Accessories made from Cane Toad (Bufo marinus) skins. It seems that Queensland is up to the tush in Cane Toads since they are a non-native species with no natural local predators. Furthermore, they are poisonous. Anyhow, the Australian government spends a lot of money killing them and there are a lot of dead Cane Toads around to inspire entrepreneurs. Just the thing for the stylin’ Tsathoggua cultist.

Weirdness spiders are back and running! Urban legends and skeptics returned a lot this morning.
The “hot sheets” – Always to be viewed with a healthy dose of logical thought. Not that there are no links to the “Weekly World News” Or “National Enquirer”

Rejected coins of lower denomination pile up
“Rumours of demonetization of coins of lower denomination has led to people in Tamil Nadu’s southern districts refusing to accept five paise, 10 paise and 20 paise coins which were being disposed off as scrap by some traders.”

Famous painting of Washington crossing the Delaware defaced at the Met; no permanent damage
“The famous oil painting of George Washington crossing the Delaware River was vandalized at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, allegedly by a former museum employee who glued on a computer image depicting a fake view of the World Trade Center attack.”

Dutchman Sold Pieces of the Moon
“For years, Rene Veenema says he made a small fortune selling real estate plots on the moon. Now he’s in jail, on Earth.”

Killings by Malawi Lions Fuel Witchcraft Rumors
“A rampaging pride of escaped lions killed four Malawians and then disappeared without trace, game officials said on Friday, raising fears among villagers that witchcraft may be to blame for the deaths.”

The Skeptical Environmentalist: A Case Study in the Manufacture of News
“By now, most are familiar with the controversy surrounding Danish political scientist Bjorn Lomborg and the claims made in his book The Skeptical Environmentalist. The latest development took place in early January 2002 when the Danish Committees on Scientific Dishonesty issued a decision that declared Lomborg’s research “to fall within the concept of scientific dishonesty,” and to be “clearly contrary to the standards of good scientific practice.” The committee, however, did not find grounds that Lomborg “misled his readers deliberately or with gross negligence.” Instead, the decision recommends that the book should be properly understood and interpreted as a “a provocative debate-generating paper.””

Magic wands make cash disappear
“Joann Zansky believed it when the psychic told her the magic wands were blessed by nine priests and were supposed to remove negative thoughts.”

Arson man had voodoo fears
“A bridegroom set fire to his house following a row with his wife because he though it was under a voodoo curse, a court has heard.”

Scientists show how to make a UFO
“The astronomers in charge of the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory issued an unusual response Friday to widely reported claims that pictures from the sun-observing satellite contained evidence of alien spacecraft: In addition to scoffing at the claims, they showed how to turn SOHO imagery into UFO snapshots.”

Drawing from spirits
“Rita Berkowitz began to draw the image of a young woman on paper as she spoke with Robin Piccini and her daughter Lillianna at a spirit reading a little over a year ago at Angel’s Loft, a New Age shop in East Bridgewater. As soon as she outlined the shape of the head and begin to fill in the details, Piccini instantly recognized the face from an old photograph.”

UFO groups keep wary eye on Raelians
“When the Raelian cloning story broke last month, Joe Jordan felt obliged to check the latest updates on the group’s Web Site. As state section director for the Mutual UFO Network’s Brevard chapter, the Port St. John resident was already familiar with much of the sect’s dogma.”

‘Crazy talk’: Chinese scholars wary of theory that China beat Columbus to America
“Forgive Gavin Menzies for feeling a little defensive.”

State Wants to Fix Its ‘Highway to Hell’
“Hey Satan, the governor of New Mexico has a message for you: Get off the road. ”

Enemies in the mind’s eye
“His name would eventually be revealed as Joseph McMoneagle, but for the purposes of the Army’s psychic intelligence unit, he was simply Remote Viewer No. 1. One fall day in 1979 he reclined in an easy chair in an office at Fort Meade, Md. The lights were dim. Sitting nearby was an interviewer, who gave him a series of geographical coordinates that were supposed to be his mind’s destination. After about 20 minutes, McMoneagle brought himself out of a deep meditation and, as he describes it, “opened my mind.” Gradually images began to appear: a low, windowless building; a smokestack. He smelled “a strange stink,” a mixture of sulfur and natural gas. There was also a “smelting or melting activity.” After an image came to mind, he drew it roughly on a piece of paper. Another viewer, No. 29, could “see” heavy metal equipment, including tubes conducting a “heat exchange.” For him, the site emanated a “sense of power.””

Guests, ghosts give hotel ‘Shining’ review
“All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.”

Bhoot ka mela: A ghostly, ghastly (af)fair
“A fast, a dip in icy waters, a long walk. And when all this fails a severe beating with brooms and slippers — all in the name of expelling “evil spirits”.”

FBI may decide whether neighbors’ dispute is witchcraft – or racism
“Green Acres is a graceful, hilly and wooded subdivision in north St. Louis County, with mostly brick homes and ready access to St. Louis to the south and Interstate 270 to the north. It’s in Bellefontaine Neighbors – the kind of place where you might expect neighbors to get along with each other.”

Nuwaubian leader pleads guilty on child charges
“Nuwaubian leader Dwight York pleaded guilty Friday at the Putnam County Courthouse to 74 counts of child molestation, one day after he had pleaded guilty in federal court to charges of transporting children across state lines for purposes of illegal sex.”

Tracking Bigfoot
“When Washington State University professor Vaughn Bryant Jr. was offered the chance to head a new department of anthropology at Texas A&M in 1971, he had several obvious reasons to make the move.”

Explaining ghosts of Texas past … sort of
“Furniture rearranges itself. Images of people long dead appear in windows. Artifacts in a museum go missing, then mysteriously appear on the lawn. A strange perfume hangs in the hallway of a historic house. A 3-year-old girl reports seeing in a mirror the image of a woman who isn’t in the room.”

UFO-spotters make beeline for Loch Ness
““VISITORS” from another world are creating an out-of-season tourist invasion at Loch Ness. After the Inverness Courier revealed unexplained lights had been seen — and filmed — on successive nights in the sky over Drumnadrochit, UFO research groups and individual enthusiasts from around Scotland announced plans to head to the area to carry out their own investigations.”

Many in state support teaching creationism
“Half of Wisconsin’s residents favor requiring that public schools teach the biblical theory of creation along with evolution, according to a poll conducted by the University of Wisconsin Survey Center.”