What a Weird Week Fri Nov 15, 2024: Gus the Penguin's amazing adventure!

What a Weird Week gets you caught up on the weird news of the week.  https://www. 
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Hi friends, I'm Scott and this is What a Weird Week, a show about the weird stuff in the news. See below for a transcript of the podcast episode. To subscribe to the podcast or for social media and more links, you can get everything at www.shownotes.page. These are the shownotes for Season 5, Ep 46 first published on Friday Nov 15 2024. Here are this week's stories...
 

Bug that eats plastic may save us all!
https://studyfinds.org/plastic-eating-insect-discovered-in-kenya/

National Toy Hall of Fame Inducts My Little Pony, Transformers, and Phase 10
https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2024/11/12/National-Toy-Hall-Fame-Transformers-My-Little-Pony-Phase-10/4491731434350/

Famous and Very Old Piece of Cake gets Auctioned Off.
https://www.marieclaire.com/celebrity/royals/slice-of-old-royal-wedding-cake-sold-auction/

Taylor Swift Inspires McDonald's Canada to Introduce Friendship Bracelet Meal.
https://www.delish.com/food-news/a62919222/mcdonalds-taylor-swift-bestie-bundle/

M&M's Snack Jacket is a Thing.
https://nypost.com/2024/11/13/lifestyle/mampms-drops-puffy-red-jacket-with-pockets-for-snacks-thats-perfect-for-gluttons-this-holiday-season/

Wrong Website Printed on Doll Boxes/ they linked to a saucy website/ The saucy website is getting record traffic.
https://nypost.com/2024/11/12/lifestyle/porn-site-traffic-surges-to-12-year-high-after-mattel-mistakenly-prints-url-on-wicked-doll-boxes/

Comb jellyfish discovered to have reverse aging ability, challenging understanding of animal development.
https://nypost.com/2024/11/10/science/time-traveler-jellyfish-can-age-in-reverse-accidental-discovery/

Man benches his weight 44 times in 30 seconds. Yes, that's a record.
https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2024/11/13/canada-Guinness-World-Records-bench-press-body-weight-reps/4591731532068/

Artist/ Doctor creates world's largest drawing.
https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2024/11/nigerian-doctor-and-artist-creates-worlds-largest-drawing-to-celebrate-countrys-culture


Transcript below...




Transcript ...  
00:00
The bug that eats plastic and is going to save us all. What a weird week. Hi everybody, it's Weird. This is like Crazy Bill Hill. Really weird, weird tale. Well, I got a great show for you today. It was so wonderful. Weird stuff. Hi friends, I'm Scott and this is What a Weird Week. If you're new here, we catch you up on the weird news that happened. So you can focus on the serious news.

00:27
We got you covered for the weird stuff. You want links or if you want our social media, anything like that, go to show notes dot page show notes dot page. Here we go. It's season five episode. I can't remember. First published on Friday, November 15th, 2024. 10. Number 10 is the emperor penguin that swam for over 2000 miles. Swam to Australia. I mean, when you've had enough, right? I've had enough.

00:56
and you really put your money where your mouth is, where your beak is, whatever, you just swim to Australia. Right? You throw your flippers up and you're like, I'm out. I'm a head out. I don't know. The emperor penguin is named Gus, and he swam 2,200 miles from Antarctica to Australia. This is the first time it's ever been recorded that that has happened. That is a long way to swim. Way to go, Gus.

01:22
Gus was rescued and is, you know, recovering. He was... it's quite exhausting to swim 2200 miles, so recovering. The article mentions how Gus was quite friendly with the people around him, his rescuers, and that and they think it's because Gus believes them to be penguins because of their wetsuits. Wetsuits made them look like penguins, you guys. Nine.

01:45
Number nine is the Rhode Island fellow who gets in the Guinness Book of World Records made headlines because he has the largest collection of energy drink cans fellow named Joel He is over a thousand energy drink cans different ones. It's not purely rockstar. I'm a rockstar guy What can I tell you? It's not that it's many different kinds of energy drinks And he took to collecting the cans once he got over a thousand kablami

02:14
world record. By the way, Joel says he usually has one or two energy drinks a day. Okay, we're already a couple deep. Hang on, number eight is next. It's all about gratitude and how good it is for us. What? Instead of complaining, being grateful, that's good for us? Well, let's dig into that next.

02:43
This is What a Weird Week where we catch you up on the weird news of the week. For everything we talk about in more detail, you can see show notes dot page eight. Number eight is a study from our friends at study finds about the power of appreciation and how it can make you happy. Parents are really charged up. If our kids say thank you or appear to be grateful, that really gets us right in the feels. We just.

03:10
Can't even, it feels so good, so proud of my baby bees. Sorry, what? Okay, I'm not a scientist, but the study, this is the University of Illinois, feeling appreciated by family members and by romantic partners enhances relationship satisfaction. That is kind of the summation, and parents are less stressed when kids express gratitude. This is not a huge study, like 500 and some parents.

03:40
But let's lock it in. Kids, be grateful. It's science. Seven. Number seven is the Kenyan Lesser Mealworm, which has been making headlines because it may save us all. It eats plastic. The larvae. Larvae? The little wee babies of the Kenyan Lesser Mealworm can consume polystyrene. Not an easy plastic to break down in the wild.

04:08
So these bugs, I mean, they're gonna save us all. Start throwing your plastic out the window right now. No, wait, don't do that. Yeah, nice to have some good news, right? Some weird good news, like a bug that eats plastic, right? Right, you guys? What is wrong with me today? I'm looped. Hang on, next is the National Toy Hall of Fame results. Who got in? Who got snubbed in the toy department?

04:34
Oh wait, the toy department. That's an actual department, isn't it? Anyway, number six, next.

04:40
This is what a weird week we count down the weird news of the week for you. Number six is the National Toy Hall of Fame and who got in? This is that museum where you can go and visit the toys. This year My Little Pony is in. Transformers. How are these toys not already in? I'm always surprised by that. The card game Phase 10, which I have played that one with my in-laws and it can be the best of times and the worst of times that Phase 10.

05:10
And it can be a long time also. It's 10 phases, you guys. Some of the things that did not make it into the Toy Hall of Fame. Balloons were nominated, did not get in. Apples to apples, the game did not get in. It seems fairly new to me compared to some of the other compared to balloons. Apples to apples. Wait your turn. Anyway, you can do a deep dive, the whole list, if you click our show notes or go show notes dot page five.

05:39
Number five is the very very old slice of Queen Elizabeth's wedding cake. So the slice of cake from Queen Elizabeth II's wedding is 77 years old and made headlines for fetching $2,800 at auction. At their wedding November 20th 1947 they had a 500 pound cake you guys. And so anyway preserved a slice of the cake 77 years later. Sold at auction for over $2,800.

06:09
And then on the way home a dog chased the fellow who won it, was chased by a dog who seemed captivated by sweets and knocked him down and ate the cake you guys. That's a sad ending to that story. I'm just kidding about that part but it would have been kind of hilarious. Up next number four, a fast food place here in Canada offering up some friendship bracelets and a special meal because Taylor Swift.

06:42
you

06:46
This is what a weird week. We count down the weird news of the week for you. Four. Number four is McDonald's Canada making headlines with their bestie bundle, inspired by the Taylor Swift Eras Tour, which came through Toronto. That made headlines alone. The traffic and whatnot, the economic spinoff. But McDonald's got excited and said, hey, inspired by Taylor Swift, for a limited time, enjoy the bestie bundle, which you're supposed to enjoy with your bestie. You get...

07:15
Two junior chicken sandwiches, two small fries, two small fountain drinks, and two friendship bracelets. Bestie Bundle. If this catches on, perhaps when other concerts are announced, your favorite fast food place will offer different meals. Maybe sometimes to share with a friend or loved one. Maybe sometimes to eat alone. Just a big pile of tacos that you eat alone and you brood and you plot revenge against your enemies. I don't know who would inspire that meal.

07:44
It sounds to let maybe Michael Buble, let's say Buble, inspires the plot revenge against your enemies taco meal. I would eat that. Three. Number three is the limited edition M&M's Snack Jacket, which I'm sure they workshop Snack It, and it just wasn't happening. So Snack Jacket, this is a publicity stunt. I mean, let's just call it what it is. They came out with a limited edition jacket that you're supposed to wear to the movies, and it has a napkin dispensing sleeve and.

08:14
A lot of storage for your M&Ms. Hands-free popcorn belt. I wanna get the name right too. The pockets for all your treats are officially called in the press release, interior snacktical pockets or easy snackcess. All right, so number one, yes, publicity stunt. Number two, M&Ms, are you encouraging us to smuggle in outdoor snacks to the theater for our theater experience? Nice, we all love to do that. This is a one size fits all.

08:43
Jacket for like 12 bucks you guys. Let me just click the link and see if there are any available Just kidding. There are none available They only made 14 for under $12 and it's a puffy jacket with all this free M&M swag It was a promotion M&M's teamed up with Amazon MGM studios to promote their holiday movie Red One I'll put a link to a photo of the thing if you click the show notes But if you don't have a chance to click it is a vibrant red jacket

09:13
puffy and I don't know fashion. Maybe it's not ugly, but doesn't matter. It was only $12 and it was full of M&M swag and it had that little seatbelt for your popcorn because your hands are full of delicious M&Ms. You don't have time to also hold your popcorn bucket like a chump, right? That thing might catch on alone. Somebody might steal that popcorn belt technology and.

09:36
Watch for that online. Some Etsy shop maybe. All right, up next is number two. They have discovered another Benjamin Button creature that ages in reverse. That's next.

10:02
This is What a Weird Week. We are a show about the weird news of the week. We're catching you up on the weird stuff. List two. Number two is the jellyfish that scientists have discovered has reverse aging ability. Benjamin Button, you know the movie where the dude ages in reverse? I don't know, haven't seen it, but I'm calling it the Benjamin Button of jellyfish. They say, quote, is challenging the understanding of animal development. Yeah, it's challenging my understanding of animal development.

10:31
And time, how time works. So here's one thing. So this groundbreaking discovery scientists in Norway, researchers in Norway went to a tank where there was a mature comb jellyfish in there. And then it wasn't a mature jellyfish in there. It was a wee little baby jellyfish. And they were like, what? I'm sure they, you know, checked the security footage or something. Sally, Dr. Jones, did you prank us again? Good one. But it wasn't a prank. It was extreme stress.

11:01
caused this aging reverse aging process in this comb jellyfish. One of the things I learned is it's not the first animal they've discovered that can do this. This is just the latest one. Extreme stress triggers the reverse aging process. Imagine if extreme stress caused us to age in reverse. You guys, we'd all be babies. We would be an entire planet filled with babies.

11:29
Anyway, early stages of the research and it was discovered by accident. So one of the fun things about, you know, some wonderful scientific revelations discovered by accident. Right. So that's what happened here. And now they're looking into it. I imagine the cosmetics industry is very excited, ready to fund some research. Honorable mention. Mention.

11:53
Honorable mention that got picked up a lot. You saw this on a lot of the late night shows and a lot of the mainstream newscasts the movie Wicked inspired by the Broadway play and That was inspired by the Wizard of Oz that movie Mattel came out with some dolls Inspired by the movie Wicked and those dolls had a website on the box It was a link to a saucy saucy grown-up type of website instead of wickedmovie.com

12:22
And since that happened and got all the attention, the website says their traffic is at a 12 year high. They haven't seen traffic like this in 12 years, you guys. And that gets an honorable mention. Hang on, our number one story is next. And I think we're gonna end on a happy note again. Weird, but happy. That's the goal.

12:58
This is what a weird week. Find everything we're talking about in more detail if you click shownotes.page. Honorable mention, mention. Another honorable mention just before our number one story, the Ontario man, Ontario, Canada, North America, planet earth, he bench pressed his own weight 44 times in 30 seconds and that is a world record. The fellow weighs 201 pounds.

13:27
201.8 pounds and so he bench pressed that 44 times in 30 seconds you guys. A lot of times we'll talk about some of these world records and say hey you should try to break that this weekend. Maybe not this one. You know work up to it. Don't jump right into bench pressing your own weight 44 times in 30 seconds. That would be my advice. I'm not a physically fit person but

13:54
I think this is solid advice. One. OK, number one story of the week. We promised it would be maybe weird, but also a happy story. And it's about a fellow, a Nigerian artist who made the world's largest drawing. And it's all about celebrating cultural diversity. So, you know, that's a nice message to spread. We're all, you know, on this planet together and we all have different heritages and cultures to offer.

14:19
And so this fellow is a Nigerian art enthusiast, also a doctor, but found time to set the Guinness World Record for the largest drawing by one individual over 10,000 square feet. Some of the details. If you wanted to break this world record, you're going to need some waterproof markers. You're going to need a very large canvas.

14:41
which this fellow had a canvas head his art installment set up at a 5,000 seat stadium. I decided to take on this record because I wanted to challenge myself. I wanted to push the limits of my ability as an artist. I also wanted to create impact in the creative community in Nigeria. The design concept is a map of Nigeria showing the various cultures. The title of the drawing is Unity in Diversity. This is me showing my people

15:11
the beauty that resides in our culture. It's a little bit of the video. We will link to that in the show notes or click show notes that page. The artist explaining the inspiration behind this world record art. And if you don't have a chance to click the video and see the art being made, it is a, you know, picture a stadium, the giant canvas on the pitch or the grass, whatever the field. And you're just there with a handful of markers. It's divided into grids, the canvas.

15:39
So you kind of have an idea where you're at, but just bent over drawing all day, like exhausting. Like it's a physical feat, along with being an accomplishment of large artistic endeavor.

15:54
We'll stop there. Thanks for listening to What a Weird Week. You can get everything we talk about in more detail if you go to shownotes.page. Find out how to subscribe to the podcast. You can listen to us on Funhaus Radio as well, streaming online. Just Google Funhaus Radio or wave a button if you click shownotes.page. Thanks Funhouse Radio for streaming us on weekends. And that's it. We'll see you next weekend with more weird stuff on What a Weird Week.