Another Completely Normal Day on Planet Earth
Your daily dose of natural disasters and amazing phenomena for January 17, 2026...
š± A human did a good thing (yes, really)
A poor cat was rescued from freezing to death by an absolute legend of a human.
Almost frozen. Almost gone. Still here.
May the universe repay this man with warm socks, green lights, and zero inbox stress for the rest of his life.
Rare wholesome moment detected. Screenshot for laterā¦
š¦“ A mayor, a beach, and a 20-year delay
Skeletal remains that washed up on a Washington beach were finally identified as an Oregon mayor who vanished two decades ago ā thanks to modern DNA sequencing.
Plot twist: the remains also washed up 20 years ago, just two months after he disappeared.
Technology said: āSorry, we were busy back then.ā
The man was mayor of Fossil, Oregon ā population ~500, fossils older than most political promisesā¦
ā·ļø CPR on a ski slope (put the phone down)
Ski patrol in Niseko, Hokkaido were transporting an injured skier downhill while performing CPR.
Urgent. Serious. Heavy.
Also: filming CPR feels deeply wrong.
CPR means the heart has already stopped.
These might already be someoneās last moments.
Reminder: ride within your limits ā and maybe donāt turn tragedy into contentā¦
š¤ AI, billionaires, and cruelty without friction
The mother of one of Elon Muskās children is suing xAI over Grok deepfakes.
Context nobody asked for but everyone needs:
No child support
Repeated ignored outreach
Public threats of full custody
A man who appears emotionally allergic to accountability
Dystopia speedrun continuesā¦
š¬š± This is the flag of Greenland
The Greenlandic flag ā Erfalasorput (āOur Flagā) ā is being raised today in solidarity around the world.
It represents ocean, land, sun, and ice.
It represents home, not a commodity.
Greenland is not empty.
It is not for sale.
It is home to 57,000 people with living culture, memory, and identity.
Keep Greenland in your thoughts ā especially while powerful people look at maps like shopping listsā¦
āļø Alabama makes organ harvesting illegal (again, but louder)
Alabama lawmakers approved legislation making it a felony to harvest organs from prison inmates without family consent.
Youāre probably thinking:
āSoā¦ this was happening?ā
Correct.
At least 8 families sued. Those are just the known cases.
The law already banned it.
This just adds consequences.
Which apparently needed clarification.
š¶ The oldest song ever written
Hurrian Hymn No. 6
~1400 BCE
Still perfectly captures the emotion of being scammed by a copper merchant.
Some things never changeā¦
š Wikipedia is finally getting paid
Wikipedia will now be paid by Meta, Microsoft, Perplexity, and other AI companies.
Honestly? Reasonable.
Servers cost money. Humans maintain things. AI scrapes anyway.
Letās just hope the money goes to:
ā keeping the site alive
ā paying actual people
ā¦and not turning into another free-labor extraction funnelā¦
š Horses can smell your fear
A new study shows horses can literally smell fear through changes in human sweat.
They react.
Their physiology changes.
They know.
Rodeos suddenly feel even more awkwardā¦
š½ The Bank of England vs. Aliens
A former analyst says the Bank of England must prepare for financial collapse if aliens are confirmed.
Markets might panic.
Confidence might collapse.
Civil unrest might follow.
Honestly?
Aliens wouldnāt even crack the top 5 weirdest things on the news that dayā¦
š Sky Watch
High-latitude auroras possible this weekend.
Solar wind at ~700 km/s may trigger G1āG2 geomagnetic storms.
Also:
Sunspot 4341 has a beta-gamma-delta magnetic field.
Translation: angry sun noises incomingā¦
š MYSTERY PICKS OF THE DAY
š± Self-Heating Pet Pad ā because winter is ruthlessā¦
š§¬ Ancestry DNA Kit ā identify remains before 20 years passā¦
āļø Compact First-Aid / CPR Mask Kit ā be useful, not viralā¦
š Aurora Borealis Projector Lamp ā bring the sky indoorsā¦
š Ancient Music & History Book ā for when modern reality breaksā¦
(Affiliate links help keep Strange Sounds weird and alive.)
ā¢ļø OUTRO
Thatās todayās dose of reality distortion.
Be kind when you can.
Be skeptical always.
And pleaseā¦ donāt record CPR.
ā¤ļø Support Strange Sounds so the reporting continues
š Donate via PayPal
š DonorBox: Credit/Debit
š Share this newsletter
š Subscribe for daily chaos
Thank you,
Manuel
Between kidnapping attacks in Venezula, tourists setting a 40,000 acre fire in Patagonia and laughing, ginned up riots in Iran, attempts to usurp Greenland, nothing really seems strange anymore.
So there were treble clefs, musical notes and musical graphs in 1400 BC? That's amazing.