The Weekend Bravely (#4)

4 crazy stories and 1 awesome story we loved this week.

I am not sure where to start this utterly weird week. So, let’s get right to it.

1. The Great Spy Balloon Scare of 2023: it’s increasingly likely that the balloon downed by the USAF over the Yukon Territory belonged to the Northern Illinois Bottlecap Balloon Brigade, a ham radio enthusiast group in, well, Illinois. The club’s ‘pico’ balloon last reported its position off the west coast of Alaska and based on weather models would have been over the Yukon on Feb. 11. Pico balloons combine high-altitude ballooning and ham radio into one hobby. I don’t know what else to say (Aviation Week) »

Peter Meijer @RepMeijer

RIP to the Northern Illinois Bottlecap Balloon Brigade’s ~$80 ham radio transmitter balloon, likely the victim of friendly fire by a $143,000,000 USAF F-22 firing a $485,000 AIM-9X Sidewinder missile during the Great Balloon Panic of 2023. https://t.co/4gyy91I1Jv

The Lead CNN @TheLeadCNN

President Biden says objects shot down last week don't appear to be a part of China's spy balloon program. CNN's @Phil_Mattingly reports https://t.co/OulPfP1Of5

2. Committing suicide by MRI. A gun-loving lawyer in Brazil was accompanying his mother on a medical appointment when he took a gun into an MRI room. When the MRI was turned on, the magnetic force pulled the gun from his waistband and shot him in the abdomen. He then died. Honestly, that’s the whole story. But if you want to read it again, head over to KIRO (KIRO7) »

3. Alicia Rowe is not dead, despite what The Daily Mail says. See, Alicia doesn’t really have a relationship with her parents. So around Thanksgiving, she did a Google search on them and lo and behold found a Daily Mail article about her parent’s fight with their HOA (it turns out the Rowe’s won’t stop feeding the ducks). In the report, Rowe’s mother said she started feeding the said ducks after “losing her daughter”. Because the whole story is nuts, naturally it went viral. Except Alicia Rowe is very much alive. Read all about it (WaPo) »

See, she’s alive! (Photo courtesy of Alicia Rowe)

“The message is just that, like, I am alive.” - Alicia Rowe

4. Two Mars Chocolate workers go full-on Augustus Gloop at work. The Occupational Health & Safety Administration (OSHA) has fined Mars $14,500 after two workers fell into a vat of chocolate. A hole had to be cut in the bottom of the tank to free them, but they were thankfully unharmed. From The Daily Beast »

5. Inclusion took a leap forward during the Super Bowl. For the first time, during the Super Bowl pre-game show, America the Beautiful was signed in both American Sign Language as well as Plains Indian Sign Language, one of the Native American Sign Languages. The Washington Post has a terrific piece on the race to save these unique languages and how, without the influence of European and white cultures, they evolved. Check it out (WaPo) »

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