August 21 Eclipse Brings Forth the Strange

From men placing ads to conceive an eclipse child to Emergency room brawls over the last motel room, you can expect a smorgasbord of reality TV worthy drama and antics brought out from Mondays solar eclipse.

August 21st will be the first time in 99 years an eclipse will occur across the United States. Over a two hour span in 14 states from Oregon to South Carolina, people in the path of totality- the 70 mile wide path of complete darkness- will experience almost three minutes of darkness midday. Stars and planets will be visible, birds and crickets will be confused and sing their night songs, cell service may be disrupted, and the temperature will drop. People in the path will report feeling an "eerie" sensation during the eclipse.

But the "strange" has already begun.

One of the most interesting things I have come across is this ad posted in Craigslist. This virile gentleman is seeking a woman with which to conceive a child during the eclipse. His "event" plans are smoother than a baby's bottom.

The confidence is strong with this one.

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The coast-to-coast “Great American Eclipse" is the first of its kind seen in 99 years and is being called “the event of the century.”

Festivals have sprung up to accommodate, and take advantage of the viewers, whom NASA has estimated to be over 400 times that of Woodstock.

Air BnB rooms are $2000 a night. Hotels in the path of totality have "lost" reservations, so as to sell the rooms at a new, jacked up rate. I read an account of a man and woman arrested in the Emergency Room. They were there from injuries caused by fighting each other over the last motel room.

I wonder if the jail will allow them to watch the eclipse?

Police are forced to air Public Safety Announcements warning the public not to walk into oncoming traffic during the eclipse, along with friendly reminders not to stop their cars on the highway.

Wait, don't walk into traffic? What? Since when?! Oh, I must have missed the day they taught that in kindergarten.

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The Sun is gonna Moon us

The North Carolina Goverment had to send out a memo to all it's state workers, warning them "no funny business" such as taking a break during work to watch the eclipse or staring at the sun and incurring workers comp insurance due to eye injury.

Astrologists have their own selling points- Aquarius governs technology, the Internet and science. Will this full moon’s beams expose the cybercriminals behind the election hacking and Russia scandals?

Love waffles with your daytime darkness? Proffessor Jerry Shannon does! He even generously shared his map (which went viral) of Waffle House restaurants in the path of totality.

I can scratch that off my bucket list...

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Speaking of maps, there's even “Sunsquatch: Best spots to see the eclipse and bigfoot … at the same time!”

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But... but... Is Bigfoot glow in the dark now?

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If you have small children, you can really put the fear into them. "Do your chores now or I'm going to make the sun disappear!"

Don't forget to look down just before the eclipse too see the Shadow Ghost Snake phenomena. Caused by the moon bending the suns light, they will only slither for a moment.

No matter where you are or what you're doing, be safe and have fun :)

Kitten.. out.

Images via Nasa, Giphy, Creative Commons, UnEarthed Comics, and Cnet and King 5 news.