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‘Aliens’ crawling on coast spark panic online:
‘Is it safe to go into the water?’
By Ben Cost
December 14, 2022 1:45pm Updated
There’s something in the water!
A South African man sparked hysteria among the online masses after they mistook his creepy pictures of dead plants for aliens emerging from the sea. His photos were shared to a South African Facebook group, where they’re currently scaring up hilarious responses, Kennedy News has reported.
“I was surprised [by the reaction],” Jan Vorster told Kennedy News of the extraterrestrial-seeming pics, which were snapped in his hometown of Still Bay, Western Cape. “I thought that people would have fun with it, but then it was very serious, some of it was extremely serious.”
He added, “A lot of people were scared of these alien-looking sea monsters. It was like ‘Jaws’ — is it safe to go into the water?”
Kennedy News and Media
The 62-year-old farm worker had taken pics of dead aloe vera plants — an evergreen succulent prized for its healing properties — that he’d lined up on the beach at sunrise, so that they evoked tentacled monsters invading the shore. He then posted the otherworldly pics to Facebook in an effort to raise awareness about environmental degradation.
“I thought I could use this as a metaphor for how people see these plants as aliens, but we are actually the two-legged aliens messing up their world,” Vorster described. “That was the idea.”
Unfortunately, Vorster’s eco-conscious photo op was taken literally after users thought that the expired desert flora were actually aliens making an intergalactic beachhead — reminiscent of Orson Welles’ hysteria-stirring “War of the Worlds” radio broadcast in 1938.
“Just wanted to cancel my vacation,” exclaimed one aghast viewer of the unorthodox eco-PSA. “Because of things like this, I don’t swim. I’m already scared of a shark.”
Kennedy News and Media
“Please go back into the ocean,” pleaded another, while one petrified commenter wrote, “Are you serious? Holy moly… scary.”
“Never seen those before in all the years living on the coast,” declared another. “Maybe they’re only in Cape waters.”
“They look like some alien thing from War of the Worlds with Tom Cruise,” exclaimed one commenter, referencing the lanky invaders in Steven Spielberg’s 2005 sci-fi remake.
“People kept asking me when they [the creatures] were coming out, and if they were only coming out at night,” explained Vorster, who also re-created the eerie performance piece at a nearby river.
Kennedy News and Media
In an attempt to dispel panic, the bewildered eco-warrior tried to explain that this was no SeaT.
However, his aloe vera-fication only made things worse as critics claimed he’d “misled them” and “should be crucified,” Vorster claimed.
“People Googled the aloe ferox [scientific name] and couldn’t put two and two together,” he lamented. “They kept saying, ‘Please help us, because this is not a plant. This can’t be a plant.’ “
Some online worrywarts even sent Vorster’s photos to an environmental scientist, who confirmed that the figures weren’t dangerous to humans.
"A lot of people were scared of these alien-looking sea monsters," said Vorster.
"It was like Jaws - is it safe to go into the water?"
Kennedy News and Media
Despite the backlash, the undaunted farmer hopes to create similar environmental PSAs in the future. “I’ve learned a lot, and I’m very motivated to continue with Aloe feroxes and keep focusing on nature-related issues,” Vorster declared.
This isn’t the first time a beached object has been mistaken for a monster.
Earlier this month, a baffled British beachcomber experienced vex on the beach after sharing pics of a bizarre beast they found washed ashore — with many viewers comparing it to the legendary Loch Ness monster.
‘World’s cutest dog’ is completely round:
‘When I have a bad day, I look at this dog’
By Emily Lefroy, NYPost
December 16, 2022 8:13pm Updated
A toy poodle from Japan is having a ball with the unofficial title of “world’s cutest dog.”
Tens of thousands of adoring fans are lapping up the spherical, fluffy shape of Mohu, a 6-year-old pooch from Osaka.
Mohu is mature and moves at a slow pace — and she doesn’t quite understand people’s obsession, according to her owner, Nanae.
”I don’t know why she’s so popular,” Nanae told SWNS. “She always gets looked at on the street, and I get asked all the time what breed she is.”
Mohu is paws-itively prized on Instagram and TikTok, where she has rounded up about 120,000 followers between the two pages.
Mohu is adored by hundreds of thousands of people all around the world.
Nanae often posts photos and videos of Mohu posing in her home and playing with her toys. Her followers are always begging for more.
“This is Mohu. She just got a fresh haircut and is really feeling herself. Nothing makes her more confident than being completely round. 13/10,” the Twitter account WeRateDogs declared Wednesday.
“Dogrates, I feel we need to alert all scientists, Mohu might be the roundest thing on Earth,” one fan barked.
“I love her so much. I saw a video of her going into a tight li’l space where all her fluff disappeared, and it was like magic,” another howled.
“When I have a bad day, I look at this dog and feel much better,” one devotee confessed. “So cute!”
“I feel like all my life’s problems would go away if I had a dog like that,” agreed another, with a third professing, “I would forfeit all my assets to her.”
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