weird news – Page 35 – Museum of the Weird

Posted on November 2, 2011 by Guest Blogger

CYCLOPS SHARK!

This baby shark looks like a cartoon character but is very real.

Now, this is pretty darn weird!

Not only is this shark albino, but it also has ONE properly working eye!

Well… it did.

Fisherman take a closer look at the size of the albino, cyclops shark pup.

This baby shark was cut out of it’s dead mother’s womb after she was caught by fisherman in the Gulf of California. It appears the mother was caught legally but was not able to give birth to this guy, or any of his 9 brothers and sisters, before she met her end.

Scientists say this little pup with one eye wouldn’t have stood a chance in the wild but, I would have liked to hear he at least got a try.

Discovery News writes:

The ‘Cyclops shark’ that went viral on the net a few months ago appears to be a legitimate one-eyed dusky shark fetus, according to LiveScience and numerous other media reports.

When photos of the shark first surfaced in the Pisces Fleet Sportfishing blog, at Facebook, and at other high traffic spots, many people thought the images were too bizarre to depict anything legitimate. The cute little bug-eyed individual looks more like a happy cartoon character than a real shark, especially when its mouth is held open.

But National Geographic shares that two scientists from the Interdisciplinary Center of Marine Sciences in La Paz, Mexico, have studied the specimen and have determined it’s a 22-inch-long dusky shark fetus with a single, functioning eye that’s front and center on its head.

The fetus was discovered after fisherman Enrique Lucero León “legally caught” a pregnant dusky shark near Cerralvo Island in the Gulf of California.

Biologist Felipe Galván-Magaña of the center in La Paz told National Geographic that when León sliced open his catch, he found the odd-looking male embryo along with nine normal siblings. “He said, That’s incredible — wow,” according to Galván-Magaña.

FISH CAUGHT IN NUCLEAR WATER HAS 3 EYES!

Television and real life have interesected once again.

If you’re familiar with the episode of The Simpson’s that featured “Blinky”, the 3-eyed fish, caught in the reservoir of the town’s Nuclear Power Plant, you’ll understand how quite fantastic this is, yet very sad and worrisome at the same time.

"Blinky" caught by Bart Simpson in the reservoir of Springfield's Nuclear Power Plant.

Although they don’t resemble each other much, both fish represent the same thing.

The horrendous pollution of our world’s water from human activity

The Huffington Post writes:

You’ve heard of life imitating art, but now a fish found in Argentina resembles something you’d see on “The Simpsons” — and it’s not making environmentalists laugh.

Back in 1990, the long-running series did an episode that featured “Blinky,” a three-eyed fish that cropped up near the Springfield nuclear power plant, where Homer worked.

Now, 21 years later, fishermen in Córdoba, Argentina caught a three-eyed wolf fish in a reservoir near a local nuclear power plant, according to Gizmodo.com.

One of the fisherman, Julian Zmutt, said no one noticed the third eye at first because it was dark.

“We were fishing and we got the surprise of getting this rare specimen,” reported The Blaze.com. “As it was dark at that time we did not notice, but then you looked at him with a flashlight and saw that he had a third eye.”

ARCHER SETS WORLD RECORD…WITHOUT ARMS!

"Using a release aid, he hooks the string to his shoulder before taking aim and letting go."

There’s no better example of “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.” than Matt Stutzman. You would think that being born with out either arm would make things a bit more difficult when wanting to participate in some activities, especially ones that usually require two arms. We now say “usually” because of Matt. Not only does he participate, he breaks world records!

MSNBC writes:

If you’ve ever wondered what determination looks like, take a good long stare at Matt Stutzman.

You wouldn’t be the first.

Stutzman was born without arms, but he compensates with creativity and the will to succeed.

“Even at a young age, I remember always trying to do stuff and I’d ask for help with my parents and my parents would always tell me, in a nice way, ‘Try to figure it out first before we help you,'” he says.

He turned his determination into success on the archery range.

Two years ago we figured out his unique release system.

Stutzman adjusts the bow with this toes, holds it with his right foot, and brings up the arrow with his left.

“My feet are my hands, so I just and hold it the same way they would with their hands,” he explains.

This man is incredible and should be an inspiration for anytime you feel you’re not good enough to even try something you really want to do. Even though the world believed Matt Stutzman lacked the proper tools for his trade, he put his will and creativity into action, accomplished exactly what he set out to do and left the entire world changed because of it.

SCIENTIST DISMISSES ALIENS AS DREAMS

From "Squee" by comic book artist and creator, Jhonen Vasquez.

Scientist Michael Raduga claims to have solved our little alien problem we seem to have.

Apparently, he has proven that they don’t exist at all…period.

So, you can disregard the testimonials from millions of people, the thousands of encounters recorded in history, the few but well documented encounters from not only our own governments but, the majority of the world’s governments as well, AND the evidence that stretches back thousands of years and sleep a little more soundly tonight knowing that it’s all just your imagination.

MSNBC writes:

Researchers say they have conducted “the first experiment to ever prove that close encounters with UFOs and extraterrestrials are a product of the human mind.”

In a sleep study by the Out-Of-Body Experience Research Center in Los Angeles, 20 volunteers were instructed to perform a series of mental steps upon waking up or becoming lucid during the night that might lead them to have out-of-body experiences culminating in encounters with aliens.

According to lead researcher Michael Raduga, more than half the volunteers experienced at least one full or partial out-of-body experience, and seven of them were able to make contact with UFOs or extraterrestrials during these dream-like experiences.

Raduga designed the experiment to test his theory that many reports of alien encounters are actually instances of people experiencing a vibrant, lifelike state of dreaming. If he could coach people to dream a realistic alien encounter, he said, that could prove that reports of such encounters are really just a product of our imaginations.

“When people experience alien abductions in the night, they usually don’t know they are actually in REM sleep and having an out-of-body experience,” Raduga told Life’s Little Mysteries, adding than an estimated 1 million Americans have such experiences each year.

“It’s very realistic and people cannot understand how it happens. [Our study] shows that it’s not about aliens, it’s about human abilities, and it can happen to almost anyone.”

So there you have it. It’s just that simple! He had 6 out of 20 people in a study, where he told them specifically to “contact aliens” in their dreams, actually say that met up with aliens and from these 6 random people, decided that he has proven aliens just plain don’t exist. That since we see them in dreams, that’s the only place they are. Well, how helpful! Thanks for clearing that up for us.

We should use his highly complicated and technical scientific process to test some more folks at random and get rid of that old belief in ghosts or dinosaurs that seems to linger around. I mean, despite the huge piles of evidence for them, have YOU ever hung out with said aliens, ghosts or dinosaurs? What’s that you say? “You haven’t.”? But, you have had a dream about them once? Oh, well then, problem solved, we just proved they don’t exist!

Please, read more at msnbc.msn.com

Posted on October 31, 2011 by Guest Blogger

FULL-SIZE ADULT DEER FOUND INSIDE FLORIDA PYTHON!

Workers pull the snake from their craft, showing it's size.

Wow, how would you like to be working in the swamps and stumble upon this python the size of which you only see in movies?

…yeah, me neither.

MSNBC writes:

EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK, Fla. — Officials in the Florida Everglades have captured and killed a 16-foot-long Burmese python that had just eaten an adult deer.

Scott Hardin, exotic species coordinator for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, said workers found the snake on Thursday. The reptile was one of the largest ever found in South Florida.

Hardin said the python had recently consumed a 76-pound female deer that had died. He said it was an important capture to help stop the spread of pythons further north.

The python, killed by workers, with a very full stomach.

Why they had to kill it, I don’t know. It’s not exacty going to be the fastest, most dangerous snake after consuming a 76 pound deer. In fact, I betcha he wasn’t moving at all when the workers stumbled upon him during his well earned afternoon nap. I mean, I feel pretty lazy myself after eating a nice dinner, which usually isn’t anything more than a handful of food but, I couldn’t even begin to imagine how tired this dude was after eating an entire, full-sized animal in one sitting.

VIETNAMESE RHINO LOST FOREVER…

A White Rhino calf with it's mother. Javan Rhino's are very similar in apperance but have smaller, more rounded horns.

Sadly, these beautiful creatures are never again to be seen in the country of Vietnam.

The Javan Rhino has been hunted to extinction by illegal poaching.

You hear about species being added to the Endangered Species list all the time, but when a particular animal is crossed off that list and it’s NOT because they’ve grown in number and are now safe, it’s a sad day for all of mankind.

The BBC News writes:

A critically endangered species of rhino is now extinct in Vietnam, according to a report by conservation groups.

The WWF and the International Rhino Foundation said the country’s last Javan rhino was probably killed by poachers, as its horn had been cut off.

Experts said the news was not a surprise, as only one sighting had been recorded in Vietnam since 2008.

Fewer than 50 individuals are now estimated to remain in the wild.

“It is painful that despite significant investment in Vietnamese rhino conservation, efforts failed to save this unique animal, ” said WWF’s Vietnam director Tran Thi Minh Hien.

“Vietnam has lost part of its natural heritage.”

One of the few pictures of a Javan Rhino caught on a trap cam.

These animals are amazing, intelligent, and this should never be allowed to happen to anything else, ever again.

This is just so sad. I know that the only reason we’re hearing about this particular animal is because the rhino is one of the larger mammals on Earth, and I know there are tons more creatures that disappear from that list every year that we never hear of…

….and that’s NOT ok.

WORLDS LARGEST PUMPKIN HAS BEEN CARVED…INTO ZOMBIES!!!

Sorry, but zombies never get old.

No seriously, they don’t. Look it up.

Being “dead” and all pretty much guarantees a stop to that troublesome aging process.

Any-who, these zombies carved by sculptor Ray Villafane that are popping out of these pumpkins look absolutely amazing!

Being a master food sculptor, Ray has quite a portfolio of 3D carvings, a few of which can be seen here.

This carving of the world’s largest pumpkin is definitely the most impressive of his work that I’ve seen to date.

The details are amazing!

The Laughing Squid writes:

Last weekend, The New York Botanical Garden brought on master food sculptor Ray Villafane to carve zombies out of two giant pumpkins, one of which was the world’s heaviest pumpkin. He used the “pale flesh Brant and Eleanor Bordsen’s 1,693 pound pumpkin for the zombies” and the world record-holding 1818.5 pound pumpkin from Kelsey and Jim Bryson was used as the base.

We recently posted about Ray’s amazing 3D pumpkin carvings.

Ray’s entire pumpking carving process at The New York Botanical Garden event was captured in a beautiful time-lapse video.

The Museum of the Weird is officially haunted…

… so we have asked our resident “Texas mojo man”, Doc Ravencraft, so help get to the bottom of things. This Halloween weekend, Doc will be performing a series of old-time séances to try to contact the spirit (or spirits) that are roaming the Museum’s corridors.

Would you like to take part? Well you can! Doc Ravencraft is reserving a very select few seats for guests who would like to attend and take part in contacting the spirits here. You can get more info and reserve your seat here.

Posted on October 25, 2011 by Guest Blogger

WOMAN HAS AGED 50 YEARS IN ONLY 5!

Not sure why they couldn’t dress her up a bit. Maybe, put her in a nice dress or something for the newer photo.

Either way, Nguyen Thi Phuong of Vietnam has an unfortunately severe allergic reaction to seafood that has caused her to skin to make her look dramtically older than she actually is.

Thankfully, she has this man that truly loves her for her and has stuck be her side ever since they were married years ago.

The Daily Mail writes:

These pictures may look like an attractive woman in her 20s and her grandmother. But they are said to be the same person – apparently taken just days apart.

The young Vietnamese woman at the centre of the improbable medical case, Nguyen Thi Phuong, claims the transformation may have come about because of an extreme allergy to seafood.

Nguyen, 26, says she developed this puffy face and sagging skin in 2008 but was too poor to seek treatment. Earlier this month, doctors said they would examine her free of charge.

Nguyen’s husband, carpenter Thanh Tuyen, insists the story is true and his love has not faded for his once-beautiful wife.

She has always worn wear a mask in public to hide her appearance from prying eyes, but she has now sought help from doctors to see if they can reverse the ‘ageing’ effect.

Displaying photos of a beautiful 21-year-old woman on her wedding day in 2006, Mrs Nguyen said: ‘Five years ago, I was rather pretty and not so ugly like this, right?’

Mrs Nguyen believes her condition was caused by a life-long allergy to seafood.

She said she had suffered a particularly bad reaction in 2008. ‘I was really itchy all over my body. I had to scratch even while sleeping.’

MAN SENT GIANT SLIPPER BY MISTAKE

I don’t think this guy’s left foot is quite this size…

The Daily Mail writes:

Sometimes when you buy a pair of shoes, one of them can feel snug while the other one does not quite fit.

Tom Boddingham certainly knows the feeling.

When the 27-year-old ordered a special monster-design slipper to fit his oversized left foot, he was sent this size 1,450 one – because manufacturers failed to spot a decimal point.

He had requested a 14.5, as well as a smaller size 13 for his right foot. The pair cost £15.50.

However, manufacturers in China misread the measurement and accidentally made the whopping seven foot-long slipper, which was shipped to him along with the correct smaller size.

Now 6ft 7in Mr Boddingham, who wears custom-made shoes because of the different sizes of his feet, will sell it on eBay.

‘It was sent directly from Hong Kong and measures 210 x 130 x 65cm – the same length as a grizzly bear or a family car,’ said Mr Boddingham, from Ilford, Essex. ‘I must be the owner of the biggest slipper in the world.

‘I’m going to sell it online, and if I can make a few quid out of it then all the better.’

Online slipper company Monster Slippers – which is based in Dunmow, Essex, and has the motto ‘for the animal in you’ – apologised to Mr Boddingham and has not charged him any extra. A spokesman explained the mistake occurred because of a ‘translation error’.

‘We are making him a replacement slipper of the right dimensions,’ he added.