This is the show notes blog for the 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 11, 2022, Season 4 Episode 6 ...
❿ Headline: "Random Corpses in Portugal Are Becoming Mummies, And It's Become a Real Problem" (ScienceAlert.com)
Notes:
*At first you might think 'scary Haloween story' but it involves real people and a real scientific mystery so I mean no disrespect*
- in Portugal deceased people have been undergoing some kind of natural mummification.
- they have laws there where exhumations happen routinely and people are laid to rest a second time in a smaller space... they just don't have room for new cemeteries.
- For decades, families-of-loved-ones would get a notification three years after someone's funeral that it's time to have this happen.
- Well, something is happening where some of the deceased have become mummified.
- why is it happening? unsure!
- they need to solve this for practical reasons, but also it is upsetting to the friends and family who aren't prepared for it.
- The only way to check this is with gravediggers.
- scientists are a bit puzzled at the moment... it doesn't seem like it's something in the soil (it happens to some of the deceased people within the same cemetery but, only some.
- If any of this is too much for you, 1) sorry and 2) here is a link about grief (https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/end-of-life/in-depth/grief/art-20045340)
Link/media: https://www.sciencealert.com/random-corpses-in-portugal-are-becoming-mummies-and-its-become-a-real-problem
❿ Headline: "Random Corpses in Portugal Are Becoming Mummies, And It's Become a Real Problem" (ScienceAlert.com)
Notes:
*At first you might think 'scary Haloween story' but it involves real people and a real scientific mystery so I mean no disrespect*
- in Portugal deceased people have been undergoing some kind of natural mummification.
- they have laws there where exhumations happen routinely and people are laid to rest a second time in a smaller space... they just don't have room for new cemeteries.
- For decades, families-of-loved-ones would get a notification three years after someone's funeral that it's time to have this happen.
- Well, something is happening where some of the deceased have become mummified.
- why is it happening? unsure!
- they need to solve this for practical reasons, but also it is upsetting to the friends and family who aren't prepared for it.
- The only way to check this is with gravediggers.
- scientists are a bit puzzled at the moment... it doesn't seem like it's something in the soil (it happens to some of the deceased people within the same cemetery but, only some.
- If any of this is too much for you, 1) sorry and 2) here is a link about grief (https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/end-of-life/in-depth/grief/art-20045340)
Link/media: https://www.sciencealert.com/random-corpses-in-portugal-are-becoming-mummies-and-its-become-a-real-problem
❾ Headline: "Man Claps 1,140 Times In One Minute For Guinness World Record"
Notes:
- 20-year-old Dalton Meyer clapped 1140 times in one minute.
- That's 19 claps per second.
- They call him a speed clapper.
- it takes a special technique where you barely seperate your hands between claps and you almost move your hands like a swimmin' fish (see video).
Link/media: https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/watch-us-man-claps-1-140-times-in-one-minute-for-guinness-world-record-3494049
and Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwyrHyh_AxQ
❽ Headline: "researchers make device that can ‘see’ through walls. What does it mean for your privacy?" via (Toronto Star)
Notes:
- researchers from University of Waterloo combined $20 worth of hardware with a drone from Best Buy and made a device that can detect where smart devices are.
- so the "see through walls" thing in the headline made me think they invented X-Ray Specs but it's more like "Find my iPhone" on steroids.
- it's very accurate with any device that uses WiFi so now they're worried the technology could "fall into the wrong hands".
*Editorial: Thigs hardly ever "Fall into the Wrong Hands" instead they are stolen into the wrong hands or sold to the wrong hands with the highest bid.
- the story gets into some specific crimes you could use this invention for... which is great for unimaginitive criminals... somebody casing a house to decide when to steal everything, or a bank robber tracking the movements of security guards' cellphones.
- The Good News is that this invention shines a light on a security problem that wifi networks have (even your private/ encrypted password network!)
- now they can get to work solving the prob.
- Security Tip: That's why we all need to start carrying burner phones you guys! and change your password to "password1".
Link/media: https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2022/11/05/waterloo-researchers-make-device-that-can-see-through-walls-what-does-it-mean-for-your-privacy.html
Notes:
- researchers from University of Waterloo combined $20 worth of hardware with a drone from Best Buy and made a device that can detect where smart devices are.
- so the "see through walls" thing in the headline made me think they invented X-Ray Specs but it's more like "Find my iPhone" on steroids.
- it's very accurate with any device that uses WiFi so now they're worried the technology could "fall into the wrong hands".
*Editorial: Thigs hardly ever "Fall into the Wrong Hands" instead they are stolen into the wrong hands or sold to the wrong hands with the highest bid.
- the story gets into some specific crimes you could use this invention for... which is great for unimaginitive criminals... somebody casing a house to decide when to steal everything, or a bank robber tracking the movements of security guards' cellphones.
- The Good News is that this invention shines a light on a security problem that wifi networks have (even your private/ encrypted password network!)
- now they can get to work solving the prob.
- Security Tip: That's why we all need to start carrying burner phones you guys! and change your password to "password1".
Link/media: https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2022/11/05/waterloo-researchers-make-device-that-can-see-through-walls-what-does-it-mean-for-your-privacy.html
❼ Headline: "A new study has found that verbal intelligence may be more prominent in early-birds than night-owls"
Notes:
- This is a study seems to indicate that people who get up early possess more "Verbal Intelligence" than people who stay up late... but wait! there's more!!
- btw, the article mentions the old phrase “the early bird gets the worm”, except in this case you are the early bird and the worm is your supersmart brain? Brainworms!
- Quote from the article: “we found that morning types tend to have superior verbal ability. This outcome was surprising to us and signals this is much more complicated than anyone thought before.”
- Congratulations, morning person! Some things to consider though... We ALL have an optimal time in the day to take a test or do challenging things... so if you're a morning person, you'd do better if they tested you earlier in the day... if you stay up late, your best test time is later... the researcher tried to factor all this in, but there's probably more going on here* (*I am a scientist. I science all day and all night you guys.)
- One thing that this study seems to show is that our brains like a routine, so if you have something challenging coming up some morning... try to get a decent bed time/ get outta bed before noon routine going.
- I need this study to do a followup... what about us people who stay up late... but also spend a good chunk of the evening asleep on the sofa with the Netflix remote in-hand?
Where's OUR study, science??
- *study is more complicated so click the link for the whole story.
Link/media: https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/bedtime-your-chronotype-and-getting-things-done-study-looks-at-how-sleep-and-intelligence-are-linked-1.6141276?taid=636882d78257d1000166b31f&utm_campaign=trueAnthem%3A+Trending+Content&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=twitter
and https://twitter.com/CTVLondon/status/1589468044182622208?s=20&t=5KsXKOK3nuDqTpYUOjIYfQ
Notes:
- This is a study seems to indicate that people who get up early possess more "Verbal Intelligence" than people who stay up late... but wait! there's more!!
- btw, the article mentions the old phrase “the early bird gets the worm”, except in this case you are the early bird and the worm is your supersmart brain? Brainworms!
- Quote from the article: “we found that morning types tend to have superior verbal ability. This outcome was surprising to us and signals this is much more complicated than anyone thought before.”
- Congratulations, morning person! Some things to consider though... We ALL have an optimal time in the day to take a test or do challenging things... so if you're a morning person, you'd do better if they tested you earlier in the day... if you stay up late, your best test time is later... the researcher tried to factor all this in, but there's probably more going on here* (*I am a scientist. I science all day and all night you guys.)
- One thing that this study seems to show is that our brains like a routine, so if you have something challenging coming up some morning... try to get a decent bed time/ get outta bed before noon routine going.
- I need this study to do a followup... what about us people who stay up late... but also spend a good chunk of the evening asleep on the sofa with the Netflix remote in-hand?
Where's OUR study, science??
- *study is more complicated so click the link for the whole story.
Link/media: https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/bedtime-your-chronotype-and-getting-things-done-study-looks-at-how-sleep-and-intelligence-are-linked-1.6141276?taid=636882d78257d1000166b31f&utm_campaign=trueAnthem%3A+Trending+Content&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=twitter
and https://twitter.com/CTVLondon/status/1589468044182622208?s=20&t=5KsXKOK3nuDqTpYUOjIYfQ
❻ Headline: "Humongous asteroid heading for Earth. (Our earth? Yes, OUR Earth.)"
Notes:
- NASA and NEO (Near Earth Objects) back this week with more disaster-filled excitement
- On Nov 8th an asteroid flew past us and got too close for comfort.
- Too close for comfort means within 5.4 million KMs.
- btw, it happened on Nov 8th, and the article came out on Nov 8th... so 1) the writer must NOT HAVE THOUGHT THE WORLD WAS GONNA END, because, who would finish their column for the Hindu Times if you really thought the world was going to be destroyed by a meteor? and 2) can't we get the warning before Day-Of??
- this asteroid was only discovered in September... Would That have given us enough time to hire Ben Affleck to go destroy it and save the world? It seems like it's not enough time.
Link/media: https://tech.hindustantimes.com/tech/news/humongous-232-foot-asteroid-heading-for-earth-says-nasa-check-speed-distance-71667886031552.html
Notes:
- NASA and NEO (Near Earth Objects) back this week with more disaster-filled excitement
- On Nov 8th an asteroid flew past us and got too close for comfort.
- Too close for comfort means within 5.4 million KMs.
- btw, it happened on Nov 8th, and the article came out on Nov 8th... so 1) the writer must NOT HAVE THOUGHT THE WORLD WAS GONNA END, because, who would finish their column for the Hindu Times if you really thought the world was going to be destroyed by a meteor? and 2) can't we get the warning before Day-Of??
- this asteroid was only discovered in September... Would That have given us enough time to hire Ben Affleck to go destroy it and save the world? It seems like it's not enough time.
Link/media: https://tech.hindustantimes.com/tech/news/humongous-232-foot-asteroid-heading-for-earth-says-nasa-check-speed-distance-71667886031552.html
❺ Headline: "Man Eats 10 World's Hottest Peppers In 33 Seconds To Break Guinness Record"
Notes:
- Greg Foster is the guy who did the impossible.
- It was Carolina Reapers you guys... he ate 10 Carolina Reapers in 33 seconds to get a World Record.
- He owns a hot sauce company.
- There's got to be a trick to this right? The internet says "eat spicy peppers slowly" so he failed that. idk you guys, does it mean your a psychopath or something... no wait that's not it...
Scoville Scale roundup:
Carolina Reapers are around 2 million on the Scoville...
Jalepenos are up to 8000... Bell peppers are 0.
Link/media: https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/man-eats-10-worlds-hottest-peppers-in-33-seconds-to-break-guinness-record-3501645
Notes:
- Greg Foster is the guy who did the impossible.
- It was Carolina Reapers you guys... he ate 10 Carolina Reapers in 33 seconds to get a World Record.
- He owns a hot sauce company.
- There's got to be a trick to this right? The internet says "eat spicy peppers slowly" so he failed that. idk you guys, does it mean your a psychopath or something... no wait that's not it...
Scoville Scale roundup:
Carolina Reapers are around 2 million on the Scoville...
Jalepenos are up to 8000... Bell peppers are 0.
Link/media: https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/man-eats-10-worlds-hottest-peppers-in-33-seconds-to-break-guinness-record-3501645
❹ Headline: "Pumuckel the pony is really really little!"
Notes:
- Pamuckel is a Shetland pony who visits kindergartens and retirement homes in Germany.
- Pamuckel is 20 inches tall... what is that in horse measurement? 5 hands maybe?
- Or... Pamuckel is 6 Crayons tall... or as tall as 3 soup spoons...
- Why did Pamuckel make headlines this week? As near as I can tell it's because of cuteness (it's a great photo.)
- Is Pamuckel the smallest pony in the world? Yes. But the Guiness World Record ony gets awarded after a pony is four years old and Pam is only 3 right now... fully grown, but not yet eligible for the Guiness World Record.
If you only click one link this week it should be the one for Pamuckel because it's great, and the article also has these suggested headlines attached: "World's oldest living dog: TobyKeith, the chihuahua, is 'back on his throne'" and "'He just grew and grew like Clifford':Fenrir named world's tallest living domestic cat".
Link/media: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2022/11/07/worlds-smallest-horse-contender/8294560001/
Notes:
- Pamuckel is a Shetland pony who visits kindergartens and retirement homes in Germany.
- Pamuckel is 20 inches tall... what is that in horse measurement? 5 hands maybe?
- Or... Pamuckel is 6 Crayons tall... or as tall as 3 soup spoons...
- Why did Pamuckel make headlines this week? As near as I can tell it's because of cuteness (it's a great photo.)
- Is Pamuckel the smallest pony in the world? Yes. But the Guiness World Record ony gets awarded after a pony is four years old and Pam is only 3 right now... fully grown, but not yet eligible for the Guiness World Record.
If you only click one link this week it should be the one for Pamuckel because it's great, and the article also has these suggested headlines attached: "World's oldest living dog: TobyKeith, the chihuahua, is 'back on his throne'" and "'He just grew and grew like Clifford':Fenrir named world's tallest living domestic cat".
Link/media: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2022/11/07/worlds-smallest-horse-contender/8294560001/
❸ Headline: "Air Canada Has Horse Planes You guys!"
Notes:
- They announced a new airline service for horses... so you can fly your horse to the Kentucky Derby...
- Other possible scenarios where you might need an airline for horses...
1) You're a wealthy devil-may-care horse who wants to impress a date by whisking them off to Vegas for the weekend...
2) You're a wealthy horse who wants to join the mile high club *PG13
3) There's a My Little Pony convention in Sault St Marie and you don't have enough time to gallop there.
- Right now there's a little horse somewhere dreaming of being a pilot when they grow up... and thanks to Air Canada, one day that horse's dreams will come true!
- I feel like they should look into hiring horse flight attendants too... wouldn't it be great if one day the entire airport ground crew... desk attendant... luggage handlers... everyone was a horse!? Horse Airport you guys!! That's the show we need! Horse trainers have 90 days to =get an airport up and running, staffed entirely by horses!!!!!!!!
Are we millionaires yet or what?
Link/media: https://www.blogto.com/travel/2022/11/air-canada-planes-horses/
Notes:
- They announced a new airline service for horses... so you can fly your horse to the Kentucky Derby...
- Other possible scenarios where you might need an airline for horses...
1) You're a wealthy devil-may-care horse who wants to impress a date by whisking them off to Vegas for the weekend...
2) You're a wealthy horse who wants to join the mile high club *PG13
3) There's a My Little Pony convention in Sault St Marie and you don't have enough time to gallop there.
- Right now there's a little horse somewhere dreaming of being a pilot when they grow up... and thanks to Air Canada, one day that horse's dreams will come true!
- I feel like they should look into hiring horse flight attendants too... wouldn't it be great if one day the entire airport ground crew... desk attendant... luggage handlers... everyone was a horse!? Horse Airport you guys!! That's the show we need! Horse trainers have 90 days to =get an airport up and running, staffed entirely by horses!!!!!!!!
Are we millionaires yet or what?
Link/media: https://www.blogto.com/travel/2022/11/air-canada-planes-horses/
❷ Headline: We had that Beaver Blood Moon Lunar Eclipse this week... but we also had some weird space deal late last week...
Notes:
- The other day (Nov 3rd) we had a solar storm that cracked the Earth's magnetic field.
- This caused some cool Northern Lights-type auroras but in a rare pink colour (usually they're green.)
- Background: *I'm no scientist/ reserve the right to have this completely wrong, but how I understand it is that we get auroras when charged particles interact with the earth's magnetic fied. The deeper those charged parices can penetrate, the cooler the sky is...
- the Hole in Earth's magnetic field has filled back in.
- I remain unsettled by the magnetosphere smashing power of this solar storm. Side note: Solar Storms you guys! If they're bad enough they can mess up electronics and cause power outages. That's why we need to cover the North and South Poles with aluminum foil.
We need giat sheets of aluminum foil floating in space. Sponsored by Reynold's Wrap. For all your Solar Flare Deflection Needs, ask for it by name.
Link/media: https://www.livescience.com/pink-auroras-solar-storm
Notes:
- The other day (Nov 3rd) we had a solar storm that cracked the Earth's magnetic field.
- This caused some cool Northern Lights-type auroras but in a rare pink colour (usually they're green.)
- Background: *I'm no scientist/ reserve the right to have this completely wrong, but how I understand it is that we get auroras when charged particles interact with the earth's magnetic fied. The deeper those charged parices can penetrate, the cooler the sky is...
- the Hole in Earth's magnetic field has filled back in.
- I remain unsettled by the magnetosphere smashing power of this solar storm. Side note: Solar Storms you guys! If they're bad enough they can mess up electronics and cause power outages. That's why we need to cover the North and South Poles with aluminum foil.
We need giat sheets of aluminum foil floating in space. Sponsored by Reynold's Wrap. For all your Solar Flare Deflection Needs, ask for it by name.
Link/media: https://www.livescience.com/pink-auroras-solar-storm
🏆 Honorable Mention Headline: "Astronomers discover closest black hole to Earth" or "so THIS is how it all ends. Huh!?" *citation needed
Notes:
- I did a speech on black holes in Grade 5 (*if you are from the USA, that is how we say 5th Grade in Canada. Oh, you already knew that? What about backbacon though? Are you aware that it's basically ham? Good talk.)
- the first line of my speech was "A black hole isn't really a hole in space." My classmates were pretty impressed at how I quickly broke it all down and set aside our biggest fear at the time - holes in space.
- science has moved the needle a little bit since my speech on back holes, but we still continue to call them black holes because no one has sued astronomers for false advertising.
- Astronomers have discovered the closest black hole to Earth which they call "Destructacon 4000"... jk instead they called it Gaia BH1. (I think mine was better.)
- Fact Sheet - - - it's dormant, it's 10 times the mass of the sun, it's 1600 light years away.
- What does this mean for us? I think we're gonna be OK.
- But, they describe a Dormant Black Hole as "not actively feeding" which is pretty great.
Link/media: https://phys.org/news/2022-11-astronomers-closest-black-hole-earth.html
Notes:
- I did a speech on black holes in Grade 5 (*if you are from the USA, that is how we say 5th Grade in Canada. Oh, you already knew that? What about backbacon though? Are you aware that it's basically ham? Good talk.)
- the first line of my speech was "A black hole isn't really a hole in space." My classmates were pretty impressed at how I quickly broke it all down and set aside our biggest fear at the time - holes in space.
- science has moved the needle a little bit since my speech on back holes, but we still continue to call them black holes because no one has sued astronomers for false advertising.
- Astronomers have discovered the closest black hole to Earth which they call "Destructacon 4000"... jk instead they called it Gaia BH1. (I think mine was better.)
- Fact Sheet - - - it's dormant, it's 10 times the mass of the sun, it's 1600 light years away.
- What does this mean for us? I think we're gonna be OK.
- But, they describe a Dormant Black Hole as "not actively feeding" which is pretty great.
Link/media: https://phys.org/news/2022-11-astronomers-closest-black-hole-earth.html
🏆 Honorable Mention Headline: "Huge extragalactic structure found hiding behind the Milky Way"
Notes:
- researchers found a "large extragalactic assembly hiding behind part of the Milky Way."
- there's a part of the night sky "that's mostly obscured from view due to a bulge in the galaxy." #GalaxyBulges you guys.
- scientists call that section of the night sky the "zone of avoidance" which is also what they call Larry's cubicle every Monday before he's had his coffee. HiiiiYooooooo!!!
(We like to tease Larry over at the lab.)
- idk you guys, the researchers may be the coolest naming researchers we've ever quoted b/c first they come up with the ZOA (Zone of Avoidance) and then they're calling what they found behind the Milky Way a "massive extragalactic structure." Maybe like 58 galaxies in there that they're just learning about.
- We need to figure out how to get there and steal all the lithium for our e-Bike batteries you guys. #ImportantDiscovery
Link/media: https://phys.org/news/2022-11-huge-extragalactic-milky.html
Notes:
- researchers found a "large extragalactic assembly hiding behind part of the Milky Way."
- there's a part of the night sky "that's mostly obscured from view due to a bulge in the galaxy." #GalaxyBulges you guys.
- scientists call that section of the night sky the "zone of avoidance" which is also what they call Larry's cubicle every Monday before he's had his coffee. HiiiiYooooooo!!!
(We like to tease Larry over at the lab.)
- idk you guys, the researchers may be the coolest naming researchers we've ever quoted b/c first they come up with the ZOA (Zone of Avoidance) and then they're calling what they found behind the Milky Way a "massive extragalactic structure." Maybe like 58 galaxies in there that they're just learning about.
- We need to figure out how to get there and steal all the lithium for our e-Bike batteries you guys. #ImportantDiscovery
Link/media: https://phys.org/news/2022-11-huge-extragalactic-milky.html
❶ Headline: "World Record Giant Sunfish is Heaviest Fish Ever Weighed... and a ‘Sign of Hope!" It's a good news story to end things this week!!
Notes:
- Discovered in the Azores by Marine biologists
- the largest sunfish ever weighs 6,049 pounds!
- that's how much some of your favourite Ford Trucks weigh
- This portion of the program brought to you by Ford. Say it with Ford this Holiday Season. *Plus Freight and PDI. Dealer May Sell for Less*
- that's also how much a 2018 Cadillac ESV weighs. This portion of the show brought to you by Cadilac. Cadillac! Tell 'em Santa sent ya! *cannot be combined with any other offers. Member FDIC*
- Back to the good news... The researchers towed the big fish to shore/ got it onto a forklift/ weighed it... that's when they learned that Sunny was a Guiness World Record Breaking Fish!
- Sunny is around 10 feet long btw.
- The good news? Well "It means that the marine ecosystem is still healthy enough to sustain these large animals,"
- These big ol' sunfish are a bit of a mystery... researchers don't know where they spend most of their time or what they do for fun in the off-season* (bit.ly/citationlink)
Fun Fact: They flip over sideways to sun themselves and without doing one second of extra research I'm just goig to assume that the sunning behaviour is why they're called sunfish.
(time passes... you win. I did the research https://oceana.org/marine-life/ocean-sunfish/)
Link/media: https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/world-record-giant-sunfish-is-heaviest-fish-ever-weighed-at-6000-pounds-and-a-sign-of-hope/
Notes:
- Discovered in the Azores by Marine biologists
- the largest sunfish ever weighs 6,049 pounds!
- that's how much some of your favourite Ford Trucks weigh
- This portion of the program brought to you by Ford. Say it with Ford this Holiday Season. *Plus Freight and PDI. Dealer May Sell for Less*
- that's also how much a 2018 Cadillac ESV weighs. This portion of the show brought to you by Cadilac. Cadillac! Tell 'em Santa sent ya! *cannot be combined with any other offers. Member FDIC*
- Back to the good news... The researchers towed the big fish to shore/ got it onto a forklift/ weighed it... that's when they learned that Sunny was a Guiness World Record Breaking Fish!
- Sunny is around 10 feet long btw.
- The good news? Well "It means that the marine ecosystem is still healthy enough to sustain these large animals,"
- These big ol' sunfish are a bit of a mystery... researchers don't know where they spend most of their time or what they do for fun in the off-season* (bit.ly/citationlink)
Fun Fact: They flip over sideways to sun themselves and without doing one second of extra research I'm just goig to assume that the sunning behaviour is why they're called sunfish.
(time passes... you win. I did the research https://oceana.org/marine-life/ocean-sunfish/)
Link/media: https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/world-record-giant-sunfish-is-heaviest-fish-ever-weighed-at-6000-pounds-and-a-sign-of-hope/
stream like a streaming freak!!