It’s another Beautiful Blurry Hysteria as Kevin Crispin of Behind Beautiful Things joins us for a journey through the weirdest headlines the internet has to offer! First up, the European Union says yes to mealworm powder in food—because nothing says "sustainable future" like a little extra crunch in your croissant. Then, we dive into the tale of a man who lost millions in Bitcoin to a landfill and is still trying to dig his way to crypto redemption. Finally, we close with a real stinker—a woman sending fart jars to her boyfriend’s ex. Because, as they say, revenge is a dish best served… gassy? Buckle up for absurdity, laughter, and the kind of investigative journalism that only Blurry Hysteria can deliver.

News Stories Mentioned: 

EU Worm Powder: https://greekcitytimes.com/2025/02/04/eu-approves-mealworm-powder-in-food/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR3Z_KP-lFiSnxGQ94pWZCihEGzekOBisxiRTSdgkk8MWXVfPHm-QCnLojM_aem_FE8AAFYi1m_kPU3wdQ_UXg

Dump Coin: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/13/world/europe/bitcoin-wales-james-howells-landfill.html

Illegal Farts: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/rhiannon-evans-sent-farts-to-boyfriends-ex_n_679bb76ae4b0db2051ad1efd

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Brace yourself for a whiff of the bizarre on this week’s Beautiful Blurry Hysteria! Guest Kevin Crispin of the Behind Beautiful Things Podcast joins Brent & David to sort through a trifecta of surreal news. First, we take a fragrant detour to Brooklyn, where the famously foul-smelling corpse flower is drawing both fans and flies. Then we venture Down Under, investigating rumors of a Queensland teacher who’s been acting downright catty—literally! And because life just isn’t weird enough, we also dig into a beach-balling mystery: why did lumps of “something special” wash ashore in Australia? Prepare for a ride through the strangest stories on the planet!

News Stories Mentioned: 

Stinky Plants: https://apnews.com/article/new-york-corpse-flower-brooklyn-f7f6efd71e8d1d07d7bb810335060996

Aussie Purr: https://nypost.com/2025/02/08/lifestyle/queensland-teacher-allegedly-behaving-like-a-cat-in-class/

Poop Treasure: https://news.sky.com/story/mysterious-balls-which-washed-up-on-australian-beaches-contained-faecal-bacteria-13293709

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A cold, barren rock in the North Atlantic—isolated, windswept, and lifeless. Perhaps it was

never meant for human presence. Perhaps the superstitions whispered through generations, warnings of curses and otherworldly forces, weren’t just ghost stories to ignore. Three men vanished without a trace from the Eilean Mor Lighthouse in 1900, leaving behind only eerie questions and a lighthouse that stood empty, as if even it knew something was wrong. Was it foul weather? Madness? Or something far stranger hiding in the thick fog that surrounds the

Flannan Isles?

Despite decades of investigation, every theory—no matter how grounded or bizarre—seems to end where it begins: with a mystery as haunting as the waves that crash against its lonely shores. Today on Hysteria 51, we dig into the story of Eilean Mor, the theories, the legends, and the strange clues left behind. Will we find answers, or just more shadows in the mist and bad jokes by a sadistic robot? Let’s find out...

Special thanks to this week’s research sources:

Books

McCloskey, K. (2014), The Lighthouse: The Mystery of the Eilean Mòr Lighthouse Keepers,

The History Press

Websites

Eilean Mor Summary: http://www.ancient-origins.net/unexplained-phenomena/curious-disappearanceeilean-mor-lighthouse-keepers-scottish-mystery-004820?nopaging=1

Poem: http://www.potw.org/archive/potw230.html

RationalWiki: https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Flannan_Isle

Original wreck report for the SS Archtor, http://www.plimsoll.org/resources/SCCLibraries/WreckReports/17924.asp?view=text

Rogue Wave - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rogue_wave

The report submitted by Robert Muirhead, Superintendent, on the 8th

January 1901: https://www.nlb.org.uk/HistoricalInformation/FlannanIsles/Report-by-Superintendent

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What do you get when you cross a wannabe-Neo trying to dodge bullets in Utah with a Russian court that seems to think Google has more money than the entire planet combined? Pure, unadulterated Blurry Hysteria, that’s what!

This week we unpack the bizarre saga of a man caught on camera attempting some next-level Matrix moves—spoiler alert: real life doesn’t come with slow-motion bullet time. Then, we jet over to Mother Russia, where a court has slapped Google with a penalty so colossal you’d need a calculator that can handle a galaxy’s worth of zeros. Buckle up and brace for weird as we deliver double the strange, double the fun, and 100% more hysteria than you can shake a bulletproof vest at!

News Stories Mentioned: 

Bullet Boys: https://www.abc4.com/news/wasatch-front/arrest-dodge-bullets/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR1w4br1idJOwrINti9Yf7PmgbDXbb1M65q1SDnTlKu6D3Xr5xeW2EtS_3E_aem_H05pP3DMxbU7IZ58MulnUQ

Russian Payday: https://united24media.com/latest-news/russian-court-slaps-google-with-a-fine-larger-than-all-the-money-on-earth-5443?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR1Z6D-KXzDYnZPuoS_AeZldyRQ3SzEQIO4q0fK12dpOBXrc5rlj5kBF978_aem_PqxXHJTUazMtFa-Yvo9IEg

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Join us this week on Hysteria 51 as we welcome back Chris Rupert and Tyler Transue of Doc Side Media for their 4th appearance! The dynamic duo dives into their latest documentary, Surrounded by Spirits, exploring chilling stories, paranormal investigations, and the lingering mysteries of the afterlife. From eerie encounters to their filmmaking journey, it’s a spirited conversation you won’t want to miss.

Special thanks to this week’s sources:

Follow Doc Side Media

Website - https://www.docsidemedia.com/

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@docsidemedia2106

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/docsidemedia

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/docsidemedia/

TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@docsidemedia

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Prepare for a double dose of techno-weirdness as Blurry Hysteria dives into the world of artificial intelligence! First, we glow up with the story of an AI-invented molecule that nature would’ve needed half a billion years to cook up. Is AI outpacing evolution? Then, things get dark (and oddly philosophical) as scientists propose testing AI sentience by making it suffer. Yes, that’s right—pain for progress! Join the crew as they decode the wild and wacky intersection of science and sci-fi in this illuminating and borderline sadistic episode.

News Stories Mentioned: 

Glow in the Dark AI: https://www.livescience.com/technology/artificial-intelligence/new-glowing-molecule-invented-by-ai-would-have-taken-500-million-years-to-evolve-in-nature-scientists-say

S&M AI: https://www.livescience.com/technology/artificial-intelligence/scientists-propose-making-ai-suffer-to-see-if-its-sentient

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This week on Blurry Hysteria, we're hitting you with a double dose of bizarre! First up, someone decided CAPTCHA wasn't annoying enough and created one where you play Doom on Nightmare difficulty. Can you rip and tear your way to proving you're not a robot? Spoiler: most of us are doomed.

Then, we head to Houston, where the police evidence lockers have been infiltrated—not by master thieves, but by junkie rats with a taste for confiscated drugs. Who’s the kingpin of the rodent cartel, and do they have a tiny, whiskered Walter White? All that and more this week on Blurry Hysteria!

News Stories Mentioned: 

Doom: https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2025/01/someone-made-a-captcha-where-you-play-doom-on-nightmare-difficulty/

Rat Party: https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2025/01/21/Houston-Police-evidence-lockers-drugs-rats/6941737480214/

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Hold onto your tinsel, folks! This week on Blurry Hysteria we dive into the weird and wacky with stories you never knew you needed in your life. First, we head to the stomach-turning world of fertility rituals gone very wrong—complete with a live baby bird found in a dead man’s belly... or maybe throat. (Yeah, you read that right.)

Then, it’s a two-part yuletide warning: Ever considered nibbling on your Christmas tree? Belgium says, "DON’T!" Sweden on the other hand says otherwise. We unravel the science behind toxic Christmas tree needles and why your festive feast shouldn’t involve the fir, or maybe it should... Join us for a late holiday episode packed with laughs, gasps, and the weirdest news to ever deck the halls!

News Stories Mentioned: 

Bird Job: https://www.latintimes.com/baby-bird-found-alive-inside-dead-mans-stomach-after-being-swallowed-during-fertility-ritual-569420

Tree Treats: https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/dont-eat-christmas-tree-warns-182651558.html & https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/sweden-says-christmas-tree-needles-173426923.html

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Did you know America once eyed hippos as a solution to its problems? This week on Hysteria 51 we dive into the bizarre yet true tale of how early 20th-century Louisiana faced a water hyacinth invasion and a looming food shortage—and how importing hippos, lovingly dubbed “lake cows,” was proposed as the answer. Join us as we explore the strange saga of "Lake Cow Bacon," the politicians and eccentric dreamers behind the plan, and why this idea almost became reality. Grab a plate of hypothetical hippo bacon, and let’s get weird with history!

Special thanks to this week’s research sources:

Videos

Exploring 'Lake Cow Bacon': A Unique American Tale | weird history - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_d2LkczvLY

America's Secret Plan to Replace BEEF with HIPPOS - https://youtu.be/ChqkNAeJygM?si=lu4ZzqkrrltaMETh

Websites

Second Boer War: Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Boer_War

The Daily Beast - https://www.thedailybeast.com/lake-bacon-the-story-of-the-man-who-wanted-us-to-eat-mississippi-hippos/

Smithsonian Magazine - https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-the-us-almost-became-a-nation-of-hippo-ranchers-180982244/

On Pasture - https://onpasture.com/2016/04/18/u-s-hippo-ranches-and-lake-cow-bacon/

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This week, we’re serving up a smorgasbord of strange! First, we sink our teeth into the tale of a woman who took "jawbreaker" a little too literally—because candy shouldn’t come with a side of dental disaster. Then, we go nuclear (literally) with the bizarre practice of detonating file cabinets for "science." It’s an explosive mix of absurdity and hilarity you don’t want to miss!

News Stories Mentioned: 

Jawbreaker: https://www.odditycentral.com/news/woman-breaks-jaw-after-biting-into-jawbreaker-candy.html#google_vignette

File Go Boom: https://www.ripleys.com/stories/nuking-file-cabinets

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