Make It Weird

It’s our 10th Mini episode! In this week’s mini episode, Haley and Harmony start off with the Mini-Weird episode exclusive Headline-A-Thon, with topics ranging from an impatient (and hairy) Starbucks customer who chose violence to a lobster shaped Louis Vuitton bag worth more than Harmony’s car. Then, Harmony shares the story of a very petty and hilarious race hijinx in the UK, and Haley shares the heartwarming story of people reuniting family photos with victims of natural disasters. And Harmony closes out the episode with a Cutie Pie Corner featuring some very disgustingly cute bugs trying to disguise themselves to fit in with the cool kids. 

Resources:

• https://www.dexerto.com/pokemon/pokemon-fans-are-bidding-thousands-on-a-charizard-shaped-flamin-hot-cheeto-3140859/ 

• https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/feb/19/kfc-to-become-texas-fried-chicken-in-hq-move-to-low-tax-state 

• https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgw3e8zj4vo

• https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/national/article298808123.html 

• https://www.businessinsider.com/billionaire-couple-win-refund-mansion-infested-moths-judge-notting-hill-2025-2 

• https://www.wtvr.com/us-news/weird/venomous-snake-from-ecuador-found-in-box-of-bananas-at-new-hampshire-grocery-store 

• https://news.stv.tv/west-central/glasgow-runners-go-in-wrong-direction-after-prankster-messes-with-race-signs

• https://www.sciencenews.org/article/butt-blowfly-larvae-mimic-termite-faces 

• https://www.dailydot.com/debug/dei-watch-list-dossiers-civil-servants-social-media-hacked/

• https://www.tbsnews.net/offbeat/louis-vuitton-unveils-lobster-shaped-bag-worth-18k-1061536

• https://www.wilx.com/2025/02/10/illinois-governor-declares-lake-michigan-is-now-lake-illinois/

• https://apnews.com/article/mummy-scent-egypt-6f34a4cbb4bf180335310b5fcfb35a70

• https://wiredposts.com/news/teen-who-died-after-injecting-himself-with-butterfly-remains-spent-7-agonizing-days-in-the-hospital/

• https://www.cbsnews.com/news/stolen-eggs-pennsylvania-pete-and-gerry-farm/ 

• https://apnews.com/article/found-photos-la-california-wildfires-hurricane-helene-63837175cfa3328873f98b9bdaad2e6f 

It’s our 10th full episode! In this week’s very special episode, Harmony shares the very tragic (and sticky) story of the Great Molasses Flood of 1919 in Boston, MA, and Haley dives deep (into the ocean) to share some particularly weird and interesting facts about clams (did you know clams have eyes?!). Resources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Molasses_Flood  https://www.history.com/news/the-great-molasses-flood-of-1919  https://woostergeologists.scotblogs.wooster.edu/2015/02/13/woosters-fossil-of-the-week-sponge-and-bivalve-borings-from-the-miocene-of-spain/#:~:text=The%20large%20borings%20were%20produced,this%20is%20a%20lifetime%20occupation. https://medium.com/fossils-et-al/how-tiny-algae-shaped-the-evolution-of-giant-clams-d7617b12df91 https://www.boredpanda.com/clams-measure-water-quality-poland-fat-kathy/ https://irrec.ifas.ufl.edu/teachaquaculture/curriculum/_files/modules/4_broodstock/Activity/Spawning_and_Larviculture_of_Bivalve_Mollusks.pdf https://www.britannica.com/animal/bivalve/The-respiratory-system https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byssus https://www.bgs.ac.uk/discovering-geology/fossils-and-geological-time/bivalves/#:~:text=Bivalves%20have%20inhabited%20the%20Earth,million%20years%20before%20the%20dinosaurs. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bivalvia https://www.museum.zoo.cam.ac.uk/collections-research/ddf-bivalve-mollusc-project/anatomy-bivalve#:~:text=Bivalve%20molluscs%20are%20completely%20enclosed,two%20valves%20hold%20them%20closed.

In this week’s mini episode, Haley and Harmony start off with the Mini-Weird episode exclusive Headline-A-Thon, with topics ranging from a meth and tobacco prison canon to a British breastaurant expansion. Then, Haley shares the twists and turns of the new Zizzian cult drama, and Harmony bums everyone out with a particularly gruesome Valentine’s murder. And Haley closes out the episode with a Cutie Pie Corner featuring a very bloated possum!

Resources:

• https://apnews.com/article/scotland-cats-wildlife-186c3c2d2c586a57c831ec4061f246b3
• https://medium.com/gardening-birding-and-outdoor-adventure/bumblebees-reduce-their-expectations-of-a-reward-when-stressed-out-e311fdc9b837
• https://apnews.com/article/chile-kayaking-tourism-whale-b0cafde4b640326f20a9da28003d6c26
• https://www.irishstar.com/news/man-who-lost-760million-bitcoin-34654008
• https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/feb/08/its-horrible-hooters-plots-british-breastaurant-expansion-via-newcastle
• https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3298501/china-student-burns-inflatable-girlfriend-sparks-fire-after-roommate-returns-early 
• https://www.wfsb.com/2025/02/07/connecticut-aims-convince-everyone-that-its-pizza-capital-us/ 
• https://www.ctvnews.ca/toronto/ontario-election-2025/article/ontario-ndp-candidate-drops-out-of-race-after-audio-clip-surfaces-where-she-says-i-want-to-be-a-black-woman/ 
• https://townflex.com/birkenstock-loses-court-battle-after-claiming-its-sandals-are-works-of-art/ 
• https://www.kktv.com/2025/02/18/colorado-men-accused-attempting-use-cannon-launch-meth-tobacco-into-louisiana-prison/ 
• https://www.cbsnews.com/news/vermont-border-agent-death-exposed-violence-linked-cultlike-zizian-group/#
• https://www.lesswrong.com/w/zajko-family-double-homicide
• https://apnews.com/article/vermont-border-patrol-shooting-youngblut-lasota-zizians-8d3522fae8338cabf9f890aab054c0b4
• https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/18/zizian-jack-lasota-arrest
• https://www.wave3.com/2025/02/19/jeffersonville-man-charged-with-killing-wife-valentines-day-held-without-bond/ 
• https://www.aol.com/news/cake-bandit-opossum-goes-viral-224217016.html

This week, in the first half of the episode Harmony shares the story of John Murray Spear and his spiritually powered “God Machine”, and in the second half Haley shares the fascinating - and less well-known WW2 story - of when the nazis invaded Long Island in 1942.

Resources:

• https://www.strange-phenomenon.com/john-murray-spear-transcript 
• https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/571569/spiritualist-god-machine 
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Murray_Spear
• https://www.liherald.com/stories/a-true-long-island-war-story-75-years-ago,92861
• https://www.history.com/news/when-the-nazis-invaded-the-hamptons
• https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Pastorius

In this week’s mini episode, Haley and Harmony start off with the Mini-Weird episode exclusive Headline-A-Thon, featuring topics ranging from the flooding of a flood museum to cyber-hacking sex toys. Then, Haley discusses the story of South African miners who were trapped underground without food or supplies, and Harmony shares the story of a Canadian butter heist. Harmony then closes out the episode with Cutie Pie Corner featuring an adorable crime-fighting canine. 

Resources:

• https://thartribune.com/government-warns-couples-that-sex-toys-remain-a-tempting-target-for-hackers-with-the-potential-to-be-weaponized/
• https://www.live5news.com/video/2025/01/10/deputy-crashes-patrol-car-while-watching-porn/
• https://10play.com.au/theproject/articles/penguin-divorce-rates-soar-on-phillip-island/tpa250117olpdu
• https://www.dw.com/en/dubai-chocolate-must-come-from-dubai-german-court-rules/a-71290421
• https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/20/asia/japanese-aquarium-lonely-sunfish-intl-scli/index.html
• https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/01/27/trapped-miners-south-africa-cannibalism-trespassing-police/
• https://www.wlky.com/article/louisville-nature-center-name-a-roach-after-your-ex-valentines-day/63590445 
• https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/28/johnstown-flood-museum-closed 
• https://www.latintimes.com/villain-hire-service-lets-weak-boyfriends-look-cool-beating-fake-tough-guy-front-girlfriends-573745 
• https://apnews.com/article/lazio-eagle-falconer-fired-cc2e23c88825aa76f2759e5144f6caec 
• https://toronto.citynews.ca/2025/01/29/6-charged-in-brampton-butter-thefts/ 
• https://www.cp24.com/local/peel/2025/01/29/6-charged-after-butter-and-ghee-stolen-from-grocery-stores-in-peel-region/ 
• https://www.euronews.com/2025/01/27/chinas-first-corgi-police-dog-loses-bonus-over-workplace-misconduct 
• https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/01/29/china-corgi-police-dog-loses-bonus/ 

In this week’s full episode, Haley goes into the gruesome details of the Byford Dolphin Incident, a horrific diving accident from 1983. Then, Harmony shares the outlandish story of Lord Timothy Dexter and his bizarre rise to wealth in the early 1800s. And we have a surprise guest joining us to finish out the episode! 

Resources:

• https://learnmore.charlestonsouthern.edu/community-views/tragic-lessons-and-impact-the-byford-dolphin-incident.html#immediate-aftermath

• https://www.iflscience.com/the-1983-byford-dolphin-decompression-incident-is-the-worst-diving-accident-in-history-76507#

• https://dn720006.ca.archive.org/0/items/byford-dolphin/Byford%20Dolphin_text.pdf

• https://www.commercialdiversinternational.edu/post/deep-dive-what-is-saturation-diving-and-why-is-it-critical#:~:text=The%20deepest%20saturation%20dive%20ever,pipeline%20in%20the%20Mediterranean%20Sea.

• https://www.health.harvard.edu/a_to_z/decompression-sickness-a-to-z

• https://history.howstuffworks.com/historical-events/byford-dolphin-accident.htm

• https://www.sciencetimes.com/articles/43111/20230406/byford-dolphin-accident-what-exactly-happened-tragedy-led.htm

• https://www.scubadiving.com/training/decompression-diving#:~:text=Decompression%20diving%20is%20when%20a,their%20tissues%20during%20the%20dive.

• https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/what-is-a-saturation-diver

• https://dan.org/alert-diver/article/saturation-diving/

• https://www.wired.com/story/the-physics-of-scuba-diving/

• https://shahmm.medium.com/the-ridiculous-rise-of-lord-timothy-dexter-a-tale-of-lucky-blunders-and-accidental-brilliance-4b9037a62bdd 

• https://www.britannica.com/biography/Timothy-Dexter 

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_Dexter 

• https://www.historicmysteries.com/history/timothy-dexter/29288/ 

Weird Wednesday Energy (WWE)! Welcome back to another Mini episode of Make It Weird! Our Headline-A-Thon features topics ranging from jellyfish butts, to chimpanzee synchronized peeing, to killer pigs. Haley then discusses an article where bloodletting is suggested as a cure for citizens with PFAS poisoning, and Harmony shares the story of a very popular plant that smells of rotten flesh. And Haley closes out with an extra crunchy CPC (Cutie Pie Corner).

Resources:

Starting off the episode, Harmony’s dog, Baby, has something VERY important to say. Haley then tells the story of Frances Glessner Lee, known as the mother of forensic science, and her groundbreaking contributions through the creation of crime scene dioramas. Then, Harmony dives into the enigmatic story of the Mary Celeste, the ghost ship found eerily abandoned in the Atlantic in the late 1800s.

Resources:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589871X19301305  https://unfspinnaker.com/90467/features/womens-history-month-spotlight-frances-glessner-lee/  https://www.harvardmagazine.com/2005/09/frances-glessner-lee-html  https://opentextbooks.clemson.edu/sciencetechnologyandsociety/chapter/frances-glessner-lee/  https://americanart.si.edu/exhibitions/nutshells  http://www.deathindiorama.com/index.html  Unexplained S04 Episode 6: Silence of the Sea https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Celeste    https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-mystery-of-the-mary-celeste   https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/abandoned-ship-the-mary-celeste-174488104/   https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/25073/decks-mary-celeste-december-1872   https://www.maryceleste.net/crew.htm  

In this week’s episode, hosts Haley and Harmony start out with the mini-weird exclusive Headline-A-Thon with current event stories ranging from a US court handing money to the wrong plaintiff, to a teenager testing the theory of jawbreakers candy. Harmony then tells the story of Jeffrey Koonce’s wrongful conviction being overturned, and Haley dives into the heavy topic on the forced labor of Alabama prison inmates. And of course, Harmony closes out the episode with this week’s Cutie Pie Corner that is especially cute and heartwarming. 

Resources:

In this week’s episode, Harmony tells the story of the convicted murderer (and possible serial killer), Paul Bateson, who was cast as an actor in the 1973 movie, The Exorcist. [Trigger warning for topic of sexual abuse during second half of episode] Haley then tells the tragic yet incredibly brave story of Gisèle Pelicot whose husband had been - until now - unknowingly abusing her for over 10 years of their 40 year long marriage. 

Resources:

• https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/was-the-exorcist-set-really-cursed-and-haunted 
• https://movieweb.com/behind-the-scenes-facts-that-haunted-the-cast-of-the-exorcist/ 
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Bateson 
• https://inmagazine.ca/2021/10/queer-crime-the-legend-of-the-serial-killer-who-was-in-the-exorcist/ 
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bag_murders 
• https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/crime/gisele-pelicot-statement-full-dominique-rape-trial-verdict-b2667658.html
• https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2vlx20dm4o
• https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/gisele-pelicot-husband-how-arrested-rape-trial-b2667824.html#
• https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/gisele-pelicot-french-victim-mass-rape-hopes-trial-will-help-other-women-2024-10-23/
• https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/i-wanted-all-of-society-to-be-a-witness-gisele-pelicot-speaks-after-ex-husband-and-co-defendants-are-convicted-in-rape-trial
• https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2024/12/24/calls-increase-at-frances-new-helpline-after-the-verdict-of-gisele-pelicot-mass-rape-trial
• https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gis%C3%A8le_Pelicot