Hi friends, I'm Scott. Thanks for checking out the show. If you're new, every Friday we do a Weird-News-of-the-Week Top 10 podcast, a show notes blog, and a YouTube video. Find everything at Shownotes.page.
Shout-out to Wacky Alex and the crew at FunHouse Radio. Check them out at https://funhouseradio.com/
This is Episode 36 of Season 4 on Friday June 2nd 2023:
- they're talking about a guy who tried to steal thousands of dollars worth of toothpaste from a grocery store.
- the officers just happened to be near the grocery store on a non-toothpaste-related matter and they saw a guy running out a grocery store emergency exit being chased by staff...
- the guy had a couple duffle bags full of toothpaste when police caught him...
- estimated street value of the toothpaste was $2,100.
- this is great - somebody online asked the cops to share a photo and they did... i didn't know what to expect but it's two moderately-sized duffle bags and what appears to be a small wagon full of toothpaste tubes...
- it was an expensive kind of toothpaste and the cops think the person was just gonna sell it on the street...
See (https://bc.ctvnews.ca/theft-of-2-100-worth-of-toothpaste-thwarted-in-north-vancouver-1.6418319)
- Air New Zealand has announced that they'll be weighing passengers before they take off...
- so if you're like me... hefty and filled with worry... you may have gotten anxious hearing this news... how long until all the airlines start doing this? will they make me upgrade to the cargo hold? Both great questions, but don't panic...
- first, it's voluntary and second, it's anonymous... you don't have to do it and your weight will be kept a secret
- the airline is trying to gather data about how much their average passenger weighs to better- estimate fuel consumption.
See (https://www.bbc.com/news/business-65765801)
- icymi, we've already had two stories on the show about bears that rang people's doorbells... so I'm just going to assume that the bears are organized and any bear could ring any doorbell at any time... but this wasn't that...
- a bear went into the Taste by Spellbound location in Connecticut - into what I wanna say is their their cupcake storage area - and stole a giant box of 60 cupcakes.
- there's video.
- while I'm glad the bear took a break from ringing doorbells and stalking people at their home, I am concerned about this new development... bears are coming for our cakes now you guys.
- you need to leave our cakes alone, bears.
See (https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2023/05/30/bear-bakery-garage-60-cupcakes-Taste-by-Spellbound-Avon-Connecticut/4071685466995/) and video...
- this study that got published the other day in the journal Current Biology says mosquitos are attracted to our smell.
- depending on your particular brand of funk, you may get bitten more than certain people with different funk.
- here's where it gets a little bit PG13... I am going to list the top three smells that attract mosquitos, but they're a little bit gross... so... trigger warning... OK... mosquitos are attracted to people who have a body odor described as similar to rancid butter... cheese-like... and people who give off a scent similar to vomit.
- this study is getting to the bottom of it because mosquitos spread diseases and if we can throw them off our scent that could save lives.
- also, if you smell like stinky cheese, not only do you have to deal with the social stigmas of that... but also you're gonna get more mosquito bites! unfair!.See (https://www.thebaltimorebanner.com/community/public-health/hopkins-study-mosquito-body-odor-2SDHDXE43JEMRPCYTXLMOANSFY/)
- it's a kitty cat that has sent 2 people to the ER with injuries...
- this is unfolding in Suwannee County, Florida...
- officials say it is an angry domestic cat that is causing the citizens to be fearful of attack...
- as of recording time, this cat has not been captured and so I guess it's reign of terror continues...
- in two separate incidents, people were injured bad enough that they had to seek treatment at the hospital... I imagine it's partly because this cat is an unknown so you have to be careful about rabies...
- they didn't give a description of the cat... or get a sketch artist to draw a picture of the suspect so we could be dealing with anything really... any cat you see in the neighborhood might be the terrifying attack cat!
See (https://www.insider.com/vicious-cat-sent-2-people-emergency-room-evades-sheriffs-florida-2023-5)
- this government official has been suspended...
- he dropped his phone in the water while taking a selfie... and was like, I need this water drained so I can get my phone back... it took three days but they got the reservoir drained.
- he got his phone back... but it didn't survive the three days in the water...
- the fellow said his phone had sensitive government information on it... let's unpack that a little... he is a food inspector, so if there is sensitive government information on his phone, it might be the Colonel's secret recipe for Kentucky Fried Chicken (that's the only major food secret that I would deem important enough to drain an entire dam.
- He's suspended until an inquiry.
See (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-65726193)
- A Beluga whale wearing a harness has been spotted off the coast of Sweden.
- It's the same one that was spotted in 2019 in Norway.
- WTH? (Why the Harness?) Pretty sure it's a camera mount... some people think it's a trained Beluga from Russia. A Spy Beluga. A Spyluga©.
- this whale may have just escaped from somewhere... it seems used to people and has no thumbs to operate a keyboard so cyber hacking is probably unlikely, but some people believe there is evidence of Soviet Spyjinx©.
See Micah Hanks' Podcast (https://www.micahhanks.com/) and news item (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/russia-spy-whale-surfaces-off-sweden-experts-question-mission/)
- I heard this on the Frontburner podcast... Killer Whales sinking ships?!
- It's happened... they ram boats... they bite rudders... they've sunk boats... and it seems to be happening more often.
- So what up, whales? They can't be doing it on purpose, can they? Yes, yes they can. Experts say some whales are doing it on purpose, and might even be teaching younger whales how to do it. At the very least, the young whales are mimicking what the older whales are doing... it might not be full-on boat-ramming lessons they're getting.
- So it's not really a question of Are They Doing It On Purpose... it's more a question of Why? Do they know what they're doing? Is it cold-blooded attempted murder? Do we need to lock up all the whales in some kind of Whale Jail©?
- Right now, the researchers are trying to figure it out. If you ask most people, they say the whales are finally getting even with us for all the nets and ships bumping into them and whatnot. Whale researchers don't really think that, but they're still trying to find answers.
See Frontburner (https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/are-the-killer-whales-fighting-back-1.6859625) and for context (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/orcas-are-ramming-into-ships-off-the-coast-of-spain-180982234/)
❷Headline via DW.com "Drug-laden fridge defenestrated during police raid"
- I didn't know what defenestrated meant... I clicked on that story because I thought the fridge disintegrated...
- So, you got me, headline writer, because that fridge did not self-destruct while full of illegal drugs...
- they threw the fridge out the window... that's what defenestrated means? (sorry if you already knew that... for me, it has been a little bit life-changing to learn defenestrated)
- Recap... happened in Nuremberg Germany... somebody smelled drugs at an apartment building... there was a police raid, the guys threw their fridge out a third-floor window into the backyard... arrests were made and ... to be continued.
See https://www.dw.com/en/germany-drug-laden-fridge-defenestrated-during-police-raid/a-65783800
❶How Fast is the Fastest Garbage Can?
- This is an unofficial world record but still a wonderful accomplishment in garbage can technology...
- an engineer in Britain unofficially broke the world record when his trash can reached speeds of 55 mph!
- It's a wheeled trash can... he bought it for $25... then put $900 worth of upgrades into it... including a Suzuki two-stroke engine... also magnesium wheels, and a few other things.
- this is what I need for when the garbage truck comes early and they're already way down the street by the time you get the garbage put out... now we'll be able to chase down the garbage truck... we won't have to live with the shame of missing the truck and having to cart your lousy stinkin' trash back from the curb.
- so... much... shame...
- Need this thing on the market ASAP!!
See (https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2023/06/01/Guinness-World-Records-fastest-wheelie-bin/3421685631921/) There's a video there too.
You scrolled this far so, Here's the Stream...
- I didn't know what defenestrated meant... I clicked on that story because I thought the fridge disintegrated...
- So, you got me, headline writer, because that fridge did not self-destruct while full of illegal drugs...
- they threw the fridge out the window... that's what defenestrated means? (sorry if you already knew that... for me, it has been a little bit life-changing to learn defenestrated)
- Recap... happened in Nuremberg Germany... somebody smelled drugs at an apartment building... there was a police raid, the guys threw their fridge out a third-floor window into the backyard... arrests were made and ... to be continued.
See https://www.dw.com/en/germany-drug-laden-fridge-defenestrated-during-police-raid/a-65783800
- This is an unofficial world record but still a wonderful accomplishment in garbage can technology...
- an engineer in Britain unofficially broke the world record when his trash can reached speeds of 55 mph!
- It's a wheeled trash can... he bought it for $25... then put $900 worth of upgrades into it... including a Suzuki two-stroke engine... also magnesium wheels, and a few other things.
- this is what I need for when the garbage truck comes early and they're already way down the street by the time you get the garbage put out... now we'll be able to chase down the garbage truck... we won't have to live with the shame of missing the truck and having to cart your lousy stinkin' trash back from the curb.
- so... much... shame...
- Need this thing on the market ASAP!!
See (https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2023/06/01/Guinness-World-Records-fastest-wheelie-bin/3421685631921/) There's a video there too.
