Hi friends, I'm Scott. This is What a Weird Week. Every Friday we do a Weird-News-of-the-Week Top 10 Countdown podcast, a blog with all the stories and shownotes, and a YouTube video. Find everything at Shownotes.page.
This is Season 4, Episode 38 for Friday June 16th, 2023:
❿ Guy on TikTok gets arrested after *allegedly* jumping in with the alligators at Bush Gardens...
- a young buck posted a TikTok of themselves jumping into the alligator enclosure at Bush Gardens in Tampa, Florida.
- He has been arrested on suspicion of burglary, trespassing... that's a couple of the charges.
- In his video, it looks like he scales a wall, gets into Bush Gardens, grabs some snacks from one of the snack counters... eventually entering the gator enclosure.
- the park was open at the time... this happened in broad daylight.
- some bystanders were like "you're in danger, young man!" (paraphrase). He managed to get away from park security... police later tracked him down via good old fashioned detective work and clues on social media.... *Note: article on Huffpost is PG13 for language... See https://www.huffpost.com/entry/tiktoker-arrested-jacob-pursifull-busch-gardens-gators_n_6481e714e4b027d92f8b2221 and the video (PG13)
- a young buck posted a TikTok of themselves jumping into the alligator enclosure at Bush Gardens in Tampa, Florida.
- He has been arrested on suspicion of burglary, trespassing... that's a couple of the charges.
- In his video, it looks like he scales a wall, gets into Bush Gardens, grabs some snacks from one of the snack counters... eventually entering the gator enclosure.
- the park was open at the time... this happened in broad daylight.
- some bystanders were like "you're in danger, young man!" (paraphrase). He managed to get away from park security... police later tracked him down via good old fashioned detective work and clues on social media.... *Note: article on Huffpost is PG13 for language... See https://www.huffpost.com/entry/tiktoker-arrested-jacob-pursifull-busch-gardens-gators_n_6481e714e4b027d92f8b2221 and the video (PG13)
❾ I put the headline through the ai machine and it churned out "Octopus Intelligence: Rethinking Our Menu Choices..."I got this breaking news email alert the other day and it's always like, you know, politics or something like that. This one from NPR was about how octopuses can edit RNA in their brains. They pushed that as breaking news and I was like, that's pretty cool.
- This is research involving the California two-spot octopus. It can edit the RNA in its brain...
- Side note: Octopuses are very smart. The more we learn about octopuses, the more it's like, wait, we eat these things? How does that work? When do we stop eating the smart things? Is it when they can solve the Rubik's cube? Octopus is still on the menu at many restaurants and that seems unusual for something that can solve the Rubik's cube. Idk why the Rubik's cube really hit home for me, but it did. Maybe that's just me? Maybe you feel differently.
_ Back to the news: In this latest research about octopuses, this is from the journal "Cell", researchers are reporting that octopuses can edit genetic information and re-sculpt their brain. When their environment changes, they change their brain.
- Octopuses may save us all, you guys. For a deep dive into octopus RNA and how they measured the changes see the link👇.
How I would paraphrase the research (if I'm understanding it... I can't solve the Rubik's cube btw) ... when conditions change for the octopus, the octopus will change its brain to adjust to the new conditions. That is something that could benefit people if we could figure it out and harness it. Researchers are excited. Octopuses are going to save us all! As long as we don't eat them all first. See https://www.npr.org/2023/06/08/1181009210/octopuses-tweak-the-rna-in-their-brains-to-adjust-to-warmer-and-cooler-waters
❽ The Secret to Living Longer?!*
It might be energy drinks? Well, not exactly, but close!
Scientists are looking at a specific ingredient in energy drinks and how it might contribute to a longer lifespan. It's Taurine you guys. That stuff is found naturally in the body but decreases as we get older. Studies on mice have shown promising results... mice on Taurine live 10-12% longer than those who don't Taurine-uate.
More research is needed.
They've also looked at people... preliminary data from a large study involving 12,000 participants indicates that people with higher levels of Taurine in their blood tend to be healthier overall.
Reminder... experts caution against immediately increasing Taurine intake until further research has been conducted.
See https://www.euronews.com/next/2023/06/09/an-elixir-of-life-scientists-make-exciting-discovery-about-the-impact-taurine-can-have-on-
- This is research involving the California two-spot octopus. It can edit the RNA in its brain...
- Side note: Octopuses are very smart. The more we learn about octopuses, the more it's like, wait, we eat these things? How does that work? When do we stop eating the smart things? Is it when they can solve the Rubik's cube? Octopus is still on the menu at many restaurants and that seems unusual for something that can solve the Rubik's cube. Idk why the Rubik's cube really hit home for me, but it did. Maybe that's just me? Maybe you feel differently.
_ Back to the news: In this latest research about octopuses, this is from the journal "Cell", researchers are reporting that octopuses can edit genetic information and re-sculpt their brain. When their environment changes, they change their brain.
- Octopuses may save us all, you guys. For a deep dive into octopus RNA and how they measured the changes see the link👇.
How I would paraphrase the research (if I'm understanding it... I can't solve the Rubik's cube btw) ... when conditions change for the octopus, the octopus will change its brain to adjust to the new conditions. That is something that could benefit people if we could figure it out and harness it. Researchers are excited. Octopuses are going to save us all! As long as we don't eat them all first. See https://www.npr.org/2023/06/08/1181009210/octopuses-tweak-the-rna-in-their-brains-to-adjust-to-warmer-and-cooler-waters
❽ The Secret to Living Longer?!*
It might be energy drinks? Well, not exactly, but close!
Scientists are looking at a specific ingredient in energy drinks and how it might contribute to a longer lifespan. It's Taurine you guys. That stuff is found naturally in the body but decreases as we get older. Studies on mice have shown promising results... mice on Taurine live 10-12% longer than those who don't Taurine-uate.
More research is needed.
They've also looked at people... preliminary data from a large study involving 12,000 participants indicates that people with higher levels of Taurine in their blood tend to be healthier overall.
Reminder... experts caution against immediately increasing Taurine intake until further research has been conducted.
See https://www.euronews.com/next/2023/06/09/an-elixir-of-life-scientists-make-exciting-discovery-about-the-impact-taurine-can-have-on-
❼ Beloved Mascot goes to hospital after fooling around and finding out...
- I just googled is Burnie the mascot going to be okay and he's okay you guys. I wasn't sure if it was the same person in the suit every game or if they had a few different mascots that put the suit suit on for different games.. the other day at the Miami Heat/ Denver Nuggets basketball game, the Heat mascot, Burnie, got into a fight... a fake fight with Conor McGregor the UFC fighter... it was supposed to be just fun and a promotion for this pain relief spray... instead it seems like Conor McGregor landed some real hits and Burnie the mascot (or the person inside the mascot suit) had to be taken away for medical treatment! ... but he's going to be okay. BTW, congratulations to the Denver Nuggets who went on to win the NBA championship the other day (not on Burnie Fight Day)... so now I guess Burnie, if he has to nurse his wounds a little bit... gets some well-deserved time to recuperate.
See https://people.com/miami-heat-mascot-hospital-conor-mcgregor-7510958 and video (PG13, *violence)
- I just googled is Burnie the mascot going to be okay and he's okay you guys. I wasn't sure if it was the same person in the suit every game or if they had a few different mascots that put the suit suit on for different games.. the other day at the Miami Heat/ Denver Nuggets basketball game, the Heat mascot, Burnie, got into a fight... a fake fight with Conor McGregor the UFC fighter... it was supposed to be just fun and a promotion for this pain relief spray... instead it seems like Conor McGregor landed some real hits and Burnie the mascot (or the person inside the mascot suit) had to be taken away for medical treatment! ... but he's going to be okay. BTW, congratulations to the Denver Nuggets who went on to win the NBA championship the other day (not on Burnie Fight Day)... so now I guess Burnie, if he has to nurse his wounds a little bit... gets some well-deserved time to recuperate.
See https://people.com/miami-heat-mascot-hospital-conor-mcgregor-7510958 and video (PG13, *violence)
REPORT: “The Heat's mascot, Burnie, had to go to the ER last night after a mid-game bit with former UFC champ Conor McGregor,” via @sam_amick.
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) June 10, 2023
pic.twitter.com/GkBb85Beff
❻ Another reason to thank the mice, scientists may have solved obesity, diabetes, and heart disease...
- Scientists at Western University have discovered that a molecule in oranges and tangerines may help reduce obesity, help prevent diabetes, and help to prevent heart disease. This is a study where mice got fed a high-fat diet/ high-cholesterol diet, but also this molecule from the oranges. And the mice were lean, mean, micing machines, had reduced insulin resistance, all the good things that happen, you know, that you're looking for in a study. So they're still looking into how exactly it works. And then the next step is human trials. It seems like you could fast-track this one. I'm no scientist, but you could fast-track this one because it's something from oranges. We already eat oranges. You'd think that would make it faster to get to human trials.
See https://knowridge.com/2023/06/scientists-find-a-sweet-solution-for-obesity-diabetes-and-heart-disease/
- Scientists at Western University have discovered that a molecule in oranges and tangerines may help reduce obesity, help prevent diabetes, and help to prevent heart disease. This is a study where mice got fed a high-fat diet/ high-cholesterol diet, but also this molecule from the oranges. And the mice were lean, mean, micing machines, had reduced insulin resistance, all the good things that happen, you know, that you're looking for in a study. So they're still looking into how exactly it works. And then the next step is human trials. It seems like you could fast-track this one. I'm no scientist, but you could fast-track this one because it's something from oranges. We already eat oranges. You'd think that would make it faster to get to human trials.
See https://knowridge.com/2023/06/scientists-find-a-sweet-solution-for-obesity-diabetes-and-heart-disease/
- This is a fellow in China and he ended up in court because he went out on a blind date... and then refused to pay the bill and took off. It was a blind date with a lady and 23 of her relatives.They met through a matchmaker, the man, and the woman, and they agreed to meet and have a date at a restaurant... the young woman showed up with 23 of her relatives. They all ordered a lot. "premium alcoholic beverages" are mentioned in the story. The bill was approximately $2800 according to Yahoo News. So when he was given this bill, the fella decided to leave the restaurant... so the young woman and the relatives had to pay the bill. Later on he agreed to pay a share of the bill... the man offered $560-something... but that's when the blind date lady's relatives decided to take their chances in court... because they preferred that the young suitor pay for all of it.
- The ruling... the courts said, no, the young man should only have to pay the cost of his own meal. So remember he gave the young lady and the family $560-some dollars, the court only ordered him to pay a little under $200.
- Next blind date maybe make sandwiches and have a picnic.
See https://malaysia.news.yahoo.com/man-gets-sued-leaving-blind-164913319.html
- This is a follow up to a story we had...
- It's about a chew toy for dogs that looked like Jack Daniels, and Jack Daniels was like "wait, that's our that's our brand/ logo/whatever. That's our intellectual property. You're making money off of it. You did not pay us any of that money." That is me paraphrasing just in case you thought that I was reading from the court documents...
- Couple other things about the dog chew toys... There were more than just the Jack Daniels one, and they all seem to have the same theme which is poop jokes. This one's label said "Old number two on your Tennessee carpet" (the actual bottle of Jack Daniels would say "Old Number Seven.")
-The dog toy company lost a unanimous decision from the United States Supreme Court, which found that the toy is in violation of the trademark owned by the Jack Daniels company. BTW, these dog toys are around $20... Is that a good deal?
- The dog toy company's case (again, I'm not a lawyer) but I think their case essentially was "we are a parody product. We're just having fun." (paraphrase). It seems like the courts didn't agree, or at least thought this was more of a trademark violation.
- Jack Daniels felt like they had to come out with a statement to stress that they love dogs, but don't want to have their trademark violated by a company that has dog poop jokes adjacent to something that looks like a label for Jack Daniels whiskey. (paraphrase)
- a lot of different brands were hoping this is how it would go... Nike, Campbell's Soup, Levi Strauss, a lot of famous brands were like "Supreme Court, You need to side with the brands on this!"
See https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-65839800
 |
| via BBC News |
- There's a Drive-in Theater on Prince Edward Island that has had to ask people to stop stealing their cat... the cat lives with the people who run that Drive-in... and Timber the cat is very friendly... sometimes Timber will choose to watch the movie with a new friend and... it's happened 5 times now that the movie-watchers who meet Timber end up taking Timber home... *sometimes Timber is just a stowaway who fell asleep in the back seat...
- TL;DR: a cat likes to hang out with strangers at the drive-in... and has gone home with strangers (and been returned) 5 times already. That's weird, right? No cat is that friendly, are they?
See https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-brackley-drive-in-cat-1.6873223
- TL;DR: a cat likes to hang out with strangers at the drive-in... and has gone home with strangers (and been returned) 5 times already. That's weird, right? No cat is that friendly, are they?
See https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-brackley-drive-in-cat-1.6873223
- Where you live, do you have a restaurant that has a fish tank in it? Where I live there's this chain that has a fish tank and, ironically, they have fish on the menu. The fish in the tank watch you as you eat one of their relatives. #TheStaring
Anyway. I've seen a catfish up close at that restaurant and I thought it was a pretty good size until this world record story came along...
This fellow in Italy fished out a catfish that's nine feet, four inches long... the old world record catfish was a little bit shorter than that and was also caught in the same river in Italy!
See photo!
- Also of note, it was catch and release. So catch a 9 footer, get your photos, do the official measurements and then it goes right back into the river.
- Shout out to Ben Hooper for that story. Ben Hooper at UPI, he is the weird news person/ reporter there and every week Ben keeps coming through with solid gold.
- I like to call him Hoops. Hoops, someday you and I, should have a sit-down, brother!.
See https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2023/06/06/italy-Guinness-World-Records-catfish/8491686063959/
- So you know that feeling when people take you for granted? You start to think no one appreciates you and you want to do something about it? So that's how this dad was feeling... this 45 year old dad in Belgium. And so he decided "I will fake" (I'm paraphrasing a bit here because I don't speak Belgian"... "I will fake my own death, and then I'll show up at my funeral in a helicopter and that'll show everybody. Then I'll be appreciated!"
- that message is a nice takeaway in a way... appreciate the ones you love... at some point, they will not be in your life and so, that's a good reminder.
- But also, if you thought your loved one died, and then they showed up at the funeral in a helicopter, like flashy... at first, you'd be like, oh, "Hey awesome, you're not dead, let's have a hug." but idk you guys... they show up to where you were mourning in a helicopter... you'd realize that you've been had... and that wouldn't feel great. Would it? I'm trying to put myself in that situation? Yes. You'd want to hug the person at first but then, anger would settle in at some point. There's nothing worse than an angry funeral you guys.
- Also, this follow is a Tik Tok personality or something... so it seems like some of this was social media clout... or it went viral on social media at least, so there could be some motivations there.
- And the immediate family was in on the prank! The wife and children knew. They were posting on their social media, you know, "Rest in peace, Daddy," that kind of stuff.
- I'm happy none of my friends have pulled this stunt. It would hurt a friendship in the long run for me. You get one funeral from me, that's it. If it happens to be fake, sorry but that's it... I skip the next one.
See https://www.mensjournal.com/news/belgian-dad-fakes-death-attends-funeral-helicopter
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