Weird News: U.S. To Change Moon's Orbit? – The Paper
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Last week a U.S. member of Congress asked a representative of the U.S. Forest Service if the agency could do something about the moon’s pesky orbit to help fight climate change.
During a House Natural Resources Committee hearing on climate change, Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) made a reference to what is known as “lunar retreat”—the moon’s slow drift away from the earth over millions of years. He brought up the issue with associate deputy chief of the National Forest System Jennifer Eberlien.
“I understand, from what’s been testified to, the Forest Service and the [Bureau of Land Management], you want very much to work on the issue of climate change. I was informed by the past director of NASA that they’ve found the moon’s orbit is changing slightly, and so is the Earth’s orbit around the sun. We know there’s been significant solar flare activity, so is there anything that the National Forest Service or BLM can do to change the course of the moon’s orbit, or the Earth’s orbit around the sun?” asked Gohmert. “Obviously that would have profound effects on our climate.”
“I would have to follow up with you on that one, Mr. Gohmert,” responded Eberlien.
“If you figure out a way that you and the Forest Service could make that change, I’d like to know,” said Gohmert
The comments went viral on social media where users wondered if changing the Earth’s or the moon’s orbits might be too difficult a challenge for these agencies.
Gohmert, who once said that people think he’s “the dumbest guy in Congress,” took to Twitter to defend his request after a user posted a transcript of the comments. “Exceedingly devious how you hid the context with an ellipses in your tweet. The hearing was about the Bureau of Land Management and climate change. BLM stands for the Bureau of Land Management. #FakeNews.”
“That’s … not what we’re laughing about,” commented one user. “Uh, BLM isn’t why your comment is trending, chief,” wrote another.
A woman who posed as her 13-year-old daughter and spent the day at school as a “social experiment” was arrested last week.
According to KWTX in Texas, 30-year-old Casey Garcia was arrested when the San Elizario Independent School District notified police that the woman had trespassed on school property June 1 posing as her daughter, a student enrolled at one of the schools in the district.
School administrators told authorities that Garcia came onto school grounds wearing a yellow hoodie and a black protective face mask. The police were also alerted to a number of videos posted on social media that appear to document Garcia’s day at school.
Garcia was taken to the El Paso County Detention Facility and charged with criminal trespass and tampering with government records. She also reportedly had an unrelated traffic warrant. Her bonds totaled $7,908.
The alleged trespasser posted a video on YouTube giving a statement about the incident and revealing what she claims to be the motive behind her actions. “We need better security at our schools,” she can be heard saying. “This is what I tried to prove. And I don’t mean to be curt, but I kind of feel like I proved it.”
Later in the video, she says, “There have been one too many mass shootings,” implying that she pulled the stunt to highlight what she feels is a dangerous security situation at public schools.
An eBay auction raised nearly $100,000 for a chicken nugget shaped like a character from a popular video game.
The Guardian reports that the malformed nugget, sourced from a McDonald’s special edition BTS meal—made in collaboration with the popular K-Pop group—has a shape reminiscent of one of the characters from the popular online game “Among Us.”
The nugget was put up for auction on eBay by user polizna on May 28 for $0.99. The seller noted that the nugget’s condition was “used” and that it would be shipped prior to the stated expiration date of 14 days after the initial purchase at the restaurant. The winner of the auction would be sent the frozen and air-sealed nugget.
The listing received no attention in the first two days, but then an initial bid of $14,969 jump-started a bidding war that caused the price to skyrocket to nearly $100,000. During the excitement, the official “Among Us” Twitter account joined the discussion. “There’s a $34,443.43 among us chicken nugget on sale and I don’t know how to feel about it? But also I want it,” tweeted the account.
The official Xbox Twitter account commented, writing, “For that price it must come with Szechuan Sauce.” On the item’s listing page, the seller responded, writing, “Jokes on them. I have Szechuan, and at buyer’s request will ship some with the nugget.”
It is unclear if the purchase was made due to the shape of the nugget or because it was part of an original BTS meal.
A missing dog who was ejected from a vehicle during a traffic accident was found safe and sound days later herding sheep.
According to U.S. News and World Report, the Oswald family was driving along Idaho State Highway 41 last week when they crashed into another vehicle. Their dog, a 2-year-old border collie and red heeler mix named Tilly, was thrown from the vehicle’s rear window during the accident. The dog immediately vanished.
At least six strangers who witnessed the crash attempted to find Tilly but were unable to locate her during a 10-hour search. The Oswalds made a Facebook post with a photo of the dog that was shared around their community and was soon seen by members of the Potter family, the owners of a local farm. The Potters said they’d spotted Tilly attempting to herd sheep on their farm.
The Oswalds have reunited with Tilly and are recovering from the accident.
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