This Week
[June 8-June 14, 2020] An astronaut reaching new depths, toad vomit treatments, the Dalai Lama’s latest album drop, and the rest of the week’s weird news from Ripley’s Believe It or Not!
From The Stars To The Sea
Thirty-six years after her debut as the first American woman to walk in space, Kathy Sullivan has made history once again. On Monday, June 9th, Sullivan became the first woman to travel to the deepest part of the ocean floor. She descended 35,810 feet (about 7 miles) to Challenger Deep—the lowest part of the Marianas Trench. “As a hybrid oceanographer and astronaut, this was an extraordinary day, a once in a lifetime day…” Sullivan said.
Astronaut Kathryn Sullivan using binoculars to view the earth during STS-41-G in 1984.
A Pandamonium At The Copenhagen Zoo
Xing Er, a giant panda at the Copenhagen Zoo, seemed to have had enough of our stay-at-home orders. The 7-year-old male panda broke out of the newly-built, $24 million pen that he shares with a female giant panda, Mao Sun. According to the zoo, Xing Er climbed up a pole covered in wires, into a garden, and out of the enclosure. Thankfully, his breakout occurred before the zoo’s normal operating hours. He was returned to his pen unharmed.
The Dalai Lama: Spiritual Leader and Chart Topper?
If you’re looking for a new quarantine vibe or inspirational playlist, look no further than the teachings of the Dalai Lama. On the spiritual leader’s 85th birthday, July 6, 2020, his album called Inner World will drop. The anticipated release will include a unique mix of mantras and teachings by the Dalai Lama himself. Set to music, each teaching “cultivates an understanding of love and empathy for ourselves and all beings,” says the Dalai Lama’s official website.
A Recipe For Toad Vomit Lozenges
Aside from the three laws of motion, Sir Isaac Newton was, apparently, dabbling in plague treatment research during his time. An unconventional idea, to say the least, Newton expressed his theory in treating the black death using toad-vomit lozenges. Detailed instructions were written on how to create this toad-vomit treatment: a process that involves suspending a dead toad by its hind legs in a chimney, collecting its vomit, and mixing the powdered remains of the toad with its hurled contents. And in Newton’s opinion, this recipe for success was truly the best around.
The Hunt Is Over
After more than 10 years of searching, one lucky treasure hunter has finally uncovered Forrest Fenn’s chest of jewels and riches buried out in the Rocky Mountains. Fenn published a memoir after burying this $1 million treasure, which included a poem of clues to where the chest was buried. The writings soon became a bestseller, and people all over the world came to the area to search for the fortune. Some doubted its existence, and at least five people gave their lives searching for it.
After all these years, the lucky hunter contacted Fenn with a photo of his newfound riches as proof, and he was able to confirm the location and the discovery. Fenn also said that the discoverer—a man from “back East”—wishes to remain anonymous.
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