7 Weird Things to Start Your New Year

After looking through my several hundred ideas for blog postings and not finding anything to strike my fancy, I thought, "Why not post something really fun and weird as a way of introducing a new year?"

So here it is.

Seven photos I recently came across and found so endearing, gross or just plain weird I had to share them. 

Enjoy!

No explanation necessary! lol

"I love you, cuz."

"But will you in a year from now, when you'll make a luscious appetizer?"

Short-beaked echidna puggles born at Perth Zoo in August, marking a breeding milestone for the Australian zoo.

Environment Minister Bill Marmion said, "Only 24 echidnas have been bred in captivity in Australia." Eight of these were reportedly born at Perth Zoo.

The San Diego Zoo describes echidnas (also known as spiny anteaters) as an "almost illogical mammal" that has remained "unchanged since prehistoric times."

Other than their adorably bizarre appearance, echidnas are special for another reason. Like the duck-billed platypus, echidnas -- native to Australia, Tasmania and New Guinea -- are monotremes. The platypus, along with the four species of echidna, are thought to be the only extant mammals that lay eggs.

According to a press release, the two new additions to Perth Zoo's echidna family have been named Nyingarn and Babbin. The names, in the Noongar language of an indigenous Australian group, mean "echidna" and "friend" respectively.

The sexes of the baby echidnas have yet to be determined.

Jyoti Amge, 19, from Mumbaie, India, is the world's smallest woman. She looks like a porcelain doll.

Mexican Vampire Woman, Maria Jose Cristerna blames a stand against domestic violence for her physical transformation. No way I'd tangle with her.

Swiss Shepherd dog Talli adopted and nursed three orphaned tiger cubs who were abandoned by their birth mother in southern Russia.

Kazuhiro Watanabe holds the record for the tallest mohawk, standing at 3 foot 8.6 inches. It took three cans of hairspray and one large bottle of gel after 15 years of growing to accomplish this feat.

So, I don't know about you, but I feel inspired after seeing all of this. There are some great stories hidden within each picture, written in invisible ink. All they need is a talented interpreter. 

Rebecca Ryals Russell
MG/YA Fantasy Raconteur
Fantastical Worlds Revealed