Buzz
The weekend is here again, so it’s time to dive into the bizarre news that made headlines this week. Click here to catch up on the previous offbeat roundup.
This week’s focus is on animals breaking the law. Two English seagulls have taken a couple hostage, and a slug has caused Japan’s rail system to grind to a halt. Meanwhile, in other news, we look to the sky where mysterious signals from space, daring high-wire performances, and a man running with an ice cream machine have all grabbed attention.
10. Alfred Hitchcock Presents
In a scene straight out of The Birds, an elderly couple from Lancashire found themselves trapped in their home by two seagulls who attacked them every time they attempted to leave.
Roy and Brenda Pickard live in Knott End, close to Morecambe Bay. A pair of mating seagulls chose their roof as a nesting spot, and with two chicks to care for, the birds have become fiercely territorial. The gulls now claim the area as their own, even though the Pickards were there first. On one occasion, the birds attacked 77-year-old Roy so violently that he ended up in the hospital with a bloody head wound.
At this moment, Roy says he can’t even leave through the front door without the birds swooping down on him. The couple was trapped inside their home for six days, but eventually, Roy had to go out for groceries. Thankfully, he can access the garage through the house and drive out.
Officials from Wyre Council looked into the situation and stated that they have arranged assistance for Mrs. Pickard to attend her medical appointments. However, they clarified that the birds in question are herring gulls, which are legally protected once they’ve nested, leaving only a few “limited solutions” to address the issue.
9. No More Good Omens
Streaming giant Netflix has yielded to pressure and announced that it will not be producing any more episodes of Good Omens following a petition to cancel the show. However, there's a small issue that the petitioners missed: the show is produced by Amazon Prime, not Netflix.
The Good Omens miniseries debuted at the end of May on Amazon’s streaming platform. Based on a 1990 novel by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, titled Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch, it follows the story of a demon and an angel who, as friends, join forces to prevent the apocalypse because they enjoy living on Earth.
The show’s content struck a chord with some, who found it blasphemous. A US Christian group called the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property launched a petition titled “Tell Netflix: Cancel Blasphemous Good Omens Series.” They sought to have the show canceled, claiming it normalizes Satanism. The petition garnered over 20,000 signatures, but was mistakenly directed at Netflix, which is not involved with the show.
8. I Like Weird Butts And I Cannot Lie
Last week, two previously undiscovered species of worm-like creatures were introduced to the world. Found in different parts of the globe and featured in separate studies, both share one thing in common: they both have strange butts. One species sports eyes on its rear, while the other has the ability to eat rocks and excrete sand.
The first species, Ampharete oculicirrata (shown above), is just 4 millimeters (0.2 in) long and was discovered during a survey in the West Shetland Shelf Marine Protected Area, located north of Scotland. It appears to be a typical worm, except for the two black eyes, which are perched on stalks protruding from its rear end.
Eighty of these worms were discovered at relatively shallow depths of 120 meters (400 ft) near the coast. Marine scientist Jessica Taylor views this find as yet another reminder of how little we know about “the creatures that live in our waters.”
Next up is Lithoredo abatanica, a shipworm found in the Abatan River in the Philippines. Although its name suggests otherwise, the shipworm is not actually a worm but a mollusk known as a bivalve, featuring a small shell and a worm-like body. First discovered by a French expedition in 2006, it was largely ignored until 2018 due to the team's other mission priorities.
Shipworms get their name from their usual habit of digesting wood, which often leads to damage to ships and docks. However, this particular species bores through rock with its flat teeth and produces sandy particles as waste. Researchers first discovered stone fragments in the guts of these shipworms and later observed them performing this action in an aquarium.
7. Slug Causes Railway Chaos
Shifting from worms to slugs, over 12,000 people on Kyushu Island, Japan, were affected by train delays caused by a slug that slithered into a load disconnector, triggering a power outage.
Japanese public transport is renowned worldwide for its reliability and punctuality. However, on this occasion, Kyushu Railway had to cancel several trains and delay numerous others due to the disruption caused by a single slimy invader.
The power outage actually took place on May 30, but it took railway officials weeks to identify the culprit. They eventually found the slug’s charred remains inside an electrical power box near the tracks.
A railway spokesperson was reluctant to call the incident a first but described it as a “rare” occurrence. Railway technicians inspected all similar power devices in the vicinity to ensure that no other glutinous intruders were present.
6. The Unrestoration Of St. George
A year ago, we reported on the failed restoration of a 16th-century wooden sculpture of St. George in the Spanish town of Estella. With brightly colored armor and a rosy pink face, the statue looked more like a cartoon character than a centuries-old relic. This time, the local government hired real experts to perform an “unrestoration,” returning the sculpture to a form closer to its original appearance.
The initial restoration work was done by a local crafts teacher who, despite good intentions, lacked any formal restoration training. He had used improper materials and techniques that caused significant damage, some of which was irreversible.
The new project benefited from the expertise of professionals and a budget of $34,000, though some of the original paint was unfortunately lost. While it may appear impressive from a distance, a closer inspection reveals which parts are authentic and which have been restored.
A similar scenario unfolded in the Spanish town of Borja when an amateur painter, with the best of intentions, turned a fresco of Jesus into a laughably poor restoration, now known as “Monkey Christ.” The internet's reaction brought a surge of tourists to Borja, but the mayor of Estella did not share in the newfound fame. He was unhappy with the idea of his town being recognized for “the poor treatment of [its] heritage.”
5. Remember The Pascagoula Abduction
Last weekend, Pascagoula, Mississippi, unveiled a historical marker to commemorate the most significant event in the town's history: the day two fishermen were abducted by aliens.
On October 11, 1973, Calvin Parker and Charles Hickson were fishing along the Pascagoula River when they saw “heavy blue lights” and an oval-shaped UFO appear above them. The aliens took the two men aboard their ship, where they were examined for about half an hour before being released.
The pair wasted no time sharing their story, which quickly made headlines the following day. Before long, it captured national attention and put Pascagoula on the map. Hickson spent much of his life touring the country to speak about his experience, while Parker authored a book on the abduction. The historical plaque now recognizes the event as one of the best-documented alien abduction cases in history.
4. The Mystery Of The Ice Cream Man
A long-standing mystery that has puzzled Star Wars fans for nearly four decades has finally been solved. We now know what Willrow Hood was carrying in 1980’s The Empire Strikes Back.
If you’re a die-hard fan of the sci-fi saga, you might still be wondering, “Who exactly is Willrow Hood?” That’s understandable, as the character appeared on-screen for barely a second and was never even named in the movie. He’s the guy seen frantically running through Cloud City’s halls during the evacuation, holding a white object that looks strikingly like an ice cream maker.
Although a minor character at best, the image of a man desperately protecting his ice cream machine during a life-threatening situation struck a chord with fans, turning him into a beloved cult figure. In the 1990s, the character was officially named Willrow Hood in a Star Wars trading card game. These days, he has his own action figure, fan club, and even cosplayers who don household appliances at sci-fi conventions.
Thanks to the upcoming TV series The Mandalorian, the scene now has an official explanation. Willrow was not clutching an ice cream maker, but a Star Wars device called a camtono, a lockbox from the universe.
Naturally, this clarification was added in retrospect. What exactly George Lucas intended to convey in the original scene remains a mystery to this day.
3. Discovering A Fast Radio Burst
Astronomers have recently identified the source of a fast radio burst (FRB), according to findings published in Science this week.
FRBs were first discovered over a decade ago and are detected as pulses lasting only a fraction of a second before they completely vanish. Their origin remains a mystery, with theories ranging from neutron stars and black holes to the more fantastical explanation of aliens.
This marks the second time we’ve pinpointed the location of an FRB, but these two are quite different. The first, located in 2017, was a 'repeater,' making it easier to detect due to its intermittent nature. The second, however, appeared unexpectedly and lasted only a brief flash before fading away.
That brief flash, however, was sufficient for the Australian Square Kilometer Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) to detect the burst. The 36 dishes of the telescope array, which can track a signal's arrival with incredible precision—down to one-tenth of a nanosecond—allowed scientists to determine its location in the sky by noting the slight delay in the arrival of the signal at different telescopes.
The burst originated from a distant galaxy similar to our Milky Way, and after refining the location, researchers pinpointed it to a spot 13,000 light-years from the galaxy’s center. While the exact cause of the FRB is still unknown, scientists have now turned other telescopes toward that area in hopes of uncovering more information.
2. Walk Through The Skies With The Greatest Of Ease
In the heart of New York, a massive crowd gathered to witness the Flying Wallendas make history as the first to walk a tightrope across Times Square, suspended 25 stories above the ground.
The Wallenda name has become synonymous with incredible, life-threatening feats. This family of performers has been astounding audiences for over a century, earning multiple records. They are renowned for their high-wire performances without the safety of a net, a practice that has sometimes ended in tragedy. Several of the family members, including the legendary Karl Wallenda, died during their stunts.
Given the family’s history, nerves were on edge when Nik and Lijana Wallenda, brother and sister, took on the Times Square crossing. This marked Lijana’s first performance since a severe fall during a 2017 rehearsal left her seriously injured.
The siblings began their journey from opposite ends of the 400-meter-long tightrope, suspended 1,300 feet above the ground, as the audience held their collective breath. After 17 heart-pounding minutes, they finally met in the middle, but the toughest part remained: Nik needed to cross over his sister. Despite a brief mishap when Lijana incorrectly reattached her pole, the evening concluded on a high note as the Flying Wallendas set another record.
1. My DNA Likes Your DNA
A Japanese organization aimed to infuse a bit of science into speed dating by hosting an event where DNA was the key to matchmaking.
This month, dating company Nozze. kicked off its first “DNA Party” at a restaurant in Tokyo. The event hosted 26 participants—13 men and 13 women—seated at opposite ends of tables separated by bamboo dividers. For three minutes, they paired off and conversed before switching partners. At first glance, it resembled a typical blind speed-dating event, but scientists were present, eager to observe how each DNA-based match turned out.
Prior to the event at the restaurant, every participant underwent a DNA test. Nozze. vowed to match them with genetically compatible partners, concentrating on the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) gene complex, which is believed to play a significant role in determining our attraction to others.
At the DNA Party, four new couples were formed. With hundreds more on the waiting list, the company has plans for additional events, including a DNA Cruise set for the fall.
