Science & Environment

[spaminator]

TikTok prankster jailed for spraying groceries with pesticides for clicks
Smith said he performs these pranks as a 'troll for social media'" and earns $6,000-$10,000 a month

Author of the article:Washington Post
Washington Post
Amber Ferguson
Published Dec 30, 2024 • Last updated 1 day ago • 3 minute read

Charles Smith was arrested Dec. 21 after admitting to spraying bug killer on produce in an Arizona Walmart for a social media video.
Charles Smith was arrested Dec. 21 after admitting to spraying bug killer on produce in an Arizona Walmart for a social media video.
Charles Smith walked into a Walmart, picked up a can of bug spray, and sprayed produce and other food items, according to police in Mesa, Arizona – all in the name of going viral on social media.


The 27-year-old, known online as Wolfie Kahletti and Wolfie Party, faces a felony count for “introducing poison,” along with three misdemeanor charges for criminal damage, endangerment, and theft after the Dec. 19 incident at the store.

According to a police report obtained by The Washington Post, Smith entered the store, took a can of bug spray from a shelf, and sprayed it on vegetables, fruit, and rotisserie chickens.

He later posted video of the episode on his TikTok page and Instagram stories. In the now-deleted videos, Smith is seen wearing a black hoodie and pink bandanna as he records the entire incident.

Smith returned to the store about 10 minutes later and recorded himself attempting to gather the contaminated items and wheeling them away in a cart to the rear of the store. It’s unclear whether he managed to retrieve everything. Authorities reported that Walmart ultimately had to remove products worth $931 from the shelves.



“It should be noted that the time between when the defendant sprayed the items to when he placed them into the cart, left plenty of time for customers to take the contaminated items and purchase them,” the police report states.

Mesa Police said Smith was identified through prior police contacts and has an open case with the Tempe Police, along with an active warrant for failure to appear. He turned himself in to Mesa Police and was arrested Dec. 21.

Smith did not respond to a request for comment.

“We’re disgusted by what happened at our Mesa store, and social media pranks like this cannot be tolerated,” Kelsey Bohl, director of media relations for Walmart, told The Post in a statement. “The health and safety of our customers and associates is always a top priority. We removed all directly impacted product and cleaned and sanitized the affected area of the store. We are grateful for the swift action of law enforcement, and we’ll continue to work closely with them throughout their investigation.”


Smith admitted to police to stealing the bug spray and using it on produce before leaving the Walmart, the police report says. He said that online backlash prompted him to return to the store to collect the contaminated items.

“This incident underscores the potential dangers of reckless actions disguised as social media pranks,” Detective Brandi Myers, a public information officer with the Mesa Police Department, told The Post on Friday.



During his interview with police, Smith said he performs these pranks as a “troll for social media” and earns between $6,000 and $10,000 a month from posting these kinds of videos.


He has garnered widespread criticism for his controversial prank videos, which include drawing obscenities on counters, spraying unsuspecting people with fire extinguishers, and throwing food in public spaces. A Reddit thread discussing Smith’s antics surfaced before his latest arrest, warning people in the Tempe, Arizona, area about his history of disruptive stunts. People wrote about him throwing food off balconies and sneaking into fast food restaurants.

Smith’s TikTok account is currently disabled. Newsweek reported earlier this week he had 345,000 followers and his bio read: “tycoon creator,” and “supreme villain.” His Instagram account is still active with more than 370,000 followers.

During a court appearance Monday, Smith asked the judge whether he could leave jail to feed his dog, according to Fox10 Phoenix. The request was denied.

The judge also barred him from using social media if he posts bail.

Smith’s next court appearance is Monday.

TikTok prankster jailed for spraying groceries with pesticides for clicks

Charles Smith walked into a Walmart, picked up a can of bug spray, and sprayed produce and other food items, according to police in Mesa

torontosun.com

i hope no one ate any of the bug sprayed food.

 

[spaminator]

i hope no one ate any of the bug sprayed food.

they should have made him eat the bug sprayed food.

 

[spaminator]

World population will be 8.09 billion after 71 million increase in 2024
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Mike Schneider
Published Dec 30, 2024 • 1 minute read

The world population increased by more than 71 million people in 2024 and will be 8.09 billion people on New Year’s Day, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates released Monday.


The 0.9% increase in 2024 was a slight slowdown from 2023, when the world population grew by 75 million people. In January 2025, 4.2 births and 2.0 deaths were expected worldwide every second, according to the estimates.

The United States grew by 2.6 million people in 2024, and the U.S. population on New Year’s Day will be 341 million people, according to the Census Bureau.

The United States was expected to have one birth every 9 seconds and one death every 9.4 seconds in January 2025. International migration was expected to add one person to the U.S. population every 23.2 seconds. The combination of births, deaths and net international migration will increase the U.S. population by one person every 21.2 seconds, the Census Bureau said.

So far in the 2020s, the U.S. population has grown by almost 9.7 million people, a 2.9% growth rate. In the 2010s, the U.S. grew by 7.4%, which was the lowest rate since the 1930s.

World population will be 8.09 billion after 71 million increase in 2024

The world population increased by more than 71 million people in 2024 and will be 8.09 billion people on New Year's Day

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

’Dinosaur highway’ tracks dating back 166 million years discovered in England
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Brian Melley
Published Jan 02, 2025 • 2 minute read

five extensive trackways that formed part of a “dinosaur highway”
In this undated photo provided by the University of Birmingham on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, five extensive trackways that formed part of a “dinosaur highway” are uncovered, at Dewars Farm Quarry in Oxfordshire, England Photo by University of Birmingham /Associated Press
LONDON — A worker digging up clay in a southern England limestone quarry noticed unusual bumps that led to the discovery of a “dinosaur highway” and nearly 200 tracks that date back 166 million years, researchers said Thursday.


The extraordinary find made after a team of more than 100 people excavated the Dewars Farm Quarry, in Oxfordshire, in June expands upon previous paleontology work in the area and offers greater insights into the Middle Jurassic period, researchers at the universities of Oxford and Birmingham said.

“These footprints offer an extraordinary window into the lives of dinosaurs, revealing details about their movements, interactions, and the tropical environment they inhabited,” said Kirsty Edgar, a micropaleontology professor at the University of Birmingham.

Four of the sets of tracks that make up the so-called highway show paths taken by gigantic, long-necked, herbivores called sauropods, thought to be Cetiosaurus, a dinosaur that grew to nearly 18 metres in length. A fifth set belonged to the Megalosaurus, a ferocious 9-metre predator that left a distinctive triple-claw print and was the first dinosaur to be scientifically named two centuries ago.


An area where the tracks cross raises questions about possible interactions between the carnivores and herbivores.

“Scientists have known about and been studying Megalosaurus for longer than any other dinosaur on Earth, and yet these recent discoveries prove there is still new evidence of these animals out there, waiting to be found,” said Emma Nicholls, a vertebrate paleontologist at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History.


Nearly 30 years ago, 40 sets of footprints discovered in a limestone quarry in the area were considered one of the world’s most scientifically important dinosaur track sites. But that area is mostly inaccessible now and there’s limited photographic evidence because it predated the use of digital cameras and drones to record the findings.


The group that worked at the site this summer took more than 20,000 digital images and used drones to create 3-D models of the prints. The trove of documentation will aid future studies and could shed light on the size of the dinosaurs, how they walked and the speed at which they moved.

“The preservation is so detailed that we can see how the mud was deformed as the dinosaur’s feet squelched in and out,” said Duncan Murdock, an earth scientist at the Oxford museum. “Along with other fossils like burrows, shells and plants we can bring to life the muddy lagoon environment the dinosaurs walked through.”

The findings will be shown at a new exhibit at the museum and also broadcast on the BBC’s “Digging for Britain” program next week.

’Dinosaur highway’ tracks dating back 166 million years discovered in England

A worker digging up clay in a southern England limestone quarry noticed unusual bumps that led to the discovery of a "dinosaur highway"

torontosun.com