What a Weird Week Podcast: the top 10 weird stories from the news. Listen to the Episode Audio and Subscribe to the podcast! Here are the show notes for Fri Nov 4, 2022, Season 4 Episode 5 ...
❿ Headline: Giant Satellite Dish issues Grim Warning before it FALLS TO PIECES!
Notes:
- giant radio telescope dish in Puerto Rico collapsed a couple years ago- it's in pieces.
- you might have seen this dish in a few blockbuster movies, it used to be the biggest dish in the world,
- before it crumbled, it spit out some data about when we'll be destroyed.
- Terrific news!!!! According to their data, we might be safe from earth-destroying asteroids for the next 100ish years. *Unless you are reading this as a wee lil baby who will grow up to be 150. Congratulations on learning to read so early though.
- the report said we need to keep an eye on a few space objects because if the orbit changes it could be, you know, time to panic.
- "Wait, is it PANIC or DON'T PANIC right now?" - person in charge of panic button, 2022.
Link/media: https://www.sciencealert.com/destroyed-observatory-issues-final-asteroid-warning-after-fatal-collapse
Notes:
- giant radio telescope dish in Puerto Rico collapsed a couple years ago- it's in pieces.
- you might have seen this dish in a few blockbuster movies, it used to be the biggest dish in the world,
- before it crumbled, it spit out some data about when we'll be destroyed.
- Terrific news!!!! According to their data, we might be safe from earth-destroying asteroids for the next 100ish years. *Unless you are reading this as a wee lil baby who will grow up to be 150. Congratulations on learning to read so early though.
- the report said we need to keep an eye on a few space objects because if the orbit changes it could be, you know, time to panic.
- "Wait, is it PANIC or DON'T PANIC right now?" - person in charge of panic button, 2022.
Link/media: https://www.sciencealert.com/destroyed-observatory-issues-final-asteroid-warning-after-fatal-collapse
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❾ Headline: (three days later we got this report from Space dot com) "'Planet killer' asteroid found hiding in sun's glare may one day hit Earth"
Notes:
- the glare of the sun makes it hard to see potentially troublesome asteroids. (by troublesome I mean deadly and terrifying).
- "largest potentially hazardous asteroid spotted in the past eight years and astronomers have dubbed it a "planet killer" because" (I'll end quote there because I don't think you have to explain what 'Planet Killer' means. The author of the article did explain it, but you don't need me to explain it. 'Planet Killer' is a very concise and accurately-depicted name.
- why would the writer of an article aimed at sciency types feel like they had to explain why the asteroid is called 'Planet Killer'? That's funny, right? (laughs until it turns into uncontrollable sobbing.)
- this article seems to be saying less that we should worry about this specific asteroid and more so we should be concerned that it's hard to see these asteroids because of the sun... so what else is out there?!
btw, on Nov 1st we had another asteroid whiz passed us...
"A large 'potentially hazardous asteroid'" came within six lunar distances from Earth. Did you know about that one? I'm always learning these things AFTER they happen.
Link/media: https://www.space.com/dangerous-asteroid-discovered-in-sun-glare
Notes:
- the glare of the sun makes it hard to see potentially troublesome asteroids. (by troublesome I mean deadly and terrifying).
- "largest potentially hazardous asteroid spotted in the past eight years and astronomers have dubbed it a "planet killer" because" (I'll end quote there because I don't think you have to explain what 'Planet Killer' means. The author of the article did explain it, but you don't need me to explain it. 'Planet Killer' is a very concise and accurately-depicted name.
- why would the writer of an article aimed at sciency types feel like they had to explain why the asteroid is called 'Planet Killer'? That's funny, right? (laughs until it turns into uncontrollable sobbing.)
- this article seems to be saying less that we should worry about this specific asteroid and more so we should be concerned that it's hard to see these asteroids because of the sun... so what else is out there?!
btw, on Nov 1st we had another asteroid whiz passed us...
"A large 'potentially hazardous asteroid'" came within six lunar distances from Earth. Did you know about that one? I'm always learning these things AFTER they happen.
Link/media: https://www.space.com/dangerous-asteroid-discovered-in-sun-glare
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❽ Headline: "Escaped king cobra crawls back to Swedish terrarium"
Notes:
- first, sigh of relief that the 7 foot long venomous King Cobra is back in the zoo...
- that this King Cobra could escape the zoo enclosure that was built to keep him in? That's unsettling. Because, I don't know if you're aware, but people go to the zoo, you guys. People walk around that place all the time, eating popcorn and taking photos. Imagine waiting in line at the meatball stand (sorry Sweden, is that not really a thing?)... you're standing there thinking your safe from all the zoo creatures and meanwhile this cobra is on the loose!?
- This cobra got out through a light fixture, and disappeared.
- they used an X-ray machine and saw the cobra in the wall.
- they drilled some holes to try to get at the cobra but it disappeared again.
- then it just came home to its terrarium at the zoo.
- they started calling it Houdini.
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| artist rendering |
❼ Headline: The Longest Passenger Train in the World Award Goes to...
Notes:
- the Swiss you guys. The Swiss win.
- The Rhaetian Railway company set the record with a 1.2-mile/ 100 coaches-long train trip through the Alps.
- it would suck if you went to take your seat on the train and they were like "No, This is the front of the train, your seat is at the back... you literally might have to walk a mile to get to your seat AFTER YOU GOT ON THE TRAIN!
Link/media: https://apnews.com/article/oddities-europe-business-switzerland-6a438bd98c4127ced3bd474bfc9690e2
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❻ Headline: Move over, other birds that fly very far distances, there's a new bird in town (that flies very far distances.)
Notes:
- according to bird experts, a young bar-tailed godwit has set a "non-stop distance record for migratory birds"... it flew over 13 thousand kilometers/ over 8 thousand miles from Alaska to Australia without stopping!
- this was a tagged bird with GPS so they're pretty sure about the numbers.
- it took 11 days.
- there are scientists who are trying to figure out how migratory birds are able to do these incredible feats and once that's figured out and they get the serum perfected, it will turn us into real-life super heroes... or super villains. It's gonna be so exciting you guys!!
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| actual bird |
❺ Headline: "Fishermen plead not guilty to charges in tournament scandal" AND "Professional cornhole world rocked by ‘BagGate’ cheating scandal"
Yes it's a tie! Because both stories are so similar!!
Yes it's a tie! Because both stories are so similar!!
First Headline Notes:
- followup to an earlier episode... two guys are accused of putting lead weights inside the walleyes they caught at a fishing derby... (around here I think we'd call them pickerel not walleyes).
- the prize money for this Lake Erie fishin' derby was over $28,000 for first place!
- these two guys were indicted on a list of things... felony cheating, attempted grand theft, possessing criminal tools and also unlawfully owning wild animals which is a misdemeanor.
- Do you think they'll go to prison over this? Some kind of white collar/ blue collar institution?
- followup to an earlier episode... two guys are accused of putting lead weights inside the walleyes they caught at a fishing derby... (around here I think we'd call them pickerel not walleyes).
- the prize money for this Lake Erie fishin' derby was over $28,000 for first place!
- these two guys were indicted on a list of things... felony cheating, attempted grand theft, possessing criminal tools and also unlawfully owning wild animals which is a misdemeanor.
- Do you think they'll go to prison over this? Some kind of white collar/ blue collar institution?
Second Headline Notes:
- First of all, yes, there is PROFESSIONAL CORNHOLE?! and the 2022 American Cornhole League World Championships this past Summer had some controversy that is making headlines now...
- They're calling it BagGate© because it involves illegal bag use... btw, if you've never heard of cornhole, it is a bean bag toss game...
- at the World Championships, a team got accused of playing with bean bags that were smaller than regulation... it turned out that the bean bags WERE smaller than regulation... but then those guys accused the first guy of illegal baggery and it turned out that EVERYONE'S BAG WAS NON-COMPLIANT!
- Officials let the match continue after some deliberation... they don't think anybody knowingly used an illegal bag... BUT the New York Post article about all this does say that players do all kinds of things to their bags to gain an advantage...
- They're calling it BagGate© because it involves illegal bag use... btw, if you've never heard of cornhole, it is a bean bag toss game...
- at the World Championships, a team got accused of playing with bean bags that were smaller than regulation... it turned out that the bean bags WERE smaller than regulation... but then those guys accused the first guy of illegal baggery and it turned out that EVERYONE'S BAG WAS NON-COMPLIANT!
- Officials let the match continue after some deliberation... they don't think anybody knowingly used an illegal bag... BUT the New York Post article about all this does say that players do all kinds of things to their bags to gain an advantage...
- from the article: "ACL’s top players earn as much as $250,000 a year from winnings, sponsorship deals and endorsements... players have been doing whatever they can to get a leg up on the competition, including doctoring their bags... Lighter and thinner bags can be advantageous and players have been boiling their bags or washing them with vinegar to make them more pliable."
A) First Headline Link/media: https://apnews.com/article/sports-ohio-cleveland-lake-erie-a02f6a69224b0adac8280399135af5a3
B) Second Headline Link: https://nypost.com/2022/11/02/professional-cornhole-world-rocked-by-baggate-cheating-scandal/
A) First Headline Link/media: https://apnews.com/article/sports-ohio-cleveland-lake-erie-a02f6a69224b0adac8280399135af5a3
B) Second Headline Link: https://nypost.com/2022/11/02/professional-cornhole-world-rocked-by-baggate-cheating-scandal/
❹ Headline: Will Elon start charging for Twitter stuff? or How fast will people leave Twitter once Elon starts charging for stuff?
Notes:
- Elon Musk bought Twitter.
- He's floating out ideas like an $8 per month subscription for Twitter Blue.
- Twitter Blue would give you longer videos, less ads, other things.
- it doesn't seem like people are that keen on it... people with blue checkmarks right now (many of them famous) are like "Pay to keep my Blue Checkmark? No Way!!"
- if you've always wanted a blue checkmark, now you can buy one.
- so it's going to be less of a status symbol.
- and the ability to post longer videos? Who even wants that? Everyone else is moving towards shorter videos...
- Timeline is uncertain on all this... at time of recording Elon hasn't changed his mind yet but that is also a possibility.
Link/media:
Notes:
- Elon Musk bought Twitter.
- He's floating out ideas like an $8 per month subscription for Twitter Blue.
- Twitter Blue would give you longer videos, less ads, other things.
- it doesn't seem like people are that keen on it... people with blue checkmarks right now (many of them famous) are like "Pay to keep my Blue Checkmark? No Way!!"
- if you've always wanted a blue checkmark, now you can buy one.
- so it's going to be less of a status symbol.
- and the ability to post longer videos? Who even wants that? Everyone else is moving towards shorter videos...
- Timeline is uncertain on all this... at time of recording Elon hasn't changed his mind yet but that is also a possibility.
Link/media:
❸ Headline: U.S. National Park Service is forced to issue this statement: "Do we really need to say, ‘don’t hit golf balls into the Grand Canyon?’"
Notes:
- a TikTok influencer hit a golf ball into the Grand Canyon... they also lost their golf club...
- it's illegal and dangerous.
- also, there was no way she was gonna clear the grand canyon with a 5 iron... her caddy should also be charged with a crime for that.
Link/media: story from Golf Week https://golfweek.usatoday.com/2022/10/29/golf-influencer-grand-canyon-national-park-service/
and image via https://www.facebook.com/GrandCanyonNationalPark
Notes:
- a TikTok influencer hit a golf ball into the Grand Canyon... they also lost their golf club...
- it's illegal and dangerous.
- also, there was no way she was gonna clear the grand canyon with a 5 iron... her caddy should also be charged with a crime for that.
Link/media: story from Golf Week https://golfweek.usatoday.com/2022/10/29/golf-influencer-grand-canyon-national-park-service/
and image via https://www.facebook.com/GrandCanyonNationalPark
❷ Headline: "Tiger sharks with cameras on their backs map 'world's biggest' seagrass meadow in Bahamas" or Don't dive in shark-infested waters to get award-winning footage... instead just get the sharks to shoot the footage for you!
Notes:
- they think this seagrass meadow is around the size of Ireland.
- now that they've discovered the biggest seagrass meadow in the world they can pave it and put up condos... jk... seagrass meadows store carbon and are ecologically important!
- the video shot by sharks is pretty cool...
Link/media:
story link https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2022-11-02/tiger-sharks-wearing-cameras-map-seagrass-meadow-bahamas/101597578
and video link https://youtu.be/s_jdD5mxwlU
and how big Ireland is https://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/profiles/Ireland/Geography
Notes:
- they think this seagrass meadow is around the size of Ireland.
- now that they've discovered the biggest seagrass meadow in the world they can pave it and put up condos... jk... seagrass meadows store carbon and are ecologically important!
- the video shot by sharks is pretty cool...
Link/media:
story link https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2022-11-02/tiger-sharks-wearing-cameras-map-seagrass-meadow-bahamas/101597578
and video link https://youtu.be/s_jdD5mxwlU
and how big Ireland is https://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/profiles/Ireland/Geography
🏆 Honorable Mention Headline: Costco sells a very big jigsaw puzzle and gets in the news for it!
Notes:
- This made the news across the USA... what they refer to as a "mega jigsaw puzzle with more than 60,000 pieces" is at Costco. It's 8 feet long and 29 feet wide!!
- Sweet Mama! who has the patience for that? and the floor space?
- Costco says it's the biggest jigsaw puzzle in the world.
- Well done, Costco. Now I want delicious rotisserie chicken. If you're going to Costco for the puzzle would you grab me a rotisserie chicken?
Link/media: https://www.ktvu.com/news/costco-largest-jigsaw-puzzle-29-feet-wide-8-feet-tall
Notes:
- This made the news across the USA... what they refer to as a "mega jigsaw puzzle with more than 60,000 pieces" is at Costco. It's 8 feet long and 29 feet wide!!
- Sweet Mama! who has the patience for that? and the floor space?
- Costco says it's the biggest jigsaw puzzle in the world.
- Well done, Costco. Now I want delicious rotisserie chicken. If you're going to Costco for the puzzle would you grab me a rotisserie chicken?
Link/media: https://www.ktvu.com/news/costco-largest-jigsaw-puzzle-29-feet-wide-8-feet-tall
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| hard pass |
❶ Headline: "Pentagon attributes UFO sightings to spies, airborne trash"
Notes:
- we're back with another UFO story, true believers!
- Officials were supposed to deliver a new UFO report to Congress on Halloween... at time of recording there's not a lot of after-the-fact info about that report...
- there were a bunch of news reports just BEFORE the report came due though...
- The New York Times story on this says that Military officials claim most of what we see is foreign spies or airborne trash.
- They explained-away a bunch of the more recent famous UFO/UAP reports... like the video the glowing green triangles was actually drones... the GoFast video is an illusion... the Gimbal video is an effect caused by an image sensor.
- idk True Believers, it all seems quite plausible.
- But are there some weird things in our skies that aren't explained yet? Yes. Yes there are. I just don't think the Gov would share things that they can't explain... like, the real mysterious stuff is not put on YouTube for everyone to see...
Story Link: https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2022/10/31/pentagon-attributes-ufo-sightings-to-spies-or-airborne-trash/
UFO reporters worth following:
- Micah Hanks https://twitter.com/MicahHanks/
- Alejandro Rojas https://twitter.com/alejandrotrojas
- Jason McClellan https://twitter.com/Acecentric
- Ryan Sprague https://twitter.com/RyanSprague51
- Martin Willis (PodcastUfo) https://twitter.com/PodcastUFO
Notes:
- we're back with another UFO story, true believers!
- Officials were supposed to deliver a new UFO report to Congress on Halloween... at time of recording there's not a lot of after-the-fact info about that report...
- there were a bunch of news reports just BEFORE the report came due though...
- The New York Times story on this says that Military officials claim most of what we see is foreign spies or airborne trash.
- They explained-away a bunch of the more recent famous UFO/UAP reports... like the video the glowing green triangles was actually drones... the GoFast video is an illusion... the Gimbal video is an effect caused by an image sensor.
- idk True Believers, it all seems quite plausible.
- But are there some weird things in our skies that aren't explained yet? Yes. Yes there are. I just don't think the Gov would share things that they can't explain... like, the real mysterious stuff is not put on YouTube for everyone to see...
Story Link: https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2022/10/31/pentagon-attributes-ufo-sightings-to-spies-or-airborne-trash/
UFO reporters worth following:
- Micah Hanks https://twitter.com/MicahHanks/
- Alejandro Rojas https://twitter.com/alejandrotrojas
- Jason McClellan https://twitter.com/Acecentric
- Ryan Sprague https://twitter.com/RyanSprague51
- Martin Willis (PodcastUfo) https://twitter.com/PodcastUFO
- The Black Vault says the report is delayed https://twitter.com/blackvaultcom/status/1587813668808335360?t=JEjTD1KCOZtPKbfCsO8RMA&s=09
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| first order of business: adopt a prime directive |
stream like a streaming freak!!