Surprising and Strange

Bill Murray ‘ghostbusted’ at Kit Carson Park?

“My friends were out at 1am smoking weed at Kit Carson Park in Escondido when they saw Bill Murray walking through the woods like a phantom.” — Jibby_von_HaHa on Imgur and Reddit Secret Pokemon Go character? Look-alike or hoax? Big Foot, abominable snowman and Hodgee the friendly Lake Hodges monster be damned, meet the latest myth to blow through Escondido town, the ghost of Bill Murray….


In search of…Big Tepee

Big Tepee? Do you know the way, Jose’? Go around Escondido. Ask anyone about the Big Tepee. Since we can’t bet dollars against donuts anymore — some donuts cost much more than a dollar — let’s wager dollars against Chargers super bowl appearances that people asked that question will believe you should go to a big tepee of the medical kind. There’s an answer to…



Why are so few people born on Christmas Day, New Year’s and other holidays?

Christmas and New Year’s are days of celebration in many parts of the world when people gather with family and friends. One thing many typically don’t celebrate on those days is a birthday. That’s because Dec. 25 is the least popular day in the U.S., Australia and New Zealand to give birth. In England, Wales and Ireland, it’s the second-least popular, behind Dec. 26, when…


Why won’t scientific evidence change the minds of Loch Ness monster true believers?

You may have noticed a curious recent announcement: An international research team plans to use state-of-the-art DNA testing to establish once and for all whether the Loch Ness monster exists. And for those locally, check out The Grapevine’s consideration of our local monster wannabe, Hodgee, the friendly Lake Hodges Moster, posted  here… Regardless of the results, it’s unlikely the test will change the mind of…


Tracking the wild parrots of San Diego County

Seen a wild pandemonium of parrots lately? Report it immediately. That’s the question and request posed by University of San Diego Biology Instructor Dr. Janel Ortiz and her San Diego Parrot Project, along  with “parrot sighting submission form” and a hardy SDPP thank you. Ortiz took the academic show on the road Wednesday. That’s when she and her flock of students took flight with a…


Jack Cust Story — ‘One Degree of ‘Dr. Strangeglove’

The ghost of Richard Lee “Dick” Stuart was alive and well that warm, languid evening at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on Gene Autrey Way. Many of you weren’t born when Stuart, infamously known as Dr. Strangeglove following the Stanley Kubrick 1964 classic of the same name, held court and, oopsy-daisy, drop-kicked balls from 1958 to 1969. Stuart didn’t just butcher the rawhide. He stewed, filleted,…




Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps: He was a giant

Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps: He was a giant Oh, what a long —- and sudsy —- trip it has been for Dr. Emmanuel H. Bronner and the soap he created, then popularized along with a cleansing dose of proselytizing. Bronner may be gone now, but nowhere near forgotten given the hundreds upon hundreds of Web pages devoted to his memory. These pages are devoted to…