Why are dogs jumping off this bridge?

This is Overtoun Bridge in Dumbarton, Scotland. As far as one can see, it looks pretty standard doesn't it? Far from it.

The strange thing about this bridge is the large number of dogs that have committed suicide here. I am not joking. This is where local dogs come to end it all by leaping inexplicably from the bridge to their deaths.

Studies estimate that since the 1960's over five-hundred dogs have died here.

The majority of the dogs leaping from this bridge have been long-nosed breeds. Stranger still, there are reports of dogs that manage to survive the jump only to return to the bridge and jump again. Insane!

The current explanation for this is apparently a nest of minks (weasel-type creature) residing underneath the stone bridge; studies on the odours given off by the animals have shown strong reaction in the typical breeds doing the jumping.

Still, totally mest.






Wksc.

Lake Nyos does not screw around

I can see somebody being afraid of water for obvious reasons. You can't breathe in it, it's usually freezing cold, and not everyone knows how to swim in it. But this is a new one: In 1986 in Cameroon, Lake Nyos unexpectedly pumped out a massive discharge of CO2, suffocating 1,700 people.

I find it terrifying to think that a lake can kill you without you even jumping in it. It seems sort of vengeful doesn't it?

A pocket of magma lies beneath the lake which periodically releases CO2 and other deadly gases into the water. It is thought that a landslide initially cause the gas to be released; in the amount of 1.6 million tonnes of Carbon Dioxide. 

What you essentially have here is an invisible volcano. The cloud (heavier than air) rushed down valleys and mountainsides into small farms and villages, suffocating people while they slept. 

Several weeks after eruption

This story does have a happy ending, in recent years, French geologists have installed degassing pipes into the lake to actually control the outflow of CO2 from the lake to prevent another catastrophic eruption of this kind. 

Wksc.

Volcanoes can sneak up on you

So just imagine you are a Mexican farmer in 1943. You are plowing your crops one fine day in February when the ground starts to shake and cracks open, hurling hot ash and rocks into the sky. When 1944 rolls around, you have volcano in your goddamn backyard.

Pulido spent much of his off-time
being a badass

This is what happened to a pimp named Dionisio Pulido back in the day. Of all the problems a farmer could have to deal with, this would be by far the coolest. I wonder how it works since this all took place on his land, did he end up owning his own volcano? Awesome!

Before the volcano was born, Pulido reported being awoken by small earthquakes and tremors. Whilst plowing his crops as he normally did, he noticed a crack in the ground; presumably from the earthquakes he had been feeling. There is the strong rotten egg smell of sulphur in the air.

But it wasn't until a few weeks later when he found himself stricken with terror amazement.

The crack had grown considerably, and hot gas was now shooting out of it. I would be shitting my pants, but as you can see, Dioniso Pulido is old-school and he kept it real.

Day by day, this crack grew ever larger; spewing out hot ash, smoke and volcanic bombs, becoming a smoldering mound of ash and rock larger than Pulido`s house. Weeks later, the mound had become a large hill, now spitting lava into the sky.

God enjoys punishing sinners

The locals take this as a sign from God. Fearing the end, they pray for a miracle. They pray for the mountain to stop growing.

God does not listen.

Instead, the mountain continued to grow, reaching an eventual height of 424 metres (over 1,300 feet). Insane! The ever increasing monster buried the small village of Paricutin in deep lava flows; leading to the relocation of the entire town.

The awesome thing here is that scientists got to watch the entire volcanic process from beginning to end. That and the fact that Pulido gets the honour of 'owning' the youngest volcano in North America.



The volcano was officially named Paricutin after the original townsite.








Wksc.