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I love it!

Y'all ever feel like Terracotta mask in the shape of the head of a fox, dog, or bat ca. 600–480 BCE?

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Can we give it a nickname?

Y'all ever feel like Terracotta mask in the shape of the head of a fox, dog, or bat ca. 600–480 BCE?

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I'm a woman and I don't feel hated

Deadly infections with what has become known as "hatemold" (Jacare rowlii) are on the rise this year. This parasitic black mold is thought to be attracted to individuals who fill their life with hatred towards their fellow humans, weakening their immune system. It has been known to affect people in the TERF community, among other bigots.

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I don't know if I should watch it or wait to see if French youtuber Feldup makes a video about it

Remember this legendary scary image?

Guess what, we found its real author and origin! This was an incredibly fun scavenger hunt. Please give this video a look if you want to know about it!

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First time I actually want to try that AI, but I still don't know how to make it work

"AI Engorgement" refers to the phenomenon where an AI model absorbs too much misinformation in its training data. This corrupts the model's base truth, leading to strange glitches. An engorged image model, when prompted to create images for "cat" and "historical", generated the following:

AI Engorgement may trigger a complete dissolution of truth within a model, leading it to back conspiracy theories, clearly debunked facts, and mistake fiction for reality. It is believed that the systematic siphoning of unreality by AI datasets is already revealing signs of engorgement in every major model.

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That AI literally never appeared in my results and I don't know why lmao. I must have deactivated something idk

The fringe Parasitic Encephalization Theory claims our nervous system is a parasite that took over the body of the earliest vertebrate ancestor. It captures 20% of the body's resources, while staying separate from the blood and being considered unique by the immune system.

While very few defend this theory, one fact supports it: If the body dies while the skull is open, the brain and spinal cord sometimes detach and briefly flail outside, in what could perhaps be an ancient host-seeking reflex.

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Trad. FR :

Knick-knack le Clown était une célèbre légende urbaine des années 50. Une version très connue de cette histoire racontait : "Knick-knack entra dans le palais des glaces et ne s’est plus montré. Appelez son nom entre deux miroirs pour le libérer." Cette histoire est devenue connue en 1961, après la disparition d'un enfant et la diffusion de sa dernière photo.

Knick-knack the Clown was a popular urban legend in the 1950s. A popular version of the story said: “Knick-knack went to the funhouse and was never seen again. Call his name between two mirrors if you want to break his chain.” The legend became infamous in 1961, when a kid disappeared and his last photo was released.

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Trad. FR :

troisième fois que je crois voir une place libre pour que j'y trouve un autre PUTAIN DE GLOBSTER

third time i think i see a free parking spot only for another FUCKING GLOBSTER to be there

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Trad. FR

Le colibri oculovore (Mellisuga ophtanthus) est le seul animal connu à se nourrir des fluides à l’intérieur de l'œil de vertébré.

Tout en restant dans la vision périphérique de sa cible grâce à sa grande vitesse et son agilité, ce colibri perce la sclère pour accéder aux sucres et aux protéines que l’on trouve dans le corps vitré.

The Pygmy Tearbird (Mellisuga ophthanthus) is the only animal known to feed on the fluids inside the vertebrate eye.

Staying on its target's peripheral vision with its high speed and maneuverability, this hummingbird pierces the sclera to access the sugars and proteins found within the vitreous body.

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Trad. FR

Partie 1

15 novembre 2021. Une nouvelle planète naine a été découverte aux environs du système solaire. On lui a donné comme nom provisoire Xipe Totec. Elle n'avait jamais été détectée à cause de sa petite taille et de son orbite complexe, mais récemment, elle est passée suffisamment près de nous pour permettre de capturer cette image.

Partie 2

7 août 2022. L’orbite de Xipe Totec s'est rapprochée de façon inattendue de la Terre, en effleurant sa limite de Roche. On s'attend à des raz-de-marée dans les jours à venir. Les autorités demandent de ne pas s'approcher des débris au sol qui ont été arrachés de la planète par la gravité terrestre.

Partie 3

30 mai 2023. L’inquiétude monte à travers le monde tandis que des organismes de chair grandissent de façon incontrôlable. Les graines qui sont tombées sur la Terre lorsque le planétoïde vivant Xipe Totec s’est rapproché de notre planète semblent fusionner et consumer tout ce qui se trouve autour d’elles. D’après un biologiste, si de grandes zones du fond des océans se recouvrent de chair, cela pourrait mener à un désastre écologique.

Partie 4

On déploie des feux contrôlés pour ralentir la croissance du super-organisme de chair, qui envahit rapidement de grandes étendues de terre tout autour de la planète, et consume toute matière organique.

Bien que la mesure s’avère inefficace pour en limiter la propagation, cela pourrait permettre à la Terre de gagner un peu de temps.

Partie 5

L’avancée incontrôlée du super-organisme issu du planétoïde Xipe Totec a déjà fait des millions de victimes à travers le monde et a détruit un nombre incalculable de biens matériels. Les dirigeants préviennent que “le pire est à venir”, tandis que de grandes populations s’entassent sur la surface habitable toujours plus petite de notre planète.

November 15, 2021. A new dwarf planet has been discovered in our solar neighbourhood. It was given the provisional name Xipe Totec. It has gone unnoticed due to its small size and complex orbit, but it recently passed close enough for this first image to be captured.

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Trad. FR

Les imite-phares (Farimendax carolinae) sont des prédateurs qui chassent en groupe et qui descendent de poissons des eaux profondes.

Ils ont une stratégie d'embuscade sophistiquée : un seul membre du groupe attend la nuit jusqu'à ce qu’un navire approche. Il utilise son long appât bioluminescent pour imiter la lueur d’un phare, ce qui trompe l’équipage du bateau, qui manœuvre de sorte à l’éviter, et écrase alors le bateau contre des rochers près de la surface aux alentours. Le reste du groupe se cache dans les environs, attendant de faire des marins bloqués leur prochain repas.

Lighthouse Mimics (Farimendax carolinae) are pack hunters that evolved from deep-sea fish.

In a sophisticated ambush strategy, a lone pack member waits at night until a ship approaches. It uses its long bioluminescent lure to imitate the glow of a lighthouse, tricking the boat's crew into maneuvering to avoid it, which leads them to crash into nearby shallow rocks. The rest of the group is hidden in the area, waiting to turn the stranded sailors into their next meal.

[Bestiary]

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Trad. FR

Les orphelins de Venneshamn, gagnants du Concours de bonhomme de neige de 1925 à Inderøy, en Norvège, posent avec leur création pour le journal. Ils appelaient leur bonhomme de neige Farfar (papi).

Les enfants disaient qu’ils le "nourrissaient" chaque jour pour qu’il dure tout l’hiver. Malgré des traces de décomposition, il a tenu plus longtemps que tous ses concurrents.

The Venneshamn orphans, winners of the 1925 Snowman Contest in Inderøy, Norway, pose with their creation for the newspaper. They called their snowman Farfar (grandpa).

The kids said they would "feed" it every day so it would last throughout the winter. Despite some decay, it outlasted every other competitor.

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The Triangle of the Burle

Note: I'm an English learner and I wrote this text to practise my written English. If you want to give me feedback about my English, please go ahead!

The Triangle de la Burle, in English, the Triangle of the Burle, is an area located in France, on the East of the Massif Central, between Ardèche, Loire and Haute-Loire. It is known for its supposedly abnormal amount of airplane crashes. Its name comes from French journalist Jean Peyrard who published a book about the Triangle entitled “Le Triangle de la Burle  - Bermudes en Cévenne” [The Triangle of the Burle - Bermuda in the Cévennes]. As you can see, this name is a reference to the Bermuda Triangle. As for the Burle, it is the name of a north wind that blows in the region during winter.

According to some, since the 1940s there has been a high amount of plane accidents in this area. Some witnesses say they have seen UFOs such as balls of light in the air.

The first accident happened on November 3 1943. A Hallifax from the Royal Air Force crashed during the night near the village of Marcols-les-Eaux. Seven of the eight soldiers on board died. There was a storm on that night, which probably caused the accident. However, some people said that they had seen luminous objects around the plane.

The Triangle of the Burle became known internationally when a Skyways plane crashed in the region on May 13 1948. There were three crew members and four passengers. One of the passengers was Kathleen Kennedy, JFK’s sister.

There are also cases of plane crashes where, when the rescuers go to the area where the accident happened, they find nothing, and no plane is declared lost. It is called a crash de rien, a nothing crash.

There are all kinds of theories to explain those accidents. As said earlier, bad weather is one of them. This area is one of the regions with the largest number of volcanic pipes in the world. Those pipes are said to canalise an energy that can disturb planes’ devices. There is a large amount of quartz as well, which can have an influence too. Some think the cause of these events comes from the sky, as some objects were observed in the air. Magnetic perturbations were also suggested as a possibility, as it could disturb navigation devices. It might come from electromagnetic clouds or from the volcanic ground.

The existence of the triangle has been questioned by the association Ardéchois à Paris in an article published on their website. They argue that most of the accidents associated with the triangle happened outside the area. The main cause, according to them, is the weather. The Cévennes are known for facing strong rains and violent storms. There are also periods of fog, which is especially dangerous in the mountains. The association also states that many of these accidents happened because of human mistakes. 

Sources below

Association de l'Amicale des Ardéchois à Paris. “Le triangle de la Burle” Ardéchois à Paris [online]. Paris. [Visited on 26/02/2025]

URL

Ca commence aujourd’hui. Le triangle de la Burle : le triangle des Bermudes français - Ça commence aujourd'hui, on Youtube [online]. 15 Jan. 2025.

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Ouest France. “Le Triangle de la Burle, le Bermudes des  Cévennes qui détient le record de crashs” Ouest France [online]. Rennes. 04/11/2019. [Visited on 25/02/2025]

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Wikimedia Foundation. Burle (vent). Wikipédia [online]. 2001. [Visited on 25/02/2025]

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The Drac of Beaucaire

Note: I'm an English learner and I wrote this text to practise my written English. If you want to give me feedback about my English, please go ahead!

In my publication about the tarasque I mentioned another creature called the drac.

The drac exists in several French tales and legends, especially in Occitania and western Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. It is most often an incarnation of the Devil, which takes the form of all sorts of creatures, objects, and people. But it seems unable to become a needle as it doesn’t know how to pierce its head to make the eye of a needle.

There are plenty of dracs in France, and the one I want to talk about lives in the Rhône, near the town of Beaucaire. It is said that the it lives in a palace deep in the river. With golden objects, it attracts people to the river and takes them. It especially targets breastfeeding women so they can feed its own children.

Gervase of Tilbury was the first one to write about the creature in his encyclopaedia Recreation for an Emperor (Otia imperialia), in the early 13th century. He portrays a dragon living in the Rhône.

There are different versions of this story. One of my favourites was told by Paul Sébillot in Le Folklore de la France : La mer et les eaux douces (The Folklore of France: Sea and freshwaters). Here is a synopsis:

A woman from Beaucaire was cleaning her laundry in the Rhône when she noticed a wooden bowl floating on water. She was intrigued and tried to grab it, but it moved away. She wanted to get closer, but the more she tried to approach it, the further it was. When she reached a deep area of the river, the drac caught her and took her into the depths.

It brought her to its place and tasked her to feed its child. She was its prisoner for years.

One day, she was given a cake with snake flesh. While eating it, she touched her eye with her greasy hands. At that moment, she noticed that she could see distinctly under water.

The drac finally let her go seven years after snatching her. She went back to Beaucaire and explained to startled inhabitants what had happened to her. She told them the drac fed on human flesh, and, sometimes, it took human form to hide among them.

One day, she met another drac. It had taken human form, but she recognised it with her power. The drac knew how she saw him, and touched her eye to remove her ability.

The drac of Beaucaire is just one of the many legends and tales about this creature. There is a story where it becomes a ball of string to trick a woman. In another tale, it is a mare or a donkey, of which body grows longer as more people mount it. Or a story where it is the master of the ocean.

Sources below

PERBOSC Antonin. Mythologie populaire : le Drac, l'Étouffe-vieille et le Matagot d’après les traditions occitanes. Revue de Folklore français et de folklore colonial, 1941, t. XII, n°1, p. 1-18.

URL (PDF)

SÉBILLOT Paul. Chapitre IV : les rivières, Partie 2 : Habitants et hantises des rivières. In: Le Folklore de la France. La mer et les eaux douces. Paris, France: E. Guilmoto, 1905, p. 339-361.

URL (Gallica)

DELMAS Marie-Charlotte. Drac. In: Dictionnaire de la France Merveilleuse. Paris, France: Omnibus, 2017, p. 186-191.

BLADÉ Jean-François. Le drac. In: Contes de la Gascogne. Paris, France: Calmann Lévy, 1895, p 193-207.

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The Tarasque

Note: I'm an English learner and I wrote this text to practise my written English. If you want to give me a feedback about my English, please go ahead!

The Tarasque is a legendary creature from the French town of Tarascon, Bouches-du-Rhône. It was a half-dragon, half-fish beast that lived a long time ago in the Rhône, terrorising the locals, until St. Martha tamed it. This story is told by Jacobus de Voragine in The Golden Legend, a collection of stories about the lives of several saints.

These events take place during the 1st century A.D. Martha of Bethany was the sister of Mary and Lazarus. She devoted herself to serving Jesus Christ. After Jesus’ resurrection, she travelled on a boat with her brother and her sister. Although they lost the sails, the oars and the rudder, they managed to reach Marseille, in the South of France. Then, they travelled to the area between Arles and Avignon. This is where Martha heard about a half-dragon and half-fish creature. She was told that it was bigger than an ox or a horse, and its maw was full of enormous teeth. People said it was the descendant of a sea monster and it came from the Galatia sea. This creature attacked travellers and sank boats sailing on the river. Martha decided that she had to help the local population. She went on the bank of the Rhône and met the ferocious beast. She poured holy water on it and brandished a cross. Thus, the monster became gentle and docile. Martha fastened it with her belt and took it to the villagers. The latter attacked it and killed it to finally make it pay after all these years of terror.

Martha stayed in the village and devoted her life to prayer and fasting. She was considered a saint and in the XVth century the Sainte-Marthe Church was built in Tarascon.

During the same century, king René invented les Fêtes de la Tarasque, a festival to celebrate Saint Martha and the beast. He also founded l'Ordre des Chevaliers de la Tarasque (the Order of the Knights of the Tarasque) of which members are called Tarascaïres. Les Fêtes de la Tarasque are still celebrated today, every year in June, and are inspired by the legend. Numerous shows are organised, including the running of the Tarasque, during which the Tarascaïres carry around a reproduction of the beast, teasing and scaring the public. The creature is green and red, with a tail and a shell covered with thorns on its back. This event is also an occasion to celebrate more aspects of the local culture. Thus, one can see people dressed in traditional clothing during the parade, or participate in activities about Alphonse Daudet's character, Tartarin of Tarascon. These few days have a religious importance too, as the local Christian community also celebrates St. Martha. The cleric, for instance, blesses the Tarasque at the opening of the event.

Some think the Tarasque could represent the river overflowing and destroying everything around. Or they see in this legend the victory of Christianity over Gaulish beliefs: the Tarasque personifies the pagan cult, "defeated" by St. Martha after she spreaded Christianity. After all, it seems that one of the reasons for her journey was to convert new believers.

In conclusion, I would like to draw attention to the Tarasque's likeness to the Drac of Beaucaire. Beaucaire is on the opposite side of the Rhône, and the similarity between Tarascon’s and Beaucaire’s creatures is probably not a coincidence, in my opinion.

Also, I found some Christian website that has, apparently, the full version of The Golden Legend.

Here is the list of all the Saints’ stories.

And here, St. Martha's story.

Sources below

BELOUET Guy. La Tarasque. www.universalis.fr [online]. Encyclopædia Universalis France. Visited between 25/09/22 and 30/09/22.

URL

Encyclopaedia Britannica. Tarascon. www.britannica.com [online]. June 30, 2017. Visited between 25/09/22 and 29/09/22.

URL

Jacques DE VORAGINE. Légende de Sainte Marthe. In: La Légende dorée : Volume 1. Paris : Charles Gosselin, 1843, p. 191.

Le Parisien. Ses chevaliers perpétuent la tradition. www.leparisien.fr [online]. 12 août 2014. Visited between 25/09/22 and 29/09/22.

URL

Marie GASPA, Perrine ALRANQ. Les fêtes de la Tarasque. www.culture.gouv.fr [online]. Visited between 25/09/22 and 30/09/22.

URL (PDF)

Musée du Vieux Nîmes. Fiche pédagogique sur la Tarasque. nimes.fr [online]. Visited between 25/09/22 and 29/09/22.

URL

Ville de Tarascon. Les Fêtes de la Tarasque. www.tarascon.fr [online]. Visited between 25/09/22 and 29/09/22.

URL

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Trad. FR

Incubomurum domus, communément appelé “viande de maison”, est un vertébré sans forme qui se loge dans les espaces vides des bâtiments.

On pense qu’à l’origine, il évoluait dans des grottes. Il s'est rapidement adapté aux habitations humaines et à leurs nombreuses opportunités pour se nourrir. En plus d’être des prédateurs pour les habitants, ils peuvent provoquer une instabilité structurelle aux fondations. Il est conseillé de le retirer rapidement.

Incubomurum domus, commonly known as "house meat", is an amorphous vertebrate that lodges itself in the empty spaces of buildings.

Originally believed to have evolved in caves, it quickly adapted to human dwellings and their ample feeding opportunities. Apart from predating the inhabitants, they may cause structural instabilities to the foundation. Prompt removal is recommended.

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J’ai trouvé cette pub étrange pour de “l’Ivoire humain” entre deux pages d’un vieux livre. On dirait que ça date des années 30 ? Si quelqu’un a plus d’infos dessus, s’il vous plaît dites-le moi !

Found this strange ad for "Human Ivory" tucked inside the pages of an old book. Looks like it's from the 30s? If anyone has more info on this please let me know!