unripe-mango-fruit-turns-into-a-human-like-face-video/
Message in a bottle travels across the Atlantic Ocean - from Rhode Island to the Azores
The Powerade plastic bottle took 2 and a half years to go 2400 miles via ocean current. The sender remains unknown. Good story! Hope we get closure. But, maybe don't throw bottles in the ocean.
https://apnews.com/article/europe-atlantic-ocean-9c417df29186d90ca9526025dca226c2
Weird 'living fossil' fish lives 100 years, pregnant for 5
The coelacanth is a weird fish. It just got much weirder. It's a slow-growing, long-lived fish that probably helped it survive relatively isolated and unknown to scientists who assumed it was extinct. The extra-long gestation time is really weird. Because the fish are rare and can't be regularly harvested, the research has not been confirmed.
https://apnews.com/article/fish-science-environment-and-nature-0364a1007aea49574a2b68aee6009aa6
Girl buried with finch in her mouth puzzles archaeologists
It's not clear why the 10-12 yr old girl had the head of a bird in her mouth. The 300 yr old burial in a cave is unusual and the bird presence is unique.
https://www.livescience.com/girl-burial-finch-in-mouth-poland.html
Another mysterious monolith appears — this time on Sled Hill in Woodstock
After a rash of mysterious silver monoliths popped up around the world, and often were quickly removed, the trend died down and copycats trailed off. But they are not gone completely. The latest, in Woodstock, NY, resembles the structure from 2001: A Space Odyssey.
https://www.dailyfreeman.com/local-news/photos-another-mysterious-monolith-appears-this-time-on-sled-hill-in-woodstock/article_622e9974-ce2d-11eb-a7c6-cfaa1006fddb.html
Raccoon with head stuck in sewer cover rescued by Harrison Twp. Fire Department
Poor guy. He was finally freed by using oil and was uninjured.
https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/macomb/2021/06/10/raccoon-head-stuck-sewer-harrison-township-fire-department/7639043002/
Strange white light spotted in Chalfont St Peter - with huge crop circle also discovered in nearby field
A man sees a strange light in a field around 1 AM and discovers a circle of matted and burnt vegetation the next day. In today's hyper-dramatic contexts, they think "aliens" but, in reality, some people were probably in the field. Let's stay grounded, folks. (Yeah, that wouldn't be news, though.)
https://www.bucksfreepress.co.uk/news/19380076.strange-white-light-spotted-chalfont-st-peter---huge-crop-circle-also-discovered-nearby-field/
Man accused of murdering mum and daughter said 'ancient spirit' lived at home
A clearly unstable man who is charged with murdering two people says two jinn were in the house of the deceased. One followed him to jail where he was thrown across the cell. The supernatural defense (and the claim that the girl killed her mum) is not going well.
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/supernatural-spirit-murders-mum-daughter-24331894
The Mystery of Betelgeuse's Dimming Has Finally Been Solved
Many thought the star was about to go supernova. The answer was found in the star's own behavior. https://www.wired.com/story/mystery-of-betelgeuse-dimming-finally-solved/