Hysteria 51

This week on Hysteria 51, we’re serving up a double feature where folklore meets… fecal science. First, we head to rural India, where a woman dodges an arranged marriage by leaving behind a perfectly curated “I turned into a snake” crime scene: a 1.5m shed snakeskin, her jewelry, and clothes arranged like a supernatural mic-drop, sending the village into full naagin panic while police gently remind everyone they’re hunting a person, not a serpent. Then we hop across the globe to Nantucket, where the island’s wastewater has been tested and the results are basically: “Historic charm, hydrangeas… and cocaine markers popping above national and regional averages.” Because nothing says coastal getaway like your sewer system quietly yelling, “PARTY’S NOT OVER.” Hit play for weird news, wild choices, and the kind of reality that makes you ask, “Are we okay as a species?” (Spoiler: probably not.) Links & Resources 📌Wed Shed 📌Party Tap Email us your favorite WEIRD news stories: [email protected] Support the Show Get exclusive content & perks as well as an ad and sponsor free experience at https://www.patreon.com/Hysteria51 from just $1 Shop Be the Best Dressed at your Cult Meeting! https://www.teepublic.com/stores/hysteria51?ref_id=9022 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Nation, it's time we crank the volume on reality and chase the creepy, metallic noises known as Sky Trumpets and British Booms. From the infamous Durham “Hum” to thunderless skyquakes that sound like phantom artillery, we dig into the strangest “why is the sky honking?” reports across England and beyond. We break down the best scientific explanations, including temperature inversions, atmospheric ducting, meteors, infrasound, and other perfectly normal things that absolutely do not sound normal. Then we slide into the fun stuff: angel trumpets, aliens with rusty spacecraft, secret underground projects, and why the internet may be half documentation, half audio creepypasta. Is it nature, industry, the end times… or just the atmosphere doing an aggressive jazz solo? Hit play and decide for yourself this week on Hysteria51! Special thanks to this week’s research sources: UK “Hum” reporting (Woodland, County Durham)The Telegraph (Jun 9, 2011) “Tiny village is latest victim of the ‘The Hum’”https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/8566281/Tiny-village-is-latest-victim-of-the-The-hum.htmlTIME (Jun 15, 2011) “Mysterious Night ‘Hum’ Plagues British Village”https://newsfeed.time.com/2011/06/15/mysterious-night-%E2%80%98hum%E2%80%99-plagues-british-village/The Christian Science Monitor (Jun 14, 2011) “Mysterious humming noise bedevils tiny English village”https://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2011/0614/Mysterious-humming-noise-bedevils-tiny-English-villageThe Guardian (Jun 9, 2011) “On the trail of the mysterious Durham hum”https://www.theguardian.com/uk/the-northerner/2011/jun/09/hum-woodlands-durham-hamsterley-bristol-largs-gateshead-newcastle-cakebook-surteesSkyquakes / mystery booms explainersBBC Science Focus (Sep 28, 2024) “Mystery skyquakes are ripping through the world. And nobody knows why.”https://www.sciencefocus.com/planet-earth/mystery-skyquakes-are-ripping-through-the-world-and-nobody-knows-whyAmerican Academy of Audiology (Oct 27, 2023) “Skyquakes: did you hear it?”https://www.audiology.org/skyquakes-did-you-hear-it/USGS (authoritative references for booms, quakes, sonic booms)U.S. Geological Survey “Earthquake Booms, Seneca Guns, and Other Sounds”https://www.usgs.gov/programs/earthquake-hazards/earthquake-booms-seneca-guns-and-other-soundsU.S. Geological Survey (FAQ) “What are those ‘booms’ I sometimes hear before or during an earthquake?”https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/what-are-those-booms-i-sometimes-hear-or-during-earthquakeU.S. Geological Survey “Sonic Booms”https://www.usgs.gov/programs/earthquake-hazards/sonic-boomsSound travel / weather weirdness (why distant stuff can sound like it’s in your attic)“Inversion (meteorology)” (temperature inversions can change how sound travels)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inversion_(meteorology)Background on “The Hum” (global phenomenon overview)“The Hum” (overview, reported locations, proposed explanations)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_HumStratospheric infrasound (mysterious low-frequency signals recorded high up)Space.com (May 11, 2023) “Strange sounds recorded high in Earth’s atmosphere have scientists baffled”https://www.space.com/strange-sounds-stratosphere-balloon-infrasoundLive Science (May 13, 2023) “Mysterious, ultra low-frequency noises detected in Earth’s atmosphere…”https://www.livescience.com/space/astronomy/mysterious-ultra-low-frequency-noises-detected-in-earths-atmosphere-and-scientists-cant-explain-themPhys.org (May 11, 2023) “Solar-powered balloons detect mysterious sounds in the stratosphere”https://phys.org/news/2023-05-solar-powered-balloons-mysterious-stratosphere.htmlOcean-generated infrasound (microbaroms: the sea’s low-frequency heartbeat)Walker et al. (2012) Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans “Evaluating the opposing wave interaction hypothesis for the atmospheric microbarom”https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2012JC008409Landès et al. (2014) Geophysical Journal International “Explaining global patterns of microbarom observations with wave action models”https://academic.oup.com/gji/article/199/3/1328/609610“Microbarom” (overview + links to primary lit)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MicrobaromSkeptical commentarySharon A. Hill (Doubtful News) “Mystery booms and skyquakes” (skeptical roundup + reporting tips)https://sharonahill.com/mystery-booms-and-skyquakes/ Email us your favorite WEIRD news stories: [email protected] Support the Show: Get exclusive content & perks as well as an ad and sponsor free experience at https://www.patreon.com/Hysteria51 from just $1 Shop: Be the Best Dressed at your Cult Meeting! https://www.teepublic.com/stores/hysteria51?ref_id=9022 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on Hysteria 51, we’re pinballing between cartoon conspiracy corners and a middle-schooler casually building the future in his garage. First up: Simpsons sleuths are doing what Simpsons sleuths do, pausing a 25-year-old episode like it’s the Zapruder film and claiming it “predicted” the Epstein scandal. The episode in question (Season 12’s “The Computer Wore Menace Shoes”) features Homer stumbling into a creepy-island situation, and the internet has been connecting dots with the enthusiasm of a caffeinated detective with no bedtime. We’ll break down what the episode actually shows, what people are claiming, and why “The Simpsons predicted it” has become its own paranormal phenomenon. Then we hard cut to Dallas, where a 12-year-old has reportedly achieved nuclear fusion with a homebuilt setup and is aiming for a Guinness World Records title. Yes, at 12, some kids are mastering long division, and this one is out here speedrunning the sun. We’ll talk what “fusion” means in this context, why it’s a big deal, and how close he is to beating the current Guinness record. So buckle in for an episode loaded with Simpsons theories, weird news whiplash, Epstein-adjacent internet speculation, and kid-genius nuclear fusion. One story screams “someone call the FBI,” the other screams “someone call the science fair,” and somehow they both end up right here. Links & Resources 📌Simpson's Predict 📌Pre-Pubescent Fusion Email us your favorite WEIRD news stories: [email protected] Support the Show Get exclusive content & perks as well as an ad and sponsor free experience at https://www.patreon.com/Hysteria51 from just $1 Shop Be the Best Dressed at your Cult Meeting! https://www.teepublic.com/stores/hysteria51?ref_id=9022 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week we dig into the Blurry Photos coffers for a cryptid adventure on the high seas! Man the oars and put yer backs into it, the Kraken surfaces! A legendary sea-beast the size of an island, the Kraken is said to swallow men whole and snap ships in half effortlessly, but what’s true and what’s a fish story? Join Flora as he braves the open seas of historical folklore for a deep dive on this fascinating fiend. The oceans are big, but are they big enough to hide a colossal cephalopod? David seeks answers to the questions on its origins, descriptions, and possible real-life species. So much culture has been inspired by this mega-monster, could there be a kernel of truth to the tales? Grab your trident and prepare to release this episode into your ears! Music Myst on the Moor, Big Eyes, Dark Fog, Dark Standoff, Danse Macabre, Evil Incoming, Infinite Peace, Some Amount of Evil, Spider Eyes, Temple of the Manes – Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Cornfield Chase, Lonely Mountain, Mothership – Rafael Krux Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 SourcesAnderson, Nate. Release the kraken! 2,000 years of tall tales (and a smattering of truth). ArsTechnica.com. Web. Jan. 9, 2013. https://arstechnica.com/science/2013/01/release-the-kraken-2000-years-of-tall-tales-and-a-smattering-of-truth/ Denys de Montfort, Pierre. Histoire naturelle, générale et particulière des mollusques. Paris: L’Imprimerie de F. Dufart. pp. 256–412 – via Biodiversity Heritage Library. 1801–1805. Haslam, Garth. Kraken: Myths, Legends, and History. Anomalyinfo.com. Web. 2017. http://anomalyinfo.com/Topics/kraken-myths-legends-and-history Jardine, Sir William. The Naturalist’s Library. Edinburgh. W.H. Lizars. 1833https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/60177#page/398/mode/1up Pontoppidan, Erich. The Natural History of Norway. Copenhagen: Berlingske Arvingers Bogtrykkerie, 1752. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/131226#page/520/mode/1up SALVADOR, Rodrigo B.; TOMOTANI, Barbara M. The Kraken: when myth encounters science. História, Ciências, Saúde – Manguinhos, Rio de Janeiro, v.21, n.3, jul.-set. 2014, p.971-994. http://www.scielo.br/pdf/hcsm/v21n3/0104-5970-hcsm-21-3-0971.pdf Wallenberg, J. Min son på galejan, eller en ostindisk resa innehållande allehanda bläckhornskram, samlade på skeppet Finland, som afseglade ifrån Götheborg i Dec. 1769, och återkom dersammastädes i Junii 1771. (5th ed.). Elméns och Granbergs Tryckeri, Stockholm. (in Swedish). 1835. Williams, Wendy. Kraken: The Curious, Exciting, and Slightly Disturbing Science of Squid. New York. Abrams Image. Mar. 4, 2011. Email us your favorite WEIRD news stories: [email protected] Support the Show Get exclusive content & perks as well as an ad and sponsor free experience at https://www.patreon.com/Hysteria51 from just $1 Shop Be the Best Dressed at your Cult Meeting! https://www.teepublic.com/stores/hysteria51?ref_id=9022 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on Hysteria 51, we’re serving up a double feature where nature chooses violence… and humanity chooses unhinged. First: Janesville, Wisconsin is apparently living inside a Thanksgiving-themed action movie. A flock of wild turkeys has been chasing people, hassling a postal worker, blocking traffic, and generally running the neighborhood like feathery little HOA enforcers with anger issues. One local even caught the chaos on camera. If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to be offering peace and goodwill to all… while a bird the size of a small child sprints at you with murder in its eyes, welcome home. Then we pivot from “street menace” to “please evacuate the entire building”: a man showed up at a hospital with a World War I artillery shell lodged in his rectum, prompting a hospital evacuation and a bomb squad response because, yes, it was reported as potentially live. Doctors had to remove it surgically, and everyone involved probably aged ten years in one evening. It’s the kind of headline that makes you whisper, “how” and then immediately decide you don’t actually want the answer. So buckle up for an episode packed with weird news, small-town terror turkeys, and ER chaos so intense it came with its own security perimeter. If you like your comedy dark, your science nonexistent, and your survival instincts activated by poultry… this one’s for you. Links & Resources 📌Jive Turkeys 📌Preparation H-Bomb Email us your favorite WEIRD news stories: [email protected] Support the Show Get exclusive content & perks as well as an ad and sponsor free experience at https://www.patreon.com/Hysteria51 from just $1 Shop Be the Best Dressed at your Cult Meeting! https://www.teepublic.com/stores/hysteria51?ref_id=9022 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.