This Week in WTF, July 24, 2015

– The grossest thing you’ll see all day (maybe all week): You might just want to trust me on this.

– I’m sure it happens all the time: When prison inmate Ramon Somoza mailed a pro se filing to a judge in Utah, he included a razor blade along with the paperwork. This led to an investigation, but he will not face any charges. The prosecutor reportedly determined that it was an accident:

“He files a number of documents with the court, and he does not have access to white-out,” the prosecutor explained. Using the razor blade, Somoza “cuts out small strips of paper that he uses as white-out if he makes a mistake.”

That’s a really good idea—except for the mailing-it-to-the-judge part—given that correction tape is sure to be in short supply in prison. (h/t Scott Greenfield)

– Where is the deed recorded?: You might not think of real estate litigation as a place for the fanciful and bizarre, but oh how wrong you’d be: Continue reading

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Sorry to Disappoint, but Chupacabras Still Don’t Exist (UPDATED)

You know that thing in south Texas that people think is a chupacabra?

It’s a raccoon with a hair-loss problem.

If you don’t believe me, take a look at this beast:

Via Huffington Post

Via Huffington Post

That’s not the chupacabra’s dad, nor is it any other mysterious or mythical creature. That’s what a bear looks like under all that fur.

"Lounging spectacled bear" by Tambako the Jaguar [CC BY-ND 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/)], via Flickr

A raccoon looks just about as unfamiliar without all the hair. Or fur. I’m not sure which mammals have what. Continue reading

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Monday Morning Cute: Newly-Discovered Cuteness

Scientists have discovered a “new” species of carnivore, the olinguito, in South America. I say “new” in quotes because the animal is not new, just the discovery. The olinguito has probably been scampering around the jungle for eons, not caring that humans had not assigned it a genus and species (Bassaricyon neblina, in case you’re curious).

To be fair, the olinguito is pretty adorable.

By Mark Gurney [CC-BY-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

 The olinguito gets its name from the classically-beautiful actress Lena Olin:

Bobby Mcdobbin [CC BY-SA 2.0], on Flickr

Wait, that’s not right. It gets its name from the olingo, a close-relative that also lives in South America, and is presumably slightly bigger than the olinguito. I don’t know if the olingo gets its name from the Olin family, but I sort of doubt it.

Lest you get carried away with the olinguito’s cuteness, keep in mind that it is a member of the family Procyonidae, part of the order Carnivora. So while it is in the same taxonomic orders as puppies and kittens, its closest well-known relative is the raccoon.

Photo credits: Mark Gurney [CC-BY-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons; Bobby Mcdobbin [CC BY-SA 2.0], on Flickr.

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