Strange & Bizarre News

nivek

As Above So Below


Giant moon escapes, rolls down street in Henan

The enormous inflatable satellite was seemingly caught by a particularly strong gust of wind during this year's lunar festival celebrations in Henan province and broke free of its moorings.

In a video clip that has been circulating online, festival organizers can be seen chasing the errant lunar sphere as it careens down the street while motorists stop nearby to observe the spectacle. It isn't clear how (or even if) they managed to get a handle on the thing.

This wasn't the only mishap to beset the lunar celebrations this year either - another inflatable moon reportedly escaped its handlers in Hong Kong and ended up blowing into a river. The same thing has happened before, too, in the city of Fuzhou in 2016 during Typhoon Meranti. Suffice to say, festival organizers might want to come up with a better way to secure their balloons.

.
 

nivek

As Above So Below
No fast food for me ever again, can't trust people these days...

...

Footage shows Subway worker WALKING in food, putting cold cuts on the toilet RIM and drinking out of soft drink bottles before putting them back on a counter



Subway worker Jumanne posted a series of videos vandalizing a Subway restaurant in Providence, Rhode Island, where he dumped food onto the floor. He put sandwich ingredients on the bathroom floor and toilet. In another video he recorded himself as he walked across tubs of food and then put them back, presumably to be used in customers' sandwiches.Jumanne even drank from Gatorade bottles and put them back on the shelf. In an interview with DailyMail.com he admitted he did it because he was trying to draw attention to his films and music. 'I just reached a point where I decided I would be willing to take a higher risk for a higher reward,' he said, referring to money from his videos as that reward. He started making the series of 30 horrifying videos after putting in his two weeks, which expired earlier this month. Jumanne told DailyMail.com that $200 was taken out of his final paycheck for the damages and his boss felt 'angry and disrespected'.

.
 

pigfarmer

tall, thin, irritable


Giant moon escapes, rolls down street in Henan

The enormous inflatable satellite was seemingly caught by a particularly strong gust of wind during this year's lunar festival celebrations in Henan province and broke free of its moorings.

In a video clip that has been circulating online, festival organizers can be seen chasing the errant lunar sphere as it careens down the street while motorists stop nearby to observe the spectacle. It isn't clear how (or even if) they managed to get a handle on the thing.

This wasn't the only mishap to beset the lunar celebrations this year either - another inflatable moon reportedly escaped its handlers in Hong Kong and ended up blowing into a river. The same thing has happened before, too, in the city of Fuzhou in 2016 during Typhoon Meranti. Suffice to say, festival organizers might want to come up with a better way to secure their balloons.

.

b007
 

pigfarmer

tall, thin, irritable
Not news but a bit weird. I normally squish spiders but in this case, leave the little guys alone

When NASA gave spiders drugs to see how it affected their webs, 1995 - Rare Historical Photos

When NASA gave spiders drugs to see how it affected their webs, 1995
Nasa-spiders-drugs-experiment%2B%25281%2529.jpg


A NASA study from 1995 shows just how different drugs affect the spiders’ ability to make webs.

A NASA tech briefing “Using Spider-Web Patterns To Determine Toxicity” was published in April 1995. The work was done by researchers at Marshall Space Flight Center to see how various substances — including caffeine — affect spider web patterns.

According to the briefing, the purpose of the study was to examine how toxic a chemical is by exposing spiders to it and comparing how their webs differed from that of a normal spider web.

The researchers exposed spiders to a range of different chemicals, including caffeine, marijuana, and Benzedrine — a type of amphetamine — and noted how they spun their webs under the influence of each of those substances. The experiment was performed on European garden spiders.

The article noted: “It appears that one of the most telling measures of toxicity is a decrease, in comparison with a normal web, of the numbers of completed sides in the cells: the greater the toxicity, the more sides the spider fails to complete.”


Nasa-spiders-drugs-experiment%2B%25282%2529.jpg

A web made by a spider on marijuana on the right (normal web is on the left).

This wasn’t the first time that this kind of experiment was done on spiders. In 1948, Swiss pharmacologist Peter N. Witt started his research on the effect of drugs on spiders. The initial motivation for the study was a request from his colleague, zoologist H. M. Peters, to shift the time when garden spiders build their webs between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m., which apparently annoyed Peters, to earlier hours.

Witt tested spiders with a range of psychoactive drugs, including amphetamine, mescaline, strychnine, LSD, and caffeine, and found that the drugs affect the size and shape of the web rather than the time when it is built.

At small doses of caffeine (10 µg/spider), the webs were smaller; the radii were uneven, but the regularity of the circles was unaffected. At higher doses (100 µg/spider), the shape changed more, and the web design became irregular. All the drugs tested reduced web regularity except for small doses (0.1–0.3 µg) of LSD, which increased web regularity.

The drugs were administered by dissolving them in sugar water, and a drop of solution was touched to the spider’s mouth. In some later studies, spiders were fed with drugged flies. For qualitative studies, a well-defined volume of solution was administered through a fine syringe. The webs were photographed for the same spider before and after drugging.

NASA’s results were qualitatively similar to those of Witt, but the novelty was that the pattern of the spider web was quantitatively analyzed with modern statistical tools, and proposed as a sensitive method of drug detection.


NASA’s researchers said this approach to toxicity testing could serve as an alternative to testing harmful chemicals on what they referred to as “higher animals,” which they said was “becoming increasingly restricted by law.”

Nasa-spiders-drugs-experiment%2B%25283%2529.jpg

A normal web on the left next to a web made by a spider on LSD.

Nasa-spiders-drugs-experiment%2B%25284%2529.jpg

A normal web on the left and a web made by a spider on chloral hydrate (sleeping pills).

Nasa-spiders-drugs-experiment%2B%25285%2529.jpg

Spiders who’d sampled caffeine made webs with disorganized cells.

Nasa-spiders-drugs-experiment%2B%25286%2529.jpg

A spider who’d been given Benzedrine spins a deformed web.

Nasa-spiders-drugs-experiment%2B%25287%2529.jpg

NASA’s original article.

(Photo credit: NASA / Wiki Commons / Wikipedia / The Sun).

Updated on: October 13, 2021
 

wwkirk

Divine
Not news but a bit weird. I normally squish spiders but in this case, leave the little guys alone

When NASA gave spiders drugs to see how it affected their webs, 1995 - Rare Historical Photos

When NASA gave spiders drugs to see how it affected their webs, 1995
Nasa-spiders-drugs-experiment%2B%25281%2529.jpg


A NASA study from 1995 shows just how different drugs affect the spiders’ ability to make webs.

A NASA tech briefing “Using Spider-Web Patterns To Determine Toxicity” was published in April 1995. The work was done by researchers at Marshall Space Flight Center to see how various substances — including caffeine — affect spider web patterns.

According to the briefing, the purpose of the study was to examine how toxic a chemical is by exposing spiders to it and comparing how their webs differed from that of a normal spider web.

The researchers exposed spiders to a range of different chemicals, including caffeine, marijuana, and Benzedrine — a type of amphetamine — and noted how they spun their webs under the influence of each of those substances. The experiment was performed on European garden spiders.

The article noted: “It appears that one of the most telling measures of toxicity is a decrease, in comparison with a normal web, of the numbers of completed sides in the cells: the greater the toxicity, the more sides the spider fails to complete.”


Nasa-spiders-drugs-experiment%2B%25282%2529.jpg

A web made by a spider on marijuana on the right (normal web is on the left).

This wasn’t the first time that this kind of experiment was done on spiders. In 1948, Swiss pharmacologist Peter N. Witt started his research on the effect of drugs on spiders. The initial motivation for the study was a request from his colleague, zoologist H. M. Peters, to shift the time when garden spiders build their webs between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m., which apparently annoyed Peters, to earlier hours.

Witt tested spiders with a range of psychoactive drugs, including amphetamine, mescaline, strychnine, LSD, and caffeine, and found that the drugs affect the size and shape of the web rather than the time when it is built.

At small doses of caffeine (10 µg/spider), the webs were smaller; the radii were uneven, but the regularity of the circles was unaffected. At higher doses (100 µg/spider), the shape changed more, and the web design became irregular. All the drugs tested reduced web regularity except for small doses (0.1–0.3 µg) of LSD, which increased web regularity.

The drugs were administered by dissolving them in sugar water, and a drop of solution was touched to the spider’s mouth. In some later studies, spiders were fed with drugged flies. For qualitative studies, a well-defined volume of solution was administered through a fine syringe. The webs were photographed for the same spider before and after drugging.

NASA’s results were qualitatively similar to those of Witt, but the novelty was that the pattern of the spider web was quantitatively analyzed with modern statistical tools, and proposed as a sensitive method of drug detection.


NASA’s researchers said this approach to toxicity testing could serve as an alternative to testing harmful chemicals on what they referred to as “higher animals,” which they said was “becoming increasingly restricted by law.”

Nasa-spiders-drugs-experiment%2B%25283%2529.jpg

A normal web on the left next to a web made by a spider on LSD.

Nasa-spiders-drugs-experiment%2B%25284%2529.jpg

A normal web on the left and a web made by a spider on chloral hydrate (sleeping pills).

Nasa-spiders-drugs-experiment%2B%25285%2529.jpg

Spiders who’d sampled caffeine made webs with disorganized cells.

Nasa-spiders-drugs-experiment%2B%25286%2529.jpg

A spider who’d been given Benzedrine spins a deformed web.

Nasa-spiders-drugs-experiment%2B%25287%2529.jpg

NASA’s original article.

(Photo credit: NASA / Wiki Commons / Wikipedia / The Sun).

Updated on: October 13, 2021
Proof drugs are bad? The normal ones were the best.
 

pigfarmer

tall, thin, irritable
Well, if you want to consume drugs that's fine by me but I guess what I failed to get from the article was why spiders? I assume there's a good scienceical reason to all this - hope so you and I paid for it. Stomped a huge wood spider this morning with my Muck boots out in the garage. Pulpy.

Next time maybe I'll just blow a little Pieface on it instead, maybe offer it a beer.
 

nivek

As Above So Below
New York City is struck by an outbreak of a rare disease caused by bacteria found in RAT URINE that is linked to 15 cases and one death

A rare disease has struck New York City - and rat urine appears to be responsible for it. At least 15 cases of Weil's disease, or leptospirosis, have been reported in the Big Apple this year as well as one death.

Only 57 cases of the disease were detected in New York from 2006 to 2020, meaning 2021 alone already accounts for more than 25 percent of the total over the previous decade and a half.

The disease is spread from animals to humans, and it is likely that humans are picking up the virus from infected rat urine. Why exactly the outbreak is occurring this year is not known, though some experts believe the rise in temperatures and other climate-related factors could be playing a role.

Weil's disease is a bacterial disease spread through the urine of infected animals. A person can become infected when they come in contact with the infected animal urine through food or water. Animals that can transfer the disease to humans include cows, pigs, horses dogs and rodents - like rats - according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Symptoms can appear abruptly from two days to four weeks after a person is exposed to the bacteria, and often include fever, headache, chills, abdominal pain and diarrhea among others. Some infected people will even suffer from jaundice, a condition where the skin and eyes of a person turn yellow.

Symptoms will disappear, but in more serious cases will return for a second, more serious, phase. Patients who suffer the second phase could experience kidney or liver failure, meningitis or even death.


(More on the link)

.
 

nivek

As Above So Below
How the hell can anyone swallow a cell phone?...

...

Cell Phone Removed From Stomach of Man Who Swallowed it Six Months Ago

upload_2021-10-22_13-0-29.png

In a bizarre story out of Egypt, doctors removed a cell phone from the stomach of a patient who swallowed it a staggering six months ago. The very odd case reportedly unfolded at the Aswan University Hospital when an unnamed patient arrived at the facility complaining about having abdominal pains. When he was subsequently x-rayed to see what might be causing the problems, doctors were amazed to discover that he had a cell phone in his stomach.

Although the man did not explain why exactly he had swallowed the object, he sheepishly admitted to having done so six months ago. The patient went on to explain that embarrassment over the strange 'snack' kept him from seeking help for all that time. Instead, he simply hoped that the cell phone would pass naturally through his digestive system and only decided to go to the hospital when the pain from the object lodged in his stomach became too much for him to bear.

Saying that they had never seen a case of this kind, doctors at the hospital were understandably concerned about the dangers posed by the ingested cell phone, specifically injuries which could come from the object's battery, and rushed the man into surgery. Following a two-hour-long procedure, surgeons were able to successfully extract the object and it appears that the man did not have any lasting ill-effects from the medical misadventure.


.
 

nivek

As Above So Below
Sneakachu! Georgia man is charged with fraud for spending $57k of federal COVID assistance on SINGLE Pokemon card

A Georgia man was charged with wire fraud on Tuesday after he lied to the Small Business Administration to get an $85,000 COVID-19 relief loan. Dublin resident Vinath Oudomsine had used the relief fund to purchase a single Pokemon card that cost $57,789. He had submitted the application through the SBA's Economic Injury Disaster Fund (EIDL) that was designed to help small businesses during the pandemic.

 

nivek

As Above So Below
Hiker lost on US mountain ignored calls from rescuers because he didn’t recognise the number

A man who became lost for 24 hours while hiking on Colorado’s highest mountain ignored repeated phone calls from rescue teams because they came from an unknown number, authorities say.

The hiker was reported missing around 8pm on 18 October after failing to return to where he was staying, Lake county search and rescue said. Repeated attempts to contact the man through calls, texts and voicemail messages went ignored, according to a statement released by the agency.

Five rescue team members were deployed at around 10pm to search “high probability areas” on from Mount Elbert but returned around 3am the following morning after failing to locate the missing hiker on the 4401 metre-high (14,440ft) peak. A second team set out at 7am the next day to search areas where hikers “typically lose the trail” only to discover the man had returned to his place of lodging about 9:30am.

The hiker told authorities he had lost his way around nightfall and “bounced around on to different trails trying to locate the proper trailhead” before finally reaching his car the next morning, about 24 hours after setting out on the hike. Lake county search and rescue said the man reported having “no idea” anyone was out looking for him.

“One notable take-away is that the subject ignored repeated phone calls from us because they didn’t recognise the number,” the agency added. “If you’re overdue according to your itinerary, and you start getting repeated calls from an unknown number, please answer the phone; it may be a search and rescue team trying to confirm you’re safe!”

More than 32 hours were dedicated to the search. News that the hiker had ignored calls from rescuers prompted a flurry of furious responses from members of the public.


(More on the link)

.
 

wwkirk

Divine
Hiker lost on US mountain ignored calls from rescuers because he didn’t recognise the number

A man who became lost for 24 hours while hiking on Colorado’s highest mountain ignored repeated phone calls from rescue teams because they came from an unknown number, authorities say.

The hiker was reported missing around 8pm on 18 October after failing to return to where he was staying, Lake county search and rescue said. Repeated attempts to contact the man through calls, texts and voicemail messages went ignored, according to a statement released by the agency.

Five rescue team members were deployed at around 10pm to search “high probability areas” on from Mount Elbert but returned around 3am the following morning after failing to locate the missing hiker on the 4401 metre-high (14,440ft) peak. A second team set out at 7am the next day to search areas where hikers “typically lose the trail” only to discover the man had returned to his place of lodging about 9:30am.

The hiker told authorities he had lost his way around nightfall and “bounced around on to different trails trying to locate the proper trailhead” before finally reaching his car the next morning, about 24 hours after setting out on the hike. Lake county search and rescue said the man reported having “no idea” anyone was out looking for him.

“One notable take-away is that the subject ignored repeated phone calls from us because they didn’t recognise the number,” the agency added. “If you’re overdue according to your itinerary, and you start getting repeated calls from an unknown number, please answer the phone; it may be a search and rescue team trying to confirm you’re safe!”

More than 32 hours were dedicated to the search. News that the hiker had ignored calls from rescuers prompted a flurry of furious responses from members of the public.


(More on the link)

.
His thought process was bizarre, though it must have meant he didn't feel he was in desperate circumstances. At the same time, since he had given someone his itinerary, he should have expected people to have thought him missing. Isn't that why you declare your itinerary?

It also is a little odd that no one from a number he would have recognized tried to call him. Presumably they are the ones who reported him missing.
 

nivek

As Above So Below
He's a wheel idiot! Moment Michigan man with a suspended license dials into his Zoom court hearing while DRIVING

Kevon Burns logged into his Zoom hearing for a suspended license while driving in a now viral video, which shows Judge Erane C. Washington, of Ypsilanti, Michigan, asking him if he is driving as he is seen in the front seat of a car. He replies matter-of-factly that he is indeed driving, as Washington notes that he is in court for a suspended license. Burns then tried to defend himself, claiming that he is just parking a friend's car as the blinker goes off, to which Washington tells him to just park it and get out. At that point, though, Burns asks Washington if she is in a bad mood because she has had a bad day.

 

nivek

As Above So Below


Workers Stranded Outside Apartment's 26th Floor After Tenant Cuts Their Rope

A woman in Thailand has been charged with attempted murder after she cut a rope being used by painters working on the exterior of her apartment building and, in turn, left the terrified men stuck dangling perilously outside the 26th floor of the high-rise. The bizarre incident reportedly occurred earlier this month in Bangkok's Nonthaburi province when the two men descended from the 32nd floor on a platform with the intention of fixing a crack spotted in the building. In the process of lowering themselves to the area of interest, something felt amiss and, to their horror, they looked down and saw a woman on the 21st floor reach out her window and cut the rope!

The tenant's brazen act left the men unable to lower themselves beyond where the rope had been cut and, as such, they found themselves stranded on the side of the building. Attempts to find someone to help them proved futile as they slowly descended stories calling out for help. Fortunately, by the time they reached the 26th floor of the building, a tenant living there noticed the panicked painters attempting to grab onto a clothesline located on her balcony. After explaining the situation to the bewildered woman, the workers were able to safely escape their predicament by daringly jumping onto the balcony from the unsteady platform before it was too late.

As for the tenant who cut the rope, cops eventually tracked down the woman and she was subsequently charged with attempted murder as well as destruction of property. Although the building association insisted that they had informed residents of the work that was to be done that day, apparently this particular individual had not gotten the memo and, upon seeing the painters' rope outside her window, grew so aggravated that she decided to sever it. The woman now faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted and, we're guessing, the apartment building management is likely taking steps to ensure that her days as a resident there are cut short.

.
 

nivek

As Above So Below

x...3

Dem state lawmaker who works as doctor is fined $15,000 for logging into remote legislative meetings while performing SURGERY on patients



Maryland General Assembly member Terri Hill, 62, was caught logging into legislative meetings on Zoom while performing surgeries in her operating room. Hill, who is a board-certified plastic surgeon as well as a delegate, has a year to pay the fine or lose her license. The Board of Physicians opened an investigation against her after a retired doctor filed a complaint after the Baltimore Sun revealed the physician was operating while in the meetings. Hill has since apologized and she 'accepted' the Board's decision.

.
 

nivek

As Above So Below
17-Pound Potato Unearthed in New Zealand May be Largest Ever Found



A New Zealand couple cleaning out their vegetable garden were astounded when they unearthed an enormous potato that weighs a staggering 17 pounds. Colin and Donna Craig-Brown reportedly made the incredible discovery back in August as they were in the process of preparing for the forthcoming spring season Down Under. As Colin was attempting to turn some soil over with a hoe, the tool struck a sizeable solid object that made him stop in his tracks.

Carefully and slowly digging around the oddity, he eventually pulled a massive and wildly misshapen potato out of the ground. The jaw-dropping spud was so peculiar that Colin and Donna actually debated whether or not it was a potato until he poked it with a fork and confirmed that to be the case. The couple believes that the tremendous tuber, which they dubbed 'Doug,' had been growing unnoticed in their garden for the past two years as that was the last time that they planted potatoes.

Their amazement was compounded when they eventually put the vegetable on a scale and saw that it weighs an extraordinary 17 pounds. A subsequent check online found that the spud easily surpasses the current record holder for the title of the world's largest potato, which is a 'mere' 11 pounds. However, the couple and Doug now find themselves in something of a race against time as it could take up to 12 weeks for Guinness to confirm the tuber's championship status.

As such, the Craig-Browns have wrapped the potato in two plastic bags and are keeping it in their freezer in order to prevent it from losing too much water weight before the final judgment from Guinness can be handed down. Should the spud be awarded the title, Donna declared that "there will be a celebration." However, Doug's fate beyond that point remains uncertain as self-described "hobbyist homebrewer' Craig has considered using the tuber to create a special vodka or, failing that, he jokingly mused "we'll fence it off and I reckon I could charge at least five bucks admission."

.
 

wwkirk

Divine
17-Pound Potato Unearthed in New Zealand May be Largest Ever Found



A New Zealand couple cleaning out their vegetable garden were astounded when they unearthed an enormous potato that weighs a staggering 17 pounds. Colin and Donna Craig-Brown reportedly made the incredible discovery back in August as they were in the process of preparing for the forthcoming spring season Down Under. As Colin was attempting to turn some soil over with a hoe, the tool struck a sizeable solid object that made him stop in his tracks.

Carefully and slowly digging around the oddity, he eventually pulled a massive and wildly misshapen potato out of the ground. The jaw-dropping spud was so peculiar that Colin and Donna actually debated whether or not it was a potato until he poked it with a fork and confirmed that to be the case. The couple believes that the tremendous tuber, which they dubbed 'Doug,' had been growing unnoticed in their garden for the past two years as that was the last time that they planted potatoes.

Their amazement was compounded when they eventually put the vegetable on a scale and saw that it weighs an extraordinary 17 pounds. A subsequent check online found that the spud easily surpasses the current record holder for the title of the world's largest potato, which is a 'mere' 11 pounds. However, the couple and Doug now find themselves in something of a race against time as it could take up to 12 weeks for Guinness to confirm the tuber's championship status.

As such, the Craig-Browns have wrapped the potato in two plastic bags and are keeping it in their freezer in order to prevent it from losing too much water weight before the final judgment from Guinness can be handed down. Should the spud be awarded the title, Donna declared that "there will be a celebration." However, Doug's fate beyond that point remains uncertain as self-described "hobbyist homebrewer' Craig has considered using the tuber to create a special vodka or, failing that, he jokingly mused "we'll fence it off and I reckon I could charge at least five bucks admission."

.

I wonder if there's a way to distinguish between a bunch of potatoes fused together and an "independent" giant potato?
 

nivek

As Above So Below
The boy born with a TAIL: Brazilian baby has 12cm-long appendage with ball on the end

(Graphic images on the link)

A baby in Brazil is one of a handful to ever be born with a true human tail, doctors have revealed. Fascinating pictures published in a medical journal show how the appendage had a ball-shaped mass on the end. Medics surgically removed the 'chain and ball', which was only spotted after he was born.

All babies develop an embryonic tail in the womb between four to eight weeks after gestation, but this is normally reabsorbed back into the body. But in extremely rare cases, this doesn't happen and the tail can continue growing. By the time he was born, the tail had grown to a whopping 12cm, and developed a 4cm diameter ball at its tip.

Doctors who examined the bay noted the tail contained no parts made of cartilage and bone, meaning it was a rare example of a true human tail. There have only been about 40 documented cases of children being born with true, boneless, tails in history. It is not clear if the tail was removed because it was causing the child discomfort or pain or at the request of his family.

Human ancestors, alongside our ape relatives, lost our tails when we diverged from monkeys about 20million years ago. In some faiths and cultures, human tails are considered holy and are worshiped.


(More on the link)

.
 

wwkirk

Divine
@pigfarmer do you live near Syracuse?
New York firefighters rescue naked man stuck in bathroom wall for several days, officials say
syracuse-fire-dept-split.jpg

Syracuse firefighters carefully cut through layers of drywall and structural tile to free the man, fire officials said. (Syracuse Fire Department )
syracuse-fire-dept-3.jpg

It was not immediately clear how the man was able to access the area behind the wall, fire officials said. (Syracuse Fire Department )

The 39-year-old man was not wearing any clothes when firefighters freed him, Syracuse Fire Deputy Chief John Kane told Syracuse.com.
 
Top