A new venture aimed at reviving the woolly mammoth, a UFO sighting at a prison in England, and a bizarre baked bean craze that has taken Britain by storm were among the strange, unusual, and enlightening stories to cross our desk this week.
In a testament to the fact that people from all walks of life report UFO sightings, this week saw news of a rather peculiar case wherein an inmate at a prison in England revealed a remarkable incident from earlier this year. The unnamed man recounted how a mysterious bright light suddenly appeared in the sky over the prison yard and approached the bewildered witnesses, which included the guards, until it was hovering around 100 feet above them. The UFO subsequently folded in on itself, the man said, and turned into a cloud of mist that rained down upon the people below. Eerily, the inmates who experienced the incident later reported having a strange rash on their skin.
This past week saw a pair of stories involving pranksters taking their jokes too far, beginning with a bonafide craze in Britain wherein people have begun throwing baked beans all over houses and cars. Dubbed 'beaning,' the practice has gotten so out of hand that one police department went so far as to issue a warning to shops to keep an eye out for teenagers buying the syrupy side dish and asking parents to ensure that their kids weren't pilfering cans of beans from their pantries. Meanwhile, in Texas, a lawyer's attempt at some lighthearted fun went wildly awry when dressed up as horror movie villain Michael Myers and went strolling along a beach. Unfortunately for him, cops weren't amused by his antics and promptly cited him for disorderly conduct.
The prospect of somehow reviving extinct species has been bandied about by scientists for decades and this week saw what may be a major step forward when it comes to the possibility that woolly mammoths may someday roam the Earth again. Technology entrepreneur Ben Lamm and Harvard geneticist George Church announced the formation of a new bioscience company, known as ''Colossal,' which aims to create a hybrid creature using Asian elephant DNA infused with woolly mammoth genes responsible for the long-lost pachyderm's iconic fur coat and ability to withstand frigid temperatures. While some experts expressed skepticism about the venture, the duo has already raised $15 million towards the ambitious project.
For more strange and unusual stories from the past week, check out the Coast to Coast AM website.