The Simulation Is Running Unsupervised...
Your daily dose of natural disasters and amazing phenomena for January 21, 2026...
𧏠Humans Rebuilt a Eukaryotic Genome from Scratch
A PhD intro graphic is quietly blowing minds: the complete synthetic genome of Saccharomyces cerevisiae â rebuilt entirely by humans.
This isnât edited DNA.
This is Yeast 2.0 (Sc2.0) â the first eukaryotic organism whose entire genome has been redesigned, synthesized, and assembled from scratch.
Layer by layer. Chromosome by chromosome.
A living system rewritten like software.
It still behaves like yeast.
But now itâs modular, programmable, and future-proofed.
Weâve officially entered the era where biology is no longer just discovered â itâs compiledâŚ
đŞď¸ A âPotentially Catastrophicâ Storm Targets the US South
Forecasters warn of a massive storm stretching from Texas to the Carolinas.
Ice. Snow. Flooding. Power outages.
And yes â the Texas grid is once again looking at the sky like: âplease donât.â
Is Ted Cruz in Cancun yet?
Does FEMA still exist in a meaningful sense?
Are thoughts and prayers load-bearing infrastructure now?
Stay safe. Charge devices. Lower expectationsâŚ
đŹđą Greenlanders Troll the US by Pretending to Be Fentanyl Addicts
Greenlanders are mocking US political narratives by parodying fentanyl panic stereotypes.
Itâs dark humor.
Itâs uncomfortable.
Itâs also a scream disguised as a joke.
Cultural appropriation speedrun edition.
Laughing through the hysteria kind of laughingâŚ
đ° 400+ Millionaires and Billionaires Ask to Be Taxed More
Nearly 400 wealthy individuals are publicly calling for higher taxes on the ultra-rich.
They know something.
Wealth inequality ends empires.
And some people at the top can see the cliff edge from where theyâre standing.
Question remains:
If you really believe this⌠why not lobby harder?
â ď¸ Poker Bot Farms Are Colluding Against Humans
A poker bot network was discovered where multiple bots sit at the same table, secretly sharing cards to exploit human players.
If it can be corrupted, it will be corrupted.
Also worth remembering:
This is who youâre arguing with onlineâŚ
đď¸ UK Approves Chinese Mega-Embassy in London
The UK has approved plans for a massive new Chinese embassy complex in London.
Concerns existed about sensitive data cables nearby.
British intelligence agencies reportedly gave the green light anyway.
Why?
One large, centralized location is easier to monitor than a dozen scattered ones.
Sometimes surveillance strategy is just⌠urban planningâŚ
đŚ Himalayan Monal: Too Beautiful for This World
The Himalayan Monal looks like it was designed by someone who ignored realism constraints.
Iridescent. Unreal. Perfect.
Itâs hard to understand how anyone could see something this beautiful â alive, free â and think killing or caging it would preserve that beauty.
Some things only exist properly in the wildâŚ
đťââď¸ Why Scientists Wonât Move Polar Bears to Antarctica
The main reason scientists oppose relocating polar bears south?
Theyâd eat too many emperor penguins.
Introducing species outside their native ecosystems almost always ends badly.
(See: Australia.)
Also:
They would become bipolar bears.
đ Auroras Refuse to Stop
The geomagnetic storm that was supposed to end⌠didnât.
Earth is now entering its third straight day of geomagnetic storming after a powerful CME hit on January 19. One of the strongest in Europe for over two decades.
Auroras were seen in 25+ US states â including deserts.
Succulents under northern lights.
Auroras over Joshua Tree.
Death Valley glowing pink.
At the same time, Alaska delivered a full sky ballet of exploding, pulsing light.
Also australisâŚ
The Sun is not done with us yet.
â˘ď¸ China and Russia Dominate Global Nuclear Expansion
China and Russia accounted for 90% of new nuclear reactors begun last year.
State-led energy policy.
Exported infrastructure.
Long-term influence baked in.
While others argue, Beijing and Moscow are buildingâŚ
đď¸ Snow Slides Off a Roof and Destroys Power Infrastructure in Turkey
A video shows snow falling from a roof and causing major damage.
While watching it, one question keeps returning:
Who designed this
Who approved this
Who built this
Without once asking: âwhat about snow?â
This kills people every year.
Public safety by oversight is still public dangerâŚ
đ Satellite Captures 7-Story Waves at NazarĂŠ
A satellite image shows massive underwater plumes triggered by 7-story waves off NazarĂŠ, Portugal.
Later that same day, a surfer rode a 101-foot wave, setting a world record.
Earth does not care about your scale referencesâŚ
đ COW. TOOLS.
A cow named Veronika was recorded using a broom as a multi-functional scratching tool â stiff bristles for rough spots, soft side for sensitive areas.
First documented case of advanced bovine tool use.
Some countries now officially have cows smarter than parts of their populationâŚ
đľ Turning Off Mobile Internet Improves Mental Health in 14 Days
A randomized controlled trial found that removing mobile internet â while keeping calls and texts â significantly improved:
â Mental health
â Attention
â Overall well-being
In just two weeks.
91% of participants improved in at least one category.
Turns out the problem might not be phones.
Itâs the constant feedâŚ
đž Bobcat Launches 8 Feet Into the Air to Snatch a Bird
A trail camera captured a female bobcat leaping over 8 feet straight up to grab a bird mid-flight.
Olympic-level vertical.
Smack for a snack.
Nature still does parkour better than usâŚ
đ France Calls for NATO Exercises in Greenland
France is pushing for a NATO military exercise in Greenland.
The G7 feels like itâs flirting with becoming the G6.
We might get G6 before GTA6.
Meanwhile, China is doing the most powerful thing possible in geopolitics:
Watching quietly while rivals exhaust themselvesâŚ
⥠A Tree Struck by Lightning
Someone witnessed the aftermath of a lightning-struck tree in person.
It looks alive.
Like it remembers.
Whisper.
It can hear you nowâŚ
đ MYSTERY PICKS OF THE DAY
(Because reality wonât stabilize itself)
𧏠DIY DNA Extraction Kit â not Yeast 2.0, but close enough to feel dangerousâŚ
đŞď¸ All-Weather Emergency Power Bank (Solar + Hand-Crank) â Texas gridâcompatibleâŚ
đľ Faraday Phone Sleeve â for FDA backpedal season and selective digital silenceâŚ
â ď¸ Anti-Bot RFID Card Shield Wallet â poker bots, but make it personal securityâŚ
đ Heavy-Duty Scratch Brush (Livestock Grade) â Veronika-approved. Humans may also benefitâŚ
â ď¸ OUTRO
Synthetic genomes.
Spy storms.
Auroras in deserts.
Cows with tools.
Storms that wonât end.
Systems under strain.
If this feels overwhelming, thatâs not weakness.
Thatâs situational awareness.
đ Strange Sounds â daily weirdness, no anesthesia.
â¤ď¸ Support Strange Sounds so the reporting continues
đ Donate via PayPal
đ DonorBox: Credit/Debit
đ Share this newsletter
đ Subscribe for daily chaos
Thank you,
Manuel
When money $peaks the truth is $ilent. All the adults in the room have sold out to:
Ten Ways Billionaires Who Hate You Are Manipulating You Right Now by @thewisewolf
1) The first manipulation is the illusion of choice. You think you have two parties representing different visions for America but both parties are funded by the same billionaires, vote for the same surveillance bills, approve the same defense budgets, and serve the same corporate interests. The choice you are given is which color tie the puppet wears, not who controls the strings.
2) The second manipulation is emotional hijacking. The news does not inform you, it activates you. Every story is framed to trigger fear or anger or disgust because those emotions bypass your rational thinking and make you easier to control. You are not watching journalism. You are being subjected to psychological operations designed to keep you in a constant state of agitation.
3) The third manipulation is tribal sorting. The algorithm learns what makes you angry and feeds you more of it until your entire worldview is shaped by outrage at the other side. You are sorted into a tribe not because you chose it but because keeping you tribal keeps you predictable and profitable.
4) The fourth manipulation is false scarcity. You are told resources are limited and the other tribe is taking what belongs to you. Immigrants are stealing your jobs. Welfare recipients are draining your taxes. The other party is destroying your healthcare. Meanwhile the billionaire class has more wealth than any humans in history and could solve most of these problems tomorrow if they wanted to.
5) The fifth manipulation is memory holing. Stories that threaten powerful interests get buried or forgotten within days. Exposed crimes result in no consequences. Historical context that would help you understand the present is never taught. You are kept in a perpetual present with no past to learn from and no future to plan for.
6) The sixth manipulation is controlled opposition. The voices you think are fighting for you are often funded by the same interests they pretend to oppose. The outrage merchant on your side of the aisle is playing a character designed to keep you engaged and angry and tuned in while nothing ever actually changes.
7) The seventh manipulation is the Overton window. The range of acceptable opinion is artificially narrowed so that anything outside it seems extreme. Ideas that were mainstream fifty years ago are now treated as radical. Ideas that serve elite interests are treated as moderate common sense. You are not choosing your beliefs from the full range of human thought. You are choosing from a menu they wrote.
8) The eighth manipulation is learned helplessness. You are shown so many problems with no solutions that you eventually give up and accept that nothing can change. This is intentional. A population that believes resistance is futile does not resist. They scroll and complain and feel superior for understanding how bad things are while doing absolutely nothing about it.
9) The ninth manipulation is identity capture. Your political affiliation becomes your identity, and any attack on your party feels like an attack on you personally. This makes you defend politicians and policies that harm you because admitting they are wrong would mean admitting you were wrong, and your ego will not allow that.
10) The tenth manipulation is the most insidious of all: you are manipulated into believing you are too smart to be manipulated. Every person reading this thinks the manipulations I described apply to other people, the stupid people, the brainwashed people on the other side. That certainty is itself a manipulation. The moment you believe you are immune is the moment you become most vulnerable
All weather is now manipulated by abject evil forces. None of this weather/temperatures/storms are natural. Something needs to be done.