Merged The Fog!

Apathia said:
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay! We're moving on from the Drones to The Fog!


www.psychologytoday.com

What's Behind the "Toxic Fog" Panic

We often don't notice something until someone else points it out.
www.psychologytoday.com www.psychologytoday.com

I think we've entered a dark age of insane brain death.
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Clearly the fog is so the drones can operate unseen and in secret.
 
""The Fog" reflects our anxious age where one social media posting can act like a match and spread fear that can have repercussions around the world." - Robert Bartholomew, in the OP article.

Indeed, humans are driven largely by fear, and with so much interconnectedness online, scared people attract scared people, and new fears snowball.
 
Apathia said:
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay! We're moving on from the Drones to The Fog!


www.psychologytoday.com

What's Behind the "Toxic Fog" Panic

We often don't notice something until someone else points it out.
www.psychologytoday.com www.psychologytoday.com

I think we've entered a dark age of insane brain death.
Click to expand...
I wonder how many of the bleevers in this also voted for trump.
The Venn diagram of these data would merely be a single circle.
 
I love fog, as long as I don't have to drive in it. Especially in the daytime, when the moisture just soaks up all sound and you can't see but several feet all around. (It may be common in London, but not around here. We get it a few times a year.)
 
There's nothing to be afraid of - except that fog that turns people inside out.
 
You young whippersnappers, you don't know what real fog is!

Well, actually I did, back in the 60's attend a commuter branch of UConn., and drove nearly daily to night time classes in fog beyond what I've seen anywhere since. Before highways had fog lines, too. I wish then that I had thought to blame my lackadaisical academic performance on it.
 
Americans alarmed by 'chemical fog' spreading across the US: Phenomenon sparks bioweapon conspiracy theories after drone sightings (AOL, Jan 4, 2025)
New year, new conspiracy theories.
Parts of the US have been blanketed by a “mysterious” fog, sparking concern from locals who claim it has a “chemical” smell and exposure can result in flu-like symptoms.
A Florida resident told the Daily Mail that they felt sick after being outside in the fog for just 10 minutes.
“Within about an hour, I kept sneezing over and over for about three hours, and my eyes were really puffy,” the unnamed Floridian claimed. “I got very warm and I felt like I had a fever, and my stomach was cramping.”
The Daily Mail reports that the occurrences have eerie echoes of “Operation Sea-Spray” — a secret biological warfare experiment conducted by the US Navy back in 1950.
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Robert Bartholomew:
Mystery Fog Sparks Fear Across America (Psychology Today, Jan 4, 2025)
  • Social media is the driving force behind the recent scare of a "toxic fog" across the United States.
  • Reports of a mysterious fog sickening Americans reflect prevailing fears in our information age.
  • The fog panic has its roots in the selective nature of perception.
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bruto said:
You young whippersnappers, you don't know what real fog is!

Well, actually I did, back in the 60's attend a commuter branch of UConn., and drove nearly daily to night time classes in fog beyond what I've seen anywhere since. Before highways had fog lines, too. I wish then that I had thought to blame my lackadaisical academic performance on it.
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Aye, I was a lad at that time and we had some nasty fogs/smogs in Manchester then.
 
The Marching Morons was meant to be a warning, not a policy document...

en.wikipedia.org

The Marching Morons - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org


....In 1988, real estate agent and con artist John Barlow is placed in suspended animation after a freak accident. He is revived in the distant future, in a confusing world filled with hypersexualized advertisements, vapid entertainment, and people who exhibit erratic, nonsensical behavior..mm
 
Orphia Nay said:
""The Fog" reflects our anxious age where one social media posting can act like a match and spread fear that can have repercussions around the world." - Robert Bartholomew, in the OP article.

Indeed, humans are driven largely by fear, and with so much interconnectedness online, scared people attract scared people, and new fears snowball.
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The smog of dread is getting thicker.
 
In the interest of saving you a click: There is no fog. Psychology Today reports on a recent social media "mass sighting" fad, and discusses the psychological aspects of such things.
 
It is amazing how fond science fiction back then was of eugenics as a solution to all problems and the lack of it as the cause of the problems. Not unlike H.G.Wells' much earlier The Time Machine and its pseudo-Darwinist dystopia: "with no real challenges facing the Eloi, they have lost the spirit, intelligence, and physical fitness of humanity at its peak." (Wiki)
I get the impression that Kornbluth kind of approved of the solution but then killed off the dictator responsible for the Endlösung because it would otherwise be seen as a promotion of eugenics.
However, the morons who'll take over the U.S. government later this month appear to be intent on ruling the asylum themselves and getting rid of anybody whose brains haven't already been ruined by worms or the virus.

More brain fog, and it appears to have spread to Canada, the UK and the rest of the world::
The Mysterious Fog across the World, Especially America: A Hidden Threat in Our Midst (Sasaki Andi on YouTube, Jan 1, 2025 - 22:52 min.)
Discover the eerie and unusual fog phenomenon that's not just confined to America but appearing across the globe. This mysterious fog is unlike any other; it leaves behind residues reminiscent of dust or smoke on everything it touches, raising health concerns among communities. Delve into the scientific insights, the potential dangers to respiratory health, and the pressing need for personal vigilance. Understand why, in places like America, masks are becoming as crucial as umbrellas when this fog rolls in, and what this tells us about our environment and air quality.
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Is 'Fogvid-24' Making US and UK Residents Sick? What We Know (Times Now, Jan 1, 2025)
A thick fog, referred to as "Fogvid-24," has affected travel throughout the US and UK, resulting in flight delays, rail difficulties, and dangers on highways, while fueling conspiracy theories regarding health impacts such as cold and flu signs. Social media has heightened worries, as viral posts claim illnesses associated with fog exposure; however, medical professionals advise caution and emphasize the importance of validated information.
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Mysterious fog sweeping US sparks bioweapon fears amid alarming echoes of secret 1950 military program (Daily Mail, Jan 3, 2025)
Mysterious dense fog engulfs communities in US, Canada, and UK, raises health concerns (Economic Times, Jan 4, 2025)

It was foggy in Copenhagen this morning, but so far no Fogvid reports.
 
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There may be no fog where you are, but there is here. It's not space fog or brain fog or whatever it is that infects conspiratorial brains, but it's the stuff I never heard of until I moved to Vermont: freezing fog. There's a variant up on Mount Washington today too, "ice fog." I'm not sure the difference, but am guessing that ice fog tinkles more than the ordinary freezing kind.

Of course we have a different sort of weather report from some places. The lake weather reminds us that wave heights are for ice-free regions.

One of may favorites was a few years ago: "About as cool a May day as you could find if you didn't count the day before."
 
Gord_in_Toronto said:
Probably it means the Universe is just chugging along doing random things for no reason.
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Very unlikely if you think about it: there was a special star above a manger on the first Christmas day and now we've had fog on Christmas day, that's too much of a coincidence!
 
And then there's vog -- I've experienced it in Hawaii.
Vog, or volcanic smog, is a hazy, dangerous air pollution created by volcanic emissions:
  • What it is
    A combination of sulfur dioxide gas (SO2), water vapor (H2O), carbon dioxide (CO2), and fine particles (PM2.5)
  • Health effects
    Can cause eye, nose, throat, and skin irritation, coughing, phlegm, chest tightness, and shortness of breath. It can also increase susceptibility to respiratory ailments. For people with asthma, exposure to vog can be deadly.
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Darat said:
Very unlikely if you think about it: there was a special star above a manger on the first Christmas day and now we've had fog on Christmas day, that's too much of a coincidence!
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Only if you are a Douglas Adams fan.
 
alfaniner said:
I love fog, as long as I don't have to drive in it. Especially in the daytime, when the moisture just soaks up all sound and you can't see but several feet all around. (It may be common in London, but not around here. We get it a few times a year.)
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We were talking about this over Xmas as there was quite a thick fog over the NE (we were in Heswall for the holiday), I remember really thick fogs being quite frequent when we lived in Uxbridge and West Drayton (just about West London) in the '90s but they seem pretty rare now, even when we first moved out to where we are now just inside Oxfordshire. I think air pollution is a big factor, particularly from cars, the uptake of catalytic converters, reduction in diesels and use of particle filters in their exhausts, and most recently introduction of EVs and hybrids is having a significant effect.
 
So, I'm skeptical. I see a bunch of anecdotes that mostly appear to be shared via tik tok, youtube, and X. I'm relatively sure this isn't anythign outside a social media joke/trolling. Is there any actual evidence of even especially thick fog?
 
Apathia said:
I think we've entered a dark age of insane brain death.
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Orphia Nay said:
"Brain fog" takes on a new meaning.
Synchronous with 2024 OED word of the year, "brain rot".
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Since 'the fog' in some reports was accompanied by a weird smell, it might be worth considering something that combines both brain fog and distortion of the olfactory sense:
Insight into the mechanisms of olfactory dysfunction by COVID-19 (NIH National Library of Medicine, Dec 2022)
Patients with olfactory dysfunction due to COVID-19 often experience parosmia and the distorted smell is often “smoky” or “burnt odor.”
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Notice when the media reports about the fog started, i.e. early January 2025 (see post 16 ).
This correlates with hospital admissions for COVID-19 in the winter of 2024-25 (Our World in Data). They peaked on Jan 3, 2025.
(At this point in time when nobody test for C19 anymore, hospital admissions are a better indicator than the number of cases.)

Olfaction and neurocognition after COVID-19: a scoping review (NIH National Library of Medicine,June 29, 2023)
Brain fog was significantly higher in patients with parosmia/phantosmia compared to controls.
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So we have people complaining about weird-smelling fog at the same time as a COVID-19 wave is peaking, and at a point in the pandemic when people are no longer self-testing and thus aware that their symptoms may be related to Covid and their mental faculties may also declining due to the infection.
Just saying ....
 
Ryan O'Dine said:
On the plus side, I'd much rather confront a dangerous fog than a dangerous frog.
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You're not alone.

The 'poison arrow' frog is reputedly able to stop a person's heart if they pick the frog up.

At least with Australia's corroboree frog, you have to lick it or eat it before consequences are serious.

en.wikipedia.org

Corroboree frog - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org

(Note if you see pictures of these frogs being handled, the handlers are always wearing protective gloves.)
 
novaphile said:
You're not alone.

The 'poison arrow' frog is reputedly able to stop a person's heart if they pick the frog up.

At least with Australia's corroboree frog, you have to lick it or eat it before consequences are serious.

en.wikipedia.org

Corroboree frog - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org

(Note if you see pictures of these frogs being handled, the handlers are always wearing protective gloves.)
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I've been licking frogs for a decade now, and there've been no serious saidofja feeke eiels jsei mcn i nflijie gjsiod 45 iaojfmi so # fjdio a;wod.
 
alfaniner said:
I love fog, as long as I don't have to drive in it. Especially in the daytime, when the moisture just soaks up all sound and you can't see but several feet all around. (It may be common in London, but not around here. We get it a few times a year.)
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I love fog, too. Favorite fog was a thick, mysterious pea soup on a little-traveled highway deep into ancient Crusader vs Moor territory (Guadalajara to Teruel single-lane highway) back in the 80s in an aging Renault R5. My only guide was the faded white line on the side of the old, crumbling asphalt. We crept along, peering, alert. There was no sign of life, nor of the late afternoon sun, only of the occasional ruined stone fortification looming suddenly out of the mist, like some wight's barrow. You could imagine an armored ghost reaching out for you, moaning in tune with the low hum of the motor.

There is a stone fortified town nigh Teruel, Albarracín, which is a national monument, so there are no antennae to spoil the view of the ancient village. As it so happens, we scaled its ramparts at night, under light fog, and could swear we heard the dead soldiers still at war.

If I want fog now, oft times I can scale the hill/mountain our village is on in the early morn and walk into a low cloud. Love that, love fog.
 
All this foggy talk reminds me of the 1962 Fog Bowl when the CFL Grey Cup game was stopped with nine minutes left to play and then restarted again on the next day.

The whole sad story is here:

I was temporarily living in TO that day about a mile and a half from where the game was being played and went for a walk. It was foggy.
 
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