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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/ show notes, and a YouTube video. Find everything at Shownotes.page.
Latest video episode...
❿ Bicentennial Celebration with Giant Pie!
On Monday, the Florida Keys celebrated their 200th birthday, their bicentennial, with a giant pie... a 13-foot diameter Key Lime pie which they are now trying to get into the Guinness Book of World Records. KLP Facts:
- originally from Key West, Florida (in the 1800s.)
- Florida's official pie.
Congratulations, Florida Keys. Happy birthday!
What about birthday pie, you guys? I mean, Big Cake has had its run. Let's get some more birthday pie action going!
This happened earlier this week. A runner at the Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta is running, winning, nearly done. It's a 10k and just before the finish line... you know how in road races they have police motorcycles along the route... well, a police officer in front of the runners on a motorcycle turned down a side street. The lead runner, nearly to the finish line, followed that police motorcycle. She took the same turn up the side street... instead of continuing on, straight to the finish line. The lady would've won $10,000! She manged to get back on track and took third place in the race, winning three thousand dollars... so it was a good recovery, she still made some money. Just one of those things, so unfortunate. It's one of those things where I feel like you can't look back. You can't do a 'what if'. Oh my gosh, what if though?! Sorry, can't do that, darn it. Shouldn't do that. What if though! $10,000 could have been!!
see https://www.huffpost.com/entry/wrong-turn-costs-thousands_n_64a50a8ae4b065a315bbb485
Congratulations, Florida Keys. Happy birthday!
What about birthday pie, you guys? I mean, Big Cake has had its run. Let's get some more birthday pie action going!
*btw If you're wondering how the largest Key Lime Pie stacks up amongst pie world records, the biggest pumpkin pie in the world was a 20 foot diameter pie. So pumpkin pie, bigger than the world record Key Lime Pie...
A few other noteworthy pies:
- British Columbia is known for the largest cherry pie weighing 17 tons.
- a whopper of a pecan pie from El Paso tipped the scales at 18 tons.
There's quite a range in world record pies. It's not one particular pie that really dominates.
A few other noteworthy pies:
- British Columbia is known for the largest cherry pie weighing 17 tons.
- a whopper of a pecan pie from El Paso tipped the scales at 18 tons.
There's quite a range in world record pies. It's not one particular pie that really dominates.
see https://apnews.com/article/florida-keys-bicentennial-key-lime-pie-bac440240609bac560127f6f7a8a486d and also this video https://twitter.com/thefloridakeys/status/1676011296234323974?t=FkuwaHVF1R6ZhvUaIowIdA&s=19
❾ Stolen Velociraptor!
Dinosaur story you guys!
- Headline from HuffPost: "Police hunt down dinosaur following South Dakota heist."
The Velociraptor had escaped from Jurassic Park. JK. This was a Velociraptor statue stolen from an arts and science center in South Dakota. It happened late at night... the security guard saw people carrying out a Velociraptor and checked the surveillance footage... clues were pieced together, and the authorities were able to locate the dinosaur at a nearby apartment... seems like it was some teenagers involved in the dinosaur heist.
- Headline from HuffPost: "Police hunt down dinosaur following South Dakota heist."
The Velociraptor had escaped from Jurassic Park. JK. This was a Velociraptor statue stolen from an arts and science center in South Dakota. It happened late at night... the security guard saw people carrying out a Velociraptor and checked the surveillance footage... clues were pieced together, and the authorities were able to locate the dinosaur at a nearby apartment... seems like it was some teenagers involved in the dinosaur heist.
see https://www.huffpost.com/entry/velociraptor-statue-south-dakota-heist_n_648e77afe4b0756ff864e9fb
❽ On July 4th, Joey Chestnut won the hot dog eating deal for a 16th time.
Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest was almost canceled because of thunder storms but out of the ashes arises a champion for the ages... Joey "Jaws" ate 62 hot dogs in ten minutes... the next closest competitor got 49.
BTW, the world record (held by Joey "Jaws" Chestnutt) is 76 hot dogs.
Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest was almost canceled because of thunder storms but out of the ashes arises a champion for the ages... Joey "Jaws" ate 62 hot dogs in ten minutes... the next closest competitor got 49.
BTW, the world record (held by Joey "Jaws" Chestnutt) is 76 hot dogs.
see internet for more. you know, the internet?
❼ The Florida man who set the world record for living a long time underwater has revealed that he shrunk. The fellow, named Joe, spent a hundred days in an underwater habitat to set the record. Now he's telling interviewers that he's a half inch shorter than before the underwater adventure. Lousy, stinkin' shrinkage!
He thinks he'll grow back to normal size, but, to be continued.
He thinks he'll grow back to normal size, but, to be continued.
❻ The Teacher who skipped school for 20 years has been fired??!!!
Quote from Business Insider "The court heard that during the scarce periods when she was teaching, she was distracted by her phone, borrowed textbooks from students (who seemingly received grades at random), and her lessons generally seemed improvised and 'confused'"
Without going too deep into his one, it's about a lady in Italy who seems to be incredibly talented at finding ways to avoid going to work at her job as a teacher... and equally talented at still getting to keep her job. She skipped work for 20 years. One time she got let go, but then was reinstated! Anyway, it looks like now she has finally been fired more permanently.
Without going too deep into his one, it's about a lady in Italy who seems to be incredibly talented at finding ways to avoid going to work at her job as a teacher... and equally talented at still getting to keep her job. She skipped work for 20 years. One time she got let go, but then was reinstated! Anyway, it looks like now she has finally been fired more permanently.
❺ The Red Stuff Leaking from the Truck was hot Sauce...
This is from the CDL life website, which is a website for truckers... headline: "Semi truck hot sauce spill leads to hazmat response on El Paso interstate."
This happened last Friday. Somebody driving on the highway noticed the semi truck was leaking red liquid... Can you imagine? We've all seen this movie... what is that red liquid coming out of the truck??? Do not open that truck! That truck is evil!!
Turns out it was Tabasco sauce. The truck was hauling 4400 gallons of Tabasco sauce. The El Paso fire department responded to the call and they had to bring in the hazmat team as well... At first I thought that seemed unusual but I mean, Tabasco sauce... what if you're driving on that highway in a convertible and some of the Tabasco got sprayed up into your eyes!? Yes, hazardous material!
see https://cdllife.com/2023/semi-truck-hot-sauce-spill-leads-to-hazmat-response-on-el-paso-interstate/
This happened last Friday. Somebody driving on the highway noticed the semi truck was leaking red liquid... Can you imagine? We've all seen this movie... what is that red liquid coming out of the truck??? Do not open that truck! That truck is evil!!
Turns out it was Tabasco sauce. The truck was hauling 4400 gallons of Tabasco sauce. The El Paso fire department responded to the call and they had to bring in the hazmat team as well... At first I thought that seemed unusual but I mean, Tabasco sauce... what if you're driving on that highway in a convertible and some of the Tabasco got sprayed up into your eyes!? Yes, hazardous material!
see https://cdllife.com/2023/semi-truck-hot-sauce-spill-leads-to-hazmat-response-on-el-paso-interstate/
❹ Pickle war is gaining momentum...
Number four is the Pickle War, Pickle War at number four.
This is from Daily Beast, "Rival pickle companies duke it out in court over secret recipe." This is about a pickle company named Grillo's who is suing Patriot Pickle in what the Daily Beast calls a salty new lawsuit. (hold for laughter).
This is a civil suit... Grillo's says Patriot has stolen their secret recipe for a line of pickles which they prepare for Whole Foods (which we don't have in Canada, but you know, major grocer.) So Grillo's is accusing Patriot of making pickles that look and taste incredibly similar to Grillo's products, and the accused also has virtually identical nutritional information and ingredients, according to the court filing by Grillo's.
Grillo's says the Patriot Pickle Company got its hands on the Grillo's recipe when both these pickle companies were shared a co-packing agreement. I have zero knowledge of the pickle industry and co-packing, but I'm guessing that both companies were using a shared facility to bottle pickles for Whole Foods store brand or something similar. When that happens, there has to be non-disclosure agreements and all that. One company might have access to recipes or the secret pickle process... What if one rival pickle company gets their hands on another recipe? Grillo's is saying that's what happened... the courts will have to decide... if you love pickles, this sounds like the best jury duty ever!
see https://www.thedailybeast.com/rival-pickle-companies-grillos-and-patriot-feud-in-court-over-secret-recipe
This is from Daily Beast, "Rival pickle companies duke it out in court over secret recipe." This is about a pickle company named Grillo's who is suing Patriot Pickle in what the Daily Beast calls a salty new lawsuit. (hold for laughter).
This is a civil suit... Grillo's says Patriot has stolen their secret recipe for a line of pickles which they prepare for Whole Foods (which we don't have in Canada, but you know, major grocer.) So Grillo's is accusing Patriot of making pickles that look and taste incredibly similar to Grillo's products, and the accused also has virtually identical nutritional information and ingredients, according to the court filing by Grillo's.
Grillo's says the Patriot Pickle Company got its hands on the Grillo's recipe when both these pickle companies were shared a co-packing agreement. I have zero knowledge of the pickle industry and co-packing, but I'm guessing that both companies were using a shared facility to bottle pickles for Whole Foods store brand or something similar. When that happens, there has to be non-disclosure agreements and all that. One company might have access to recipes or the secret pickle process... What if one rival pickle company gets their hands on another recipe? Grillo's is saying that's what happened... the courts will have to decide... if you love pickles, this sounds like the best jury duty ever!
see https://www.thedailybeast.com/rival-pickle-companies-grillos-and-patriot-feud-in-court-over-secret-recipe
❸ a knockoff Louis Vuitton bag is in the news because...
It's too small to be of much use, but still really expensive.
From CBS News: "Microscopic Louis Vuitton knock-off bag. Narrow enough to pass through the eye of a needle. Sells for more than $63,000."
It's a tiny handbag, a little purse. It has a Louis Vuitton signature monogram on it, but it's a knock-off, you guys. Gotta watch out for those. Sometimes you just can't tell the difference. You need somebody who's really versed in all of that to have a look at your Louis Vuitton and see if it really is legit. One of the ways you can tell is that it's small enough to pass through the eye of a needle. This handbag is just teeny, tiny art, basically.
See link for the deep dive but really, the takeaway here is that's it's a very tiny, tiny piece of art that you have to look at through a microscope. And when you buy it for $63,750, it also does come with a microscope. So you can admire your artwork that you bought for $63,000.
From CBS News: "Microscopic Louis Vuitton knock-off bag. Narrow enough to pass through the eye of a needle. Sells for more than $63,000."
It's a tiny handbag, a little purse. It has a Louis Vuitton signature monogram on it, but it's a knock-off, you guys. Gotta watch out for those. Sometimes you just can't tell the difference. You need somebody who's really versed in all of that to have a look at your Louis Vuitton and see if it really is legit. One of the ways you can tell is that it's small enough to pass through the eye of a needle. This handbag is just teeny, tiny art, basically.
See link for the deep dive but really, the takeaway here is that's it's a very tiny, tiny piece of art that you have to look at through a microscope. And when you buy it for $63,750, it also does come with a microscope. So you can admire your artwork that you bought for $63,000.
❷ Runner makes wrong turn, loses thousands in prize money...
From Huffpost: "Elite runner makes costly mistake moments before the finish line."This happened earlier this week. A runner at the Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta is running, winning, nearly done. It's a 10k and just before the finish line... you know how in road races they have police motorcycles along the route... well, a police officer in front of the runners on a motorcycle turned down a side street. The lead runner, nearly to the finish line, followed that police motorcycle. She took the same turn up the side street... instead of continuing on, straight to the finish line. The lady would've won $10,000! She manged to get back on track and took third place in the race, winning three thousand dollars... so it was a good recovery, she still made some money. Just one of those things, so unfortunate. It's one of those things where I feel like you can't look back. You can't do a 'what if'. Oh my gosh, what if though?! Sorry, can't do that, darn it. Shouldn't do that. What if though! $10,000 could have been!!
see https://www.huffpost.com/entry/wrong-turn-costs-thousands_n_64a50a8ae4b065a315bbb485
🏆 via Science Alert: "NASA Seals Volunteers Into Isolated Habitat For Year-Long Experiment"
I think I already saw this movie... or was it an episode of Black Mirror? Whichever. Spoiler: it didn't end well then. According to Science Alert the four volunteers got sealed into the Martian habitat simulation on June 25 and they're supposed to stay in there a year to help researchers gain some insight in advance of getting a real Life on Mars situation going.
Q: what if you hate your roommates? I'm sure they endured all kinds of psychological screening but you never know how you're gonna react until you're locked in the fake Martian bio dome, right? BTW, habitat name is Mars Dune Alpha, and the place was 3D-printed. Good luck and Godspeed to Kelly Haston (biologist), Ross Brockwell (engineer), Nathan Jones (physician), and Anca Selariu (microbiologist). See you next July. *Even that crew seems vaguely like the characters from an episode of Black Mirror, doesn't it?
see https://www.sciencealert.com/nasa-seals-volunteers-into-isolated-habitat-for-year-long-experiment
I think I already saw this movie... or was it an episode of Black Mirror? Whichever. Spoiler: it didn't end well then. According to Science Alert the four volunteers got sealed into the Martian habitat simulation on June 25 and they're supposed to stay in there a year to help researchers gain some insight in advance of getting a real Life on Mars situation going.
Q: what if you hate your roommates? I'm sure they endured all kinds of psychological screening but you never know how you're gonna react until you're locked in the fake Martian bio dome, right? BTW, habitat name is Mars Dune Alpha, and the place was 3D-printed. Good luck and Godspeed to Kelly Haston (biologist), Ross Brockwell (engineer), Nathan Jones (physician), and Anca Selariu (microbiologist). See you next July. *Even that crew seems vaguely like the characters from an episode of Black Mirror, doesn't it?
see https://www.sciencealert.com/nasa-seals-volunteers-into-isolated-habitat-for-year-long-experiment
❶ Finally the flying cars we were promised in literature!
via CNN, "the Federal Aviation Administration says that a California company's flying car is approved for testing."
BTW, it can also drive on roads like the rest of us chumps when needed. That's where it's different from other flying vehicles that are being developed (according to the company) ... you'll be able to drive on public roads and park it like anybody else's car. It'll also be able to takeoff and land vertically (no runway required.)
More:
- it'll be a one or two passenger situation and have a range of 200 miles driving, or around half of that if flying.
- the plan is to be selling these for $300,000 by 2025.
Neat: the developers were inspired by the flying cars of Back to the Future. That's what got them working on this. If you don't have time to click for photos... it looks more like an actual car than a lot if the big drone type vehicles I've seen... almost like something from Tomorrowland... shiny and rounded edges... kind of future-retro.
via CNN, "the Federal Aviation Administration says that a California company's flying car is approved for testing."
BTW, it can also drive on roads like the rest of us chumps when needed. That's where it's different from other flying vehicles that are being developed (according to the company) ... you'll be able to drive on public roads and park it like anybody else's car. It'll also be able to takeoff and land vertically (no runway required.)
More:
- it'll be a one or two passenger situation and have a range of 200 miles driving, or around half of that if flying.
- the plan is to be selling these for $300,000 by 2025.
Neat: the developers were inspired by the flying cars of Back to the Future. That's what got them working on this. If you don't have time to click for photos... it looks more like an actual car than a lot if the big drone type vehicles I've seen... almost like something from Tomorrowland... shiny and rounded edges... kind of future-retro.
see CNN https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/03/tech/flying-car-faa/index.html and https://alef.aero/preorder.html
If you scrolled this far, you're my favorite. Here's the Stream...
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