Ocean Discovered Beneath the Sea

In light of both corporate CEOs claiming that water is not a basic human right as well as human rights activists saying water is a limited resource not to be wasted (to which there is some truth), comes the discovery of a massive ocean close to the Earth's core. According to reports that may or may not be true, the water reserve contains three times that of all the oceans of the Earth combined.

Unfortunately, it is housed inside of gems similar to diamonds, that occur naturally near the Earth's mantle. "This is not a liquid ocean one could sail a boat on," one geologist who studied the rock, which was said to be found near Brazil, said. Many scientists think water on the Earth may have been brought by comet but others say it may have seeped from the Earth's core and the truth is that both theories may be correct. However, this discovery may help scientists determine this and more.

Much of the Earth's surface as well as the human body is made-up of water. If scientists can develop a way of extracting that water from the mineral, the water crisis may not be as bad as we are told, which might mean corporations could charge consumers less.

© The Weirding, 2014

Grizzly Bear Fatally Mauls Man in Yellowstone

For the first time in 25 years, a grizzly bear fatally mauled a Yellowstone Park visitor. A 57-year-old man and his wife spotted the sow and two of her cubs, but when they attempted to leave the area, the mother attacked the man. His wife played dead some yards away and though the grizzly bear picked her up and slung her around by her backpack, she was uninjured.

Officials called it a "1-in-3 million" attack and do not believe the animal dangerous. It appears as though she was simply looking after the safety of her cubs. A hunt for the grizzly bear is underway, though.

© C Harris Lynn, 2011

Amazon River Lowest in 40 Years

The Amazon River, the second-longest river in the world (after the Nile), is at its lowest point in 40 years, beating the previous record set just five years ago.  Six cargo boats have been grounded near the Peruvian city, Iquitos.  Smaller boats capable of navigating the exposed mudbanks have been forced to bring in food and supplies.  Many cities, such as Iquitos, have no inland roads and depend on the Amazon as their transportation route.

The river's low level is due to a severe drought that is not expected to lift until the rainy season starts next month.

© C Harris Lynn, 2010

Chileans Report UFOs, Strange Lights Preceding Earthquake

The recent earthquake in Chile was one of the strongest on record, and prompted dozens of reports of UFOs and strange lights following. But now, Chileans are coming forth to report strange lights in the area the very night of the earthquake itself!

The highest concentration of these incidents occurred in the areas in, and surrounding, Las Condes, Peñalolén, Providencia and Colina, with some 16 sightings reported on the night of the quake. Some cases reported a humanoid emanating light emerging from a craft of some sort. Many of the reports suggest the object(s) came from the ocean.

As some noted in the comments, "strange lights" are commonly reported with earthquakes. The most popular theory involving this phenomenon is "swamp gas" - pockets of which could logically be released whenever the earth is shifted - but magnetic lights and other, natural phenomena may also be involved. At any rate, given the stress the victims were under, not to mention the land and waters, the reports of strange lights, though they technically remain unexplained are probably not extraterrestrial or otherworldly.

© C Harris Lynn, 2010

Blood Falls

Discovered in 1911, Blood Falls is a massive, frozen fountain which - true to its name - appears to be pumping frozen blood! Experts originally believed the color was due to algae, but have now discovered the color is actually due to the fact that microbes, which have evolved independently of life elsewhere on the planet in a sealed environment (without light or oxygen), were "trapped" beneath the surface some 2 million years ago. Essentially, Blood Falls is - quite literally - made of "primordial ooze."

A fissure in the Taylor Glacier is what allows the lake's waters to flow without contaminating its ecosystem. The waters are rich in salinity and iron, which give Blood Falls its blood-red color. This proves to scientists that life can exist in the most extreme of circumstances, bolstering hope that life could exist in the frozen waters recently discovered on distant planets such as Mars and Jupiter's Europa.

© C Harris Lynn, 2010

Colorado's Air Force Academy Adds Its Own Stonehenge

The United States Air Force Academy added a stone circle for followers of Nature-based religions to use for worship. The USAF Academy already has places of worship for Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Catholics, and more; the stone circle will serve several religions including Wicca, Druidism, and more - religions which hold Nature in higher esteem than others, even if not considered the central authority. A March 10^th initiation ceremony will be held, after which the circle will be open for use.

Tech. Sgt. Brandon Longcrier said he faced few obstacles in getting the clearance to establish the circle, though Pagans faced a lot of religious intolerance from their fellow servicemen in earlier years. In 1999, the Sacred Well Congregation established a similar circle of worship at Fort Hood. Between 1999 and 2000, the circle was repeatedly vandalized; in October of 2000, the half-ton limestone altar was completely destroyed.

Just last year, a Muslim opened fire at Fort Hood, killing several before he was shot and paralyzed. The shooter cited religious intolerance as his motivation.

© C Harris Lynn, 2010

Walt Disney: Lemming Killer

Most of us have heard that lemmings, the small rodent, commit mass suicide; I would imagine most of us believed they do (I did - had no reason not to). But as it turns out, this urban legend is the fault of none other than Walt Disney Studios, who intentionally murdered dozens of lemmings in their Oscar-winning 1958 documentary, White Wilderness.

Apparently, the Disney filmmakers threw the lemmings over a cliffside and filmed them drowning, thus creating/cementing the myth for generations to come! Even more... impressive (?) - certainly more disturbing - the scenes involving the lemmings were created using careful editing, lighting, and "a few dozen lemmings running on snow covered lazy-Susan style turntable." This, according to a 1983 CBC investigation by Brian Vallee.

Of course, some scenes in nature documentaries are "faked" - "helped"-along by various tricks of the trade, such as using trained animals to simulate certain behavior or the like - but literally creating such a myth is basically unheard-of.

© C Harris Lynn, 2008

Snowy River

Snowy River is a natural anomaly beneath the earth's surface in New Mexico. Most people have never even heard of it, much less seen it, and that's because scientists and researchers fear for the delicate feature.

No one is certain how it was formed, but the dominant theory is that floods have deposited thin layers of calcite throughout the years. During trips in 2001, 2003, and 2005, Snowy River was completely dry; spelunkers were shocked to discover the anomaly wet in 2007. It took several months to dry out. They have no idea where the water came from, how long it was there, nor where it went.

Politicians are moving to have the Fort Stanton Cave named a National Conservation.

© C Harris Lynn, 2008

You're an ANIMAL!

We just got one step closer to the world of comics and RPGs.

Scientists at Newcastle University have created the world's first part-human, part-animal embryos. While they only survived for up to three days, the hopes are that they will be useful in understanding, possibly even curing, a range of illnesses, including Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. The Catholic Church called the advancement "monstrous."

The scientists created embryos from cows' eggs because human eggs are in short supply. They say the embryos would never be allowed to develop beyond two weeks, at which point they are still only about the size of a pinhead. Researchers want to extract stem cells from the embryos for further testing.

Of course, the Catholic Church considers the entire concept "immoral" and sinful, but who really cares what a bunch of poncing, aged queens think? Sadly, if the cures for any diseases come from this type of research, the Catholic flock will gladly avail themselves of said treatment; poetic justice would be a thinning of the herd by Papal Decree -- when it is adjudicated that Catholics who use such treatments are Sinners who must face a slow, agonizing, and painful death.

© C Harris Lynn, 2008

UPDATE:  Not only was this post tampered with and the links removed, the source links online have been tampered with and/or removed.  One was accessed as recently as January 12. - 2018

Ants' Berry Red Behinds

Scientists were in Central and South America, studying a species of ant that is capable of short mid-air flights when they discovered something they had not expected: a parasite that causes the ants' behinds to turn into plump, bright red, "berries."

This is the first known discovery of a parasite that mimics fruit. Presumably, it tricks foraging birds into eating the bothersome insects. However, initial research indicates that the parasite is most likely spread by the birds' feces, meaning the parasite may actually have some kind of symbiotic relationship with the birds, making the insects easier to detect. The reports do not indicate whether or not ants are (intentionally) a part of the birds' diet, but it's just a theory.

You can see a photo gallery of transformed ants by visiting National Geographic.

Unprovoked Attack Results in Infant's Death, Reminder for Public

A 2-year old Rottweiler snatched an infant from a 7-year old's arms and dragged it into the yard Friday. The attack happened without warning and the dog had interacted with family members of all ages, as well as another dog and a cat, for the previous six months without incident, having shown no signs of aggressive behavior. The dog was shot on sight, but no one was charged (with negligence) in the unprovoked attack (yet). The infant's 16-year old aunt, in whose charge the child was left, was not in the area when the attack occurred.

Though Rottweilers were bred for war (Germany), they are a well-bred species that is not generally known for such behavior. In fact, while the Pit Bull breed is most well-known for its aggression, veterinarians say that the Chinese war dog breed, the Chow, is the most aggressive, along with the Akita.

While the incident is horrible beyond words, as one expert reminded the public in its wake, dogs are still animals, no matter how domesticated. When confronted with situations they do not understand or are unfamiliar with, there is no telling how they will react. Children should never be left in the company of large dogs unattended.

© C Harris Lynn, 2008

A (Possible) Retraction

Yesterday (or maybe the day before - the electricity went off last night and stayed off for a long time and I was right in the middle of putting an entry together when it happened, so I got off-track), I was pretty hard on the American media for reporting - sketchily - on supposed arsons in the California area.

You have to understand, as I feel certain many who are interested in the subjects we cover here do, that the media - and particularly the American media - are just as corrupt as the Decatur County, TN legal system (and that's damnably corrupt!) and they literally ignore stories which are truly newsworthy in favor of lurid and scandalous rumors whenever possible. It's all a ratings game to them and I smelled a rat(ings booster).

But FNC - and I generally consider FNC's actual news coverage to be fairly accurate (though I freely admit their op/ed shows can get downright creepy in their rhetoric) - is reporting today that California police have made several arrests of possible arsons, and even managed to kill one.

I'm pretty sure the one that was killed was in or near L.A. Just... putting that out there.

Now, we here to The Weirding are completely unlike any other "media outlet" you have ever encountered in that we freely admit when we are wrong. And not in some buried, little sidebar somewhere on page 98.

At this point and time, though nothing has been confirmed, it does appear that at least some of the California wildfires may very well have been the result of arson and we are sorry to hear that is the case.

But we were wrong (we think) and we wanted you to know!

The OddBlog: where honesty comes to die.

UPDATE:  Links were changed and re-routed, entire posts found to have been removed relating to the corruption stemming from Decatur County, TN. - 2018

The Bees' Disease

I know I said I was going to be working a lot on other projects today and wasn't sure if I could get anything out to you, but I wanted to take a moment to let you know that researchers believe they may have discovered the reason for the honeybee decline this year and it is most likely a virus known as the Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus (IAPV).

While the honeybee population decline can be traced back up to 20 years, this past year was the worst on record for commercial operations in the US. In the last three years, 50-90% of all commercial bee colonies in the States have been affected by Colony Collapse Disorder, or CCD. IAPV turned up regularly in most of the colonies so affected.

Honeybee colonies are important for pollination and are shipped around the country for this procedure. They are particularly necessary to the almond industry in California, where most of the world's almond crops are grown. It is an industry worth nearly $2.5 billion annually.

While IAPV is not positively the culprit in CCD, many do believe it is a primary factor involved - whether causative or indicative of something else. They do say that theories involving cellphones, environmental waste, and other hippy-rific type-stuff can be safely discounted at this point. Still, many believe CCD to be caused by several factors.

Even Spiders Do It Bigger in Texas

A sprawling mass of cobwebs covering a 200-yard area in a Texas state park has officials and experts buzzing.  According to Donna Garde, superintendent of the Lake Tawakoni State Park about 40 miles from Dallas, the webbing was found just recently and has become a main attraction for some, while others refuse to go anywhere near it.  She is hoping that some experts come to view it, but none have so far.

According to one entomologist, the web may have been created by social cobweb spiders or mass dispersal in which spiders spin webs to distance themselves from one another.   He also notes that while many people are unaware of it, this is not exactly unusual -- rare, but not unheard of.   John Jackman, author of the book, A Field Guide to the Spiders and Scorpions of Texas and entymologist for Texas A&M, says he hears such reports about once every few years.

© C Harris Lynn, 2007-2008

Freshwater Dolphin Extinct

A rare, freshwater dolphin known to be found on ly in the Yangzte River is now thought to be completely extinct, thanks to recent research carried out over a 6-week period in which absolutely none were found or spotted. The team involved blamed unregulated fishing. This would be the first known extinction of a large vertebrate in over 50 years. It should come as no surprise it happened In China.

The six-week research endeavor was carried out using both visual and sonar equipment in December 2006 and January 2007. They also noted that other human involvement, such as boat collisions and the destruction of dams, have likely contributed. But they also noted that some small schools and individuals might have been overlooked. Still, the overwhelmingly depressing results indicate the species may very well extinct or, at the very least, severely endangered.

-Source: BBC

Chilean Lake Disappears!

A glacial lake in Chile has literally disappeared. When rangers observed the lake in March, it was its normal size. When they returned to observe the lake in May, it was completely gone. All that remained were a few large chunks of ice that used to float on the water.

The going theory is that an earthquake opened a fissure beneath the lake, into which it flowed. The region is a hot spot of such earthquake activity. One glacier specialist in the region told newspapers that this was simply more activity in the ever-changing landscape, noting that the lake itself was not even there until about 30 years ago.

- BBC

One-in-a-Million Find

6 year-old Nicholas Wagner had just learned about blue-eyed cicadas in kindergarten the day he came home and told his mother that he was going out in their backyard to find one. Most cicadas have red eyes; only one in a million has blue eyes, but they do exist.

After "a long time," the boy came in and told his mom he had in fact found a blue-eyed cicada!

While the find is rare, it is not unheard of. The genetic mutation which causes the blue eye color is found in about one of every million cicadas, as mentioned, but as expert Gene Kritsky says, there are hundreds of millions of cicadas.

Things What Done Fell From the Sky, Pt. 2

Continuing on in our series on Things What Done Fell From the Sky, we have a few more accounts from the 20^th-Century and earlier, but I want to note that the phenomena has not let-up. Very recently, India experienced a shower of red rain which made international headlines.

These odd showers are often taken as portents or omens of bad things, but sometimes they are seen as actual showers of manna, which literally means "food of the gods," such as that which sustained the Israelites in Exodus 16:4-36, and as in the cases following:

• Fish fell from the sky on Singapore in 1861 during torrential rains following an earthquake. People scrambled to fill their baskets with the fishes.
• In Lake County, California, showers of "candy or sugar" fell on the nights of September 2^nd and 11^th, 1857. "The crystals were from ¹/₈^th - ¹/₄^th of an inch in length and the size of a goose quill. Syrup was made of it by some of the lady residents..." - Lyman L. Palmer, History of Napa and Lake Counties, p.71
• On Friday, March 3^rd, 1876, flakes of meat fell over an area 100 yards long and half as wide in Kentucky. Those who tasted it said it was neither mutton nor venison. Samples were collected and one expert claimed they were Nostoc, "a low form of vegetable existence." Seven other samples of the substance were tested by several other experts: 2 samples were said to be "lung tissue as from an infant or a horse," 3 were said to be muscle tissue, and the last two were thought to be cartilage.

Yummy! Hope you weren't sitting down to dinner...

Century-Old Fish Caught off Alaskan Coastline!

A Seattle-based trawler pulled up 70 tons of pollack and 10 rock fish back in March. One of the latter was 44" long and weighed in at 60 pounds. Scientists estimate her age at between 90 and 115 years. But while she may be the oldest, she's not the largest; the largest on record was 47" long.

They determined the age by removing an earbone, known as the otolith, which contains growth rings similar to those in tree trunks. The contents of the fish's stomach were also examined, and one scientist said, "The belly was large. The ovaries were full of developing embryos."

Rare Striped Rabbit Spotted

The Sumatran striped rabbit - one of the rarest species in the known world - has been captured on film for the first time since 2000. The species, also known as nesolagus netscheri, has only been spotted three times in the last 35 years. It was photographed in the Bukit Barisan National Park on the island of Sumatra in January.

Back in 1999, a second species of striped rabbit was discovered in the mountains between Laos and Vietnam. They named the species the Annamite Striped Rabbit. Samples revealed that while the species were distinct, they were related and probably separated about 8 million years ago.