A massive flock of birds that plunged from the sky in Mexico, a unique doghouse that could fetch big bucks at auction, and a baby ghost shark found near New Zealand were among the strange, unusual, and enlightening stories to cross our desk this week.
A pair of odd items up for auction made news this past week, beginning with a aviator helmet that was once worn by Amelia Earhart. The leather cap was handed down to Anthony Twiggs by his mother, who had something of an apocryphal tale surrounding how she got it back in 1929. After years trying to prove that the story was true, her son was finally able to do so via photographic forensics and it is now up for sale with an estimated value of at least $80,000. Meanwhile a doghouse that was struck by a meteorite falling from the sky over Costa Rica is also being sold at auction and experts expect that the one-of-a-kind piece will sell somewhere between $200,000 and $300,000 later this month.
Curious aquatic creatures wound up in the spotlight this past week via two peculiar stories. First, off the coast of New Zealand, researchers discovered an incredible rare baby ghost shark that had just hatched days earlier. The wondrous creature, which sports a nearly translucent body, was inadvertently caught during a trawling operation aimed at surveying the local fish population and, scientists say, could provide a wealth of new insight into the elusive ghost shark, which is rarely seen in the wild, much less at such a young age. Later in the week, a paddle board instructor in Taiwan captured some fantastic footage of a mysterious 'lake monster' that went viral in China and was later determined to have likely been a speckled longfin eel.
One of the more jaw-dropping videos we've seen in quite some time appeared in the news this week by way of Mexico, where a security camera filmed a massive flock of birds plummeting from the sky onto a city street. The incredible scene, which unfolded in the community of Chihuahua earlier this month, resembled something out of a horror movie as an initially tranquil road is suddenly deluged by an enormous black cloud that drops down from the sky. It is only after the proverbial dust settles that it becomes apparent that a flock of birds had plunged to the ground. As for what could have caused the eerie incident, experts theorize that the creatures were trying to evade a predator when their path took a disastrous turn.
For more strange and unusual stories from the past week, check out the Coast to Coast AM website.