Real-Life Weirdness

[Tymathee]

A bizarre occurrence of paranormal activity... a disembodied pair of legs appears to run down the street! (8:25 min mark)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNiidQuD8hw

Similar compilation videos could be used as a source of inspiration for weird happenings, perhaps for a campaign centered around investigating such occurrences.

[Anders]

Want lost wonders to grace your world and make it more lifelike? Here are seven examples of what the ancient Romans could do when they put their minds to it.

[Johnny1A.2]

All right, now this is definitely a possible source for gaming use, and it's interesting to watch on its own:

Ocean catches fire

Short and sweet: a seafloor pipeline leaked, a fire broke out on the surface, it's extinguished now but it burned for several hours on Friday and made a fascinating visual.

[Flyndaran]

Obviously, a Balrog cave flooded.

[Polydamas]

In the deserts of Yemen, there is a bottomless sinkhole which emits birds and sulphurous smells. The locals think it is cursed and some of them refuse to speak about it directly; a few geologists descended part way and returned with some vague comments. That is totally a setting in a Lovecraftian, modern action / spy / thriller, or GURPS Hot Spots: The Incense Trail campaign!

https://www.accuweather.com/en/trave...mystery/966921

[Anders]

The lake that never gives up her dead.

The corpses sink and become encased in a hard substance formed from fat (I would make a magnificent corpse) and if you dive into a sunken ship, you may find a white zombie-ish corpse following you around the ship. Is it guided by the currents your flippers cause or by something else entirely. A malevolent will, angry that you invaded its tomb?

[ak_aramis]

Originally Posted by Anders

The lake that never gives up her dead.

The corpses sink and become encased in a hard substance formed from fat (I would make a magnificent corpse) and if you dive into a sunken ship, you may find a white zombie-ish corpse following you around the ship. Is it guided by the currents your flippers cause or by something else entirely. A malevolent will, angry that you invaded its tomb?

that waxy substance is adipocere /ˈadəpōsir/ - essentially, fat rendered into bar-soap consistency by chemistry...

Not that you're allowed to dive those wrecks. They're graves. The permissions are few, and almost exclusively to documentary crews.

[Agemegos]

Originally Posted by ak_aramis

that waxy substance is adipocere /ˈadəpōsir/ - essentially, fat rendered into bar-soap consistency by chemistry...

It’s also known as “grave wax”, because corpses also form it in graves where the soil is wet. Also as “corpse wax”.

[Dr. Beckenstein]

Originally Posted by L.J.Steele

https://hypebeast.com/2021/6/salvato..._23_8cnmElAvBE

Italian artist Salvatore Garau has just sold an invisible sculpture for $18,000 USD. The Io Sono (I am) sculpture, as the artist explains, exists but just not in material form, and is actually more like a “vacuum.”

Update: Garau is accused of plagiarism by another artist.

Nothing is safe anymore. And how much worth is my copy now?

[Irish Wolf]

Originally Posted by Dr. Beckenstein

Update: Garau is accused of plagiarism by another artist.

Nothing is safe anymore. And how much worth is my copy now?

I think the descendants of Hans Christian Andersen, if any, should sue for plagiarism. I mean, clearly this Florida artist stole the idea directly from the classic story, "The Emperor's New Clothes"!