Buzz
It's time for another round of unusual tales, curious accounts, and oddball happenings. If you missed last week’s roundup, you can catch up here.
This week brings us two poop-related stories, though they couldn’t be more different. One features a pigeon with impeccable comedic timing, while the other investigates a scientific experiment that tests the possibility of crafting a functional knife from frozen feces.
We also have a few strange criminal stories: two Amish men on the run from the law, a Mummy Marauder wreaking havoc, and thieves who made off with a solid gold toilet.
10. The Myth of the Three Gorges Water Monster
Earlier this week, videos began to surface showing a long, black shape wriggling through China’s Yangtze River. It quickly sparked comparisons to the notorious Loch Ness Monster, leading some to speculate that China might have its own version of ‘Nessie’ lurking in the waters. However, the mystery was resolved fairly quickly, and unfortunately, the reality is far less thrilling.
Footage of the creature, which was dubbed the Three Gorges Water Monster, first appeared on Chinese social media platforms where they attracted tens of millions of views before eventually reaching the West. After a professor suggested that, if genuine, the creature was likely a large water snake, rumors spread that it might have mutated into a massive size due to pollution in the river.
A few days later, the ‘serpent’ was revealed to be nothing more than floating debris, though its exact identity remains uncertain due to conflicting reports. One Chinese news outlet claimed it was a long piece of rubber tubing that had detached from a shipyard, while state broadcaster CCTV suggested it was a mesh sunshade that had come loose from the nearby ferry terminal and tangled in a way that made it appear snake-like.
9. Pigeon Poop Scandal Sparks Political Drama
While a Chicago lawmaker was conducting an interview about the pigeon poop problem at a notorious bus station, one of the birds decided to make a bold statement by pooping on him, driving the point home about the issue.
The Irving Park Blue Line station is notoriously known among Chicagoans as the ‘pigeon poop station.’ Situated beneath the Kennedy Expressway, the entrance features an underpass right above the commuter path where birds perch and drop their droppings without restraint.
At least one official is attempting to tackle the issue. State Representative Jaime Andrade has been pushing for funding to address the problem since last year. Recently, during an interview with a local TV station on the subject, as he was criticizing the pigeons, one of them decided to drop a load right on his head. Seizing the moment, he remarked that this is exactly the kind of situation his constituents have to endure.
The delays in resolving the matter appear to be caused by a jurisdictional issue regarding who is accountable for the pigeons. Last year, Andrade secured state funds, but they were allocated to the Chicago Transit Authority, which oversees the bus station as part of the Kennedy Expressway. However, the underpass itself is not considered part of the station and falls under the Illinois Department of Transportation, while the sidewalk where the birds congregate is managed by the City of Chicago.
8. Cattle Semen Destroyed in Blaze
A fire at a genetics lab in Yarram, Victoria, Australia, resulted in the loss of 100 cryogenic cylinders containing cattle semen.
In the early hours of Tuesday morning, a fire broke out at the storage facility of Yarram Herd Services. Firefighters took two hours to get the flames under control, but by the time they did, the entire building had been destroyed.
The largest loss was the destruction of 100 containers that held cattle semen. The company provides herd testing, artificial insemination (AI), and other services to numerous local farmers, many of whom store genetic material from their own livestock at the facility.
The value of the lost items is particularly significant due to the timing, as AI season has just begun. The cylinders themselves were valued between $500 and $1,000 each, but the semen they contained was far more valuable. Bull semen is priced between $5 and $95 per straw.
The fire posed an exceptional challenge for firefighters. They initially had to take a defensive stance. The heat caused the fluid inside the cylinders to expand, which caused the lids to be ejected like high-speed projectiles. Investigators are still looking into the cause of the blaze.
7. The Search for the Mummy Marauder
While the world was focused on newly uncovered photos of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in blackface (which he, strangely, attributed to 'white privilege'), a fascinating tale involving a man in white face slipped under the radar!
On Friday the 13th, a robber held up the First Convenience Bank in Harris County, Texas, near Houston. He threatened the teller and made off with an undisclosed amount of money, fleeing the scene in a black Mitsubishi Montero SUV. To conceal his identity, the man wrapped himself in white gauze. Adding to the disguise, he wore sunglasses, a wig, and a baseball cap. But it was the linen wrappings that truly caught attention, earning him the nickname 'Mummy Marauder.'
According to the FBI, the suspect was a black male in his early 20s, approximately 1.8 meters (5’11”) tall, with a medium build. They released images of the suspect, hoping someone would be able to help identify him. Crime Stoppers of Houston offered a $5,000 reward for information leading to his capture.
6. Don’t Drink & Jive
Police in Ohio are searching for two Amish men who fled the scene after being pulled over by deputies for drinking while driving their horse-drawn buggy.
Last Sunday night, a Trumbull County officer witnessed something strange as a buggy rolled by. It had a sound system with massive speakers and an open case of ultra-light beer on the roof. Inside were an older Amish man and a teenager, sipping spiked iced tea while riding in the carriage. Since a horse & buggy is considered a vehicle, the same drinking and driving laws applied, so the deputy attempted to pull them over.
As soon as the buggy came to a stop, the two men bolted into the woods alongside the road. Meanwhile, the horse took off, pulling the empty carriage. The deputy chose to chase after the horse to ensure the carriage came to a safe halt.
The Amish men managed to escape, and as of now, they remain unidentified. However, if they want their horse & buggy back, they’ll need to come forward.
5. How Practical Is A Poop Knife?
In a recent study published in the anthropological journal Sapiens, a scientist tested whether it is possible to create a functional knife out of frozen feces.
In the 1990s, well-known anthropologist Wade Davis from the University of British Columbia shared a story about an elderly Inuit man from the 1940s or 50s. This man refused to leave his igloo in the wilderness to move to a modern settlement. Even after his family took away all his tools, he got creative with what he had. He used his own feces to craft a knife, sharpening it with just his hands and saliva. He then let it freeze and ended up with a solid blade that he used to kill a dog.
Metin Eren, an experimental archaeologist from Kent State University in Ohio, was one of the many intrigued by Davis's story. Although he was a teenager at the time, now he had all the tools necessary to try recreating the event himself.
For eight days, Eren followed a high-protein diet rich in salmon, beef, and turkey. He gathered several ‘raw materials,’ shaping them into blades both by hand and with molds. He even used a metal file to refine some of the knives, hoping for a better result, but none of them succeeded. Instead of cutting through hide, the blades just melted, leaving behind streaks 'like a brown crayon.'
4. Neutron Star Too Massive To Exist, Almost
Astronomers at the Green Bank Observatory (GBO) in West Virginia have discovered the largest neutron star ever observed, and it may stay that way for a while. It’s sitting right at the theoretical boundary of how large a neutron star can grow before it collapses into a black hole.
Neutron stars are the leftover cores of massive stars that exploded in a supernova and are possibly the second densest objects in the universe, only trailing black holes. To help visualize their incredible density, scientists at GBO explain that just one sugar cube of neutron star material would weigh a staggering 100 million tons on Earth .
Researchers from the NANOGrav Physics Frontier Center were using the Green Bank Telescope (GBT) to study a rapidly spinning pulsar named J0740+6620, which is located 4,600 light-years away. They soon realized that this pulsar might be the heaviest neutron star ever found, packing 2.17 solar masses into a sphere just 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) across.
Moreover, experts believe that neutron stars may not be able to grow much larger. Studies indicate that 2.17 solar masses may be the upper limit before a neutron star collapses in on itself, transforming into a black hole.
3. Thieves Steal Golden Toilet
In a burglary that seemed like something out of a heist movie, a solid gold toilet worth $6 million was stolen from Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, England.
The toilet in question is titled America, an art installation by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan. Created in 2016, it forms part of the permanent collection of New York's Guggenheim Museum but was temporarily displayed at Blenheim Palace, the birthplace of Winston Churchill, on loan from the museum. Made from 18-carat gold, the functional toilet allowed visitors to use it for its intended purpose during the exhibition.
The theft was discovered early on Saturday morning. Blenheim Palace, equipped with a high-tech security system, was still breached by the criminals. While the method of the heist remains unclear, authorities suspect the thieves used two separate vehicles to escape.
The first arrest in the case came quickly, with a 66-year-old man taken into custody on suspicion of burglary. A second arrest followed shortly after, involving a 36-year-old man, also under similar charges. Both men were released but continue to be investigated. Authorities are keeping their findings confidential, emphasizing that recovering the stolen artwork is their main priority, though they haven't ruled out the possibility that the toilet could be melted down.
Maurizio Cattelan, initially 'mortified' upon hearing the news, later found some humor in the situation, considering it a real-life 'heist movie' in which he had unwittingly become a part.
2. The Storming of Area 51, At Last
The long-anticipated date for 'storming Area 51' has finally arrived. What began as a viral joke online to 'see them aliens' has transformed into a bizarre event that now includes a music festival. The hype has been building for months, and this weekend promises to be one for the books.
According to Lincoln County Sheriff Kerry Lee, around 1,500 attendees gathered early Friday morning as the music group Wily Savage prepared for their performance. The small towns in the area, which collectively have a population of fewer than 200 people, are worried that such a large influx of people could cause chaos. Lincoln County's emergency manager, Eric Holt, estimated that local authorities could manage a crowd of 30,000, but anything beyond that could pose significant challenges.
1. The Record-Breaking Lint Ball
In an event six months in the making, Michigan briefly hosted the world's largest ball of lint before it was reduced to ashes on Thursday, setting a Guinness World Record.
The event served as both a promotional stunt and a public service announcement, organized by the Farmington Hills Fire Department in collaboration with Dryer Vent Wizard, a business specializing in dryer vent cleaning and repairs.
Since April, employees across 95 franchises have been instructed to collect lint from their work to build up a giant fiber ball in pursuit of setting a new record. The massive lint ball reached 313 kilograms (690 lbs). While there was no previous record holder, Guinness set a minimum weight requirement of 45 kilograms (99 lbs) for it to qualify. After the record was verified, firefighters set the ball on fire.
The purpose of this stunt was to demonstrate the extreme flammability of lint and to raise awareness about the importance of regularly cleaning dryer vents. Failure to maintain clean vents is the leading cause of dryer fires in homes.
