Honestly, May 2025 felt like a fever dream that just wouldn't end. If you weren't busy tracking a new American Pope or watching diplomatic spats over Greenland, you were probably staring at your screen in disbelief at the sheer volume of "did that really happen?" headlines.
Bizarre events are common. This month was special.
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We saw monkeys kidnapping other monkeys, KFC-flavored dental hygiene, and a "Definitely Not a Bag Full of Drugs" that was, well, definitely a bag full of drugs. It’s easy to dismiss these stories as social media filler, but some of the weird news May 2025 gave us actually revealed some pretty weird shifts in how nature and technology are behaving lately.
The Capuchin Kidnappings in Panama
Nature decided to get real weird on Jicaron Island.
Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Animal Behavior were out there doing their usual observations when they saw something that genuinely baffled the scientific community. White-faced capuchin monkeys were seen "kidnapping" infant howler monkeys.
This wasn't some quick predatory strike.
The capuchins were snatching these babies when they were isolated in the canopy and then... just holding onto them. We’re talking about two entirely different species. Some researchers think it might be misdirected parental instinct—basically capuchins trying to "adopt" anything small and furry—but the video evidence is unsettling. It’s a stark reminder that even after decades of study, we don't know nearly as much about primate psychology as we think we do.
Fried Chicken Toothpaste and Sarcastic Drug Bags
Florida and Oklahoma were basically in a race to see who could stay weirder this month.
First off, let's talk about the "definitely not" incident. In Florida, a woman was arrested carrying a bag that was literally labeled "Definitely Not a Bag Full of Drugs." Narrator voice: It was.
It’s the kind of brazen, "too-obvious-to-be-true" tactic that usually only works in cartoons. In this case, it just landed her a stay at what the local sheriff called the "Iron Bar Lodge."
Then there's the culinary horror.
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KFC teamed up with Hismile to release a fried chicken-flavored toothpaste. I wish I was kidding. It was inspired by the 11 herbs and spices, and apparently, it makes your bathroom smell like a drive-thru. They marketed it as a "flavor takeover" of your oral care routine. It’s a weird move, even for 2025, but it sold out almost immediately.
Meanwhile, Oklahoma decided that cockfighting wasn't futuristic enough. They passed House Bill 1326, which legalized "Robot Chicken Fights." No, not the TV show. Literal live roosters fighting mechanical robots. The law says the birds can't be harmed, so it’s basically just roosters gets annoyed by Roomba-sized battle bots.
The Weirdness of May 2025 Cryptids and Scams
Nessie is back.
The first official Loch Ness Monster sighting of 2025 happened in May when a couple from London saw two massive humps moving through the water. Whether it’s a giant eel or just a very persistent myth, the "official" registry took it seriously.
Then we had the "Astro-Scam" in Japan.
An 80-year-old woman on Hokkaido sent about 1 million yen to a man who claimed he was an astronaut stuck on a spaceship. He told her his ship was under attack and he needed money for oxygen. It sounds ridiculous when you say it out loud, but these "romance scams" are getting increasingly elaborate, using the isolation of the elderly to pull off cosmic-level fraud.
Why This Matters
We tend to laugh at weird news May 2025 headlines and move on. But look closer.
The monkey behavior suggests environmental stressors are changing how animals interact. The "Robot Chicken" laws show how legislators are struggling (and failing) to keep up with tech-animal interactions. And the "Astro-Scams" prove that as our tech gets better, the ways people use it to exploit others get weirder and more niche.
What you should do next:
- Audit your digital footprint: If you're using AI for things like "coffee ground reading" (which actually happened in Greece this month to catch a cheating husband), remember that these tools are predictive, not psychic. Don't base life-altering decisions on a hallucinating chatbot.
- Check your car mirrors: If you're in the Northeast US, keep an eye out for "the punk"—that woodpecker that’s been smashing car mirrors because it thinks its reflection is a rival. Cover your mirrors if you see a red-headed bird staring a bit too long.
- Verify weird "collabs": Before you buy that $13 tube of chicken toothpaste, check if it's a limited-run marketing stunt or a permanent addition. Most of these "weird" products are designed for "clout-bait" and disappear within weeks.
Stay skeptical, keep your roosters away from robots, and maybe just stick to mint-flavored toothpaste for now.