The mystery of Mexico‘s ‘aliens‘ is deepening after an analysis claimed the DNA of tiny corpses is not human but of an ‘unknown species.’
The nation’s Congress has been a circus for the past two months as controversial UFO enthusiast and journalist Jaime Maussan has held court several times to prove the mummified remains found in Peru are extraterrestrial life.
In his recent attempt, Maussan ushered in a team of researchers who performed a DNA analysis on the figures that showed 30 percent is ‘not from any known species’ and stated that the figures were ‘authentic,’ comprising a single skeleton.
In an earlier entry I shared some bizarre December traditions around the world. Of course there are some strange choices to ring in the New Year. It may be too late for you to try some of these, but there’s always next year (unless those doomsday guys are finally right this time).
To help you choose I’ve put everything in convenient categories.
Burning things
Scots parade through the street swinging fireballs Photo by MrPurple at English Wikipedia [GFDL or CC BY 3.0], via Wikimedia CommonsFire is always festive. You could go with the fireworks, but there are so many more interesting things to burn! In Scotland they have the fireball ceremony—the best one is in Stonehaven—where local people of all ages walk through the streets spinning flaming wire cages around their heads. The cages are designed to keep the spinners safe but the onlookers may be vulnerable! The purpose is to burn off the bad spirits from last year and bring the new spirits in clean and fresh.Effigy burning in Ecuador Photo by Carlos Adampol Galindo from DF, México (Fiesta de año nuevo, Vilcabamba, Ecuador) [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia CommonsIn Ecuador and Panama they celebrate the New Year by burning scarecrows and effigies of famous people. Ecuadorians also burn photographs from last year. (Unfortunately those embarrassing ones you posted to social media are there forever.)
Wearing things
Red underwear is a popular item around Christmas in Turkey.
You’ve probably packed that Santa hat away, but there are fun things to wear for the New Year. In South America colorful underwear is encouraged. (Here’s a guide to help you pick the right one.) In Turkey, red is the preferred color and it’s very common for women to receive red panties as a Christmas gift to help them prepare.
People in Denmark smash old plates on people’s doorsteps. The more broken plates you find on your doorstep the more friends you are seen to have. People actually save dishes throughout the year to have a good stash of ammunition come December.
If you live in an apartment overlooking the street you could delight the neighbors with the Puerto Rican tradition of throwing a bucket of water out the window to drive away evil spirits.
The big winners of the throwing-things competition have to be in Johannesburg, South Africa. They don’t mess around on New Years! They throw old furniture out the windows to make way for new things in the new year!
Eating things
Enjoy a plate of pancakes as they do in France
You may demand your black eyed peas or tamales on New Year’s eve, but have you thought of eating twelve grapes like they do in Spain (and Puerto Rico). Hungarians enjoy kocsonya (a cold pork aspic) but no fish or chicken, which might cause luck to fly (or swim) away.
Bolivia has a fun tradition of baking coins into cakes and other sweets. If you find one in your sweet you get good luck in the coming year.
If all that sounds too complicated, join the French and just enjoy some pancakes to bring in the new year.
Other things
Need more? Japan really rings in the new year with a ceremony where they ring bells 108 times to correspond to the number of evil desires that need to be cleansed. In Venice they enjoy fireworks over the Piazza San Marco, and a bit of snogging, as many gather to kiss in the new year!. (You can probably try this out at home as well.)
Revelers don bear skins for the traditional Romanian bear dance
Animals play a big part in new year traditions around the world. Romanians dance with bears. (I know one that might dance with me if I bought him a drink.) Belgians try to talk to their cows and Romanians talk to other animals. Success means good luck for the year. The people in Brasstown, NC do an “opossum-drop” where an opossum in a transparent box is lowered over a crowd of revelers. (Perhaps this is a new adventure for your cat.)
A Latin tradition is walking your suitcase around the block to encourage travel. What could it hurt?
My favorite tradition, though, is from central Chile. Apparently they have a sort of campout in the graveyard. It apparently all started with a family who broke into the cemetery to be near their dead father. The mayor now opens the yard for a vigil where many gather to remember loved ones.
However you choose to celebrate this new year I hope it is truly prosperous and joyful for you all. Keep it weird!
You may have heard reports of the Texas man injured by a ricochet while shooting an armadillo. Some outlets reported that the bullet actually ricocheted off of the hard armor of the creature, but this Huffington Post article denies that claim. They report that Chief Deputy Roy Barker, with the Cass County Sheriff’s department, was by the man that the bullet from his .38 caliber pistol ricocheted off a rock and struck him in the jaw, grazing him. The injuries were not life threatening.
However, there is another report of armadillo payback from April of this year.
https://youtu.be/4mSvg0QtKGo
You would not imagine that the shell of such a little creature could protect against a bullet, but, apparently, this sort of thing happens from time to time. While their armor may do them good in some of these cases any drive down a Texas highway will show that it’s not invulnerable.
Why did the chicken cross the road? To show the armadillo it could be done.
Forget the controversy about whether or not to wear white to a wedding. These people are deciding between quilted an extra-absorbent. It’s an contest sponsored by Charmin (as in “don’t squeeze the”) where dress designers create a wedding gown out of toilette paper. Why? Who knows? They’ve been doing it for 11 years.
A model walks the runway wearing ‘Garden Party’ a design by Carol Touchstone during the 11th annual toilet paper wedding dress contest at Kleinfled’s Bridal Boutique in New York June 17, 2015. [Reuters/Brendan McDermid] The winner was Donna Pope Vincler. Her gown is pictured here.
The winning dress in Charmin’s 11th annual toilette paper wedding dress contest.
Alright, yes, it’s very fetching. Not many people can pull off wearing toilette paper like that. Most people just use it as an occasional shoe accessory. Of course, this is probably no weirder than the annual duct tape tuxedo contest, where students can win scholarship for showing pictures of prom wear they’ve created with duct tape. Though, if I have to pick my skill for the zombie apocalypse, I think I’d rather be a duct-tape wizard than a toilette paper princess.
Oh, well! It’s art! Have you ever made something weird like this? Tell us about it! Maybe we’ll feature your strange creation.
Punishment? No! Cure! This cage was a 1909 treatment for Arteriosclerosis. Click the picture for the article in a 1909 science magazine.
There may be a reason why what doctors do is called “practice.” While medicine has become a more rigorous science over time, the history of medicine is filled with things that would have you swear that people were just making things up.
The picture shows a man in a cage. It’s not some sort of medieval torture, it’s a device that was designed to treat Arteriosclerosis. The cage is attached to some electrical equipment that would make Victor Von Frankenstein proud.
Of course, while we laugh at some of these crazy medical practices of the past, we may not be much better today. In the far future will people look with horror on how we used radiation and chemicals to battle disease? Will what we see as the most sophisticated and compassionate medical techniques look like poking holes in people’s skulls with a rock to let out the bad spirits?
Here’s a video featuring 10 of the most bizarre medical practices in history.
A group of Scandinavian boffins have gathered enough money through crowdfunding to try and bridge the gap between animals and humans by producing a gadget that can translate what a dog is thinking into plain English.
They claim that a new invention from Sweden, No More Woof, will be able to translate a dog’s thoughts into words.
A headset will be strapped to the animal’s head. The device will read EEG signals from the dog’s brain and software will then attempt to translate those thoughts into English.
Sounds exciting, but I think most dog owners probably already know what their dogs are thinking, as one commenter points out:
I already know what my dog(s) will say on this device: “MINE!”, GIMMEE!! GIMMEE!!”, “NO!”, “OUT!”, “IN”, I WANT IT!” “COOKIE!” “SCRATCH”, “INCOMING!!” and “MORE!”… .lol…that should be simple enough to translate in ANY language.
An Evening of Christmas Ghost Stories
with your host Richard Whittaker
Come warm your bones with some hot chocolate as we gather for an age-old Christmas tradition– listening to spooky tales of days of yore! Featuring two terrifying tales by British master of the macabre, M.R. James, as read by resident Englishman Richard Whittaker.
The event is $8 and includes admission to the Museum of the Weird. Hot cocoa will be served. Seating is extremely limited, so we recommend buying your tickets now! We recommend you show up at least 15 minutes early to get your seats and enjoy the museum.
Screen shot of the moment the supposed Skunk Ape stands upright.
Could this be the best video yet of the elusive Skunk Ape, the south’s version of Bigfoot? Here’s the description accompanying the video, which was uploaded by YouTube user Josh Highcliff on October 28, 2013:
Here is exactly what I seen, I’m not sure what it is but can someone please tell me? Is there a person who can do video analyses or something? I got scared and ran away, i wish i stayed to keep taking the movie.
Date: october 24 – 2013
Where: about 9 miles west of Tunica, Mississippi on my hunting property
Time: about 6pm
I was out hunting hogs, just sitting in a part of the swamp i have heard em before…it is not too far from a road. I was wearing hunting camo and just sitting dead still waiting for it to get dark, cause thats when the hogs come out. I hear a noise behind the tree i was sitting on, i thought it was the hogs, when i got around i could not believe my own two eyes.
There was this huge black thing crouched by a dead cypress about 50 yards away, i thought it was a hog but saw these big shoulders and a head upright with hands. It looked like it was digging out the stump. My first instinct was to run, i did not even think of shooting…then i know no one will believe me…it was like everything slowed down…i was scared! I took out my iphone and started videotaping it..i guess i pushed the record button twice cause it stopped blinking red.. but i pushed it again. I hear a truck driving down the road and the thing stood up!! I was trying to be dead quiet…when it stood up i could not control myself and ran. That stump was huge and i’d guess the sucker was 7feet tall, i am a hunter and am pretty darn good at guessing size.
that’s no bear!
I don’t know what to think.. if someone can tell me what it is or if somone was trying to prank me i, I don’t want to go back on my land. this is the first movie i have ever put on youtube..the video looks better on my phone and computer
I always heard stories of skunk ape and honey island swamp monster from these parts but never thought about it being real ever.
has anyone seen anything like this in mississippi?
David “Crusty” Herron snapped this photo of what he dubbed “Lost Nessie” from a distance of about 600 feet from shore.
Last Friday, the scene from Magnetic Island off the northern coast of Australia must have looked like something straight out of The Lost World. Beachgoers were treated to the sight of what appeared to be a long-necked sea going creature straight out of our prehistoric past.
The strange looking object moving in the water was extraordinary enough to get the attention of numerous eyewitnesses, many wondering just what it could be.
Plesiosaur? Sea serpent? Or could it be something more mundane and explainable, like a piece of driftwood or a sunken boat? You decide.
From The Australian:
The strange sea sighting has created quite a buzz on the island, with locals desperate to know: just what is lurking in the water?
One of them is marriage celebrant David “Crusty” Herron, who photographed it from a beach about 200 metres away.
“It was bobbing up and down in the water and at first I thought, what’s that?” Mr Herron told AAP.
“Someone yelled out ‘it looks like a Loch Ness monster’.
“I’ve never seen anything like it – it could be anything. We are all wanting to know what it is.”
James Cook University biology professor Glen Chilton says while new and old creatures are constantly being discovered, even near the Great Barrier Reef, it’s unlikely to be a strange aquatic beast.
“It’s probably a piece of a tree or piece of a boat which has somehow broken away,” he told AAP.
Australian cryptozoologist and self-proclaimed “yowie man” Rex Gilroy is keeping an open mind. “It’s hard to say from the photo,” he said.
Mr Gilroy, who has authored books on mythical creatures, says he’s aware of about 800 sightings of reptilian creatures with long necks and football shaped heads.
Some of those were from the Magnetic Island and Townsville area, he said.
The most recent was in October last year when a fisherman saw a creature with a large grey coloured body protruding from waters off Magnetic Island, he said.
When asked if it could have been the remains of a dragon boat that supposedly sunk there in the recent past, the man who photographed the creature, David Herron, refuted it and compared the beast to a plesiosaur. Here’s “Crusty” being interviewed by News 7:
