Athens turned orange, a bloodied horse ran around London and the Moulin Rouge lost its sails
Freak events do happen – but how often do you get four in a week?
From Athens changing colour, to horses running through the streets of London, the last few days have been a real gift to the more superstitious corners of the internet.
1. The sails of the Moulin Rouge fell off
Yes, the iconic Parisian windmill mysteriously dropped its sails early on Thursday morning, along with three letters (the front M, O and U) from the sign.
The most famous cabaret club in the French capital is a known tourist attraction, and according to its manager, it has never lost its sails before.
“The Moulin Rouge, in 135 years of history, has experienced many adventures but it is true that for the wings, this is the first time that this has happened,” general manager Jean-Victor Clerico said, according to Reuters.
He explained: “A little before 2am, the wings of the windmill gave way, fell on the boulevard and fortunately at this time the boulevard was empty of passers-by.
“We are relieved this morning especially to know that there were no injuries.”
He added that clearly the incident was not intentional.
Insurers are reportedly carrying out an investigation into what may have happened.
This photograph taken on April 25, 2024, shows the cabaret mill without the blades and a partly missing sign.
2. The blood-soaked horse running around London
OK this one already made it onto international news, but it was still an unnerving sight.
Horses training with the British Army in central London were spooked by some building work, and five of the animals unseated their riders and bolted.
Four then ran across the capital, shocking many pedestrians in their wake as they thundered down main roads, going against the traffic during the morning rush hour.
Four people were injured in the process and went to hospital.
While all the horses were rescued relatively quickly, two of them managed to run five miles to Limehouse before they were captured.
To make things even stranger, one of the two most evasive animals collided with a car at one point, cutting itself in the process – meaning the white horse was running through the city covered in its own blood.
The defence minster James Cartildge told Sky News on Thursday: “Three of them are fine, two of them are unfortunately in a relatively serious condition and obviously we will be monitoring that condition.
“They are in a serious condition, but as I understand, still alive.”
Two horses on the loose bolt through the streets of London near Aldwych. Picture date: Wednesday April 24, 2024.
3. Big Ben stopped
To make matters worse, just before reports of the runaway horses started to go viral, London’s most famous clock mysteriously stopped just before 9am, despite recently being refurbished.
And that was after it announced the time with an incorrect number of bongs.
Then, it seemed to wake up again – but it rang out at 10.06am instead of on the hour.
A House of Commons spokesperson said: “We are aware that the clock dials on the Elizabeth Tower were temporarily displaying the incorrect time this morning.
“Teams worked quickly to rectify the issue and carried out servicing to the mechanism, which has now completed.
“The clock dials of the Elizabeth Tower are currently functioning as normal and no risks to the integrity of the mechanism have been identified.”
By 10.15am, the clock was showing the correct time, and returned to hourly strikes as of midday on Wednesday after its mechanism was reset.
Big Ben
4. Athens turned orange
Looking further afield, it appears strange things have been happening in Greece, too.
A dust storm which blew in from the Sahara desert turned a handful of cities orange on Tuesday, in the worst phenomenon of its kind since 2018.
It stretched across several regions after several strong winds blew in from the south
Weather research director at the Athens Observatory, Kostas Lagouvardos, said: “It’s one of the most serious episodes of dust and sand concentrations from the Sahara since March 21-22, 2018 when the clouds invaded the island of Crete in particular.”
This was not a sudden weather occurance though – it had been building since late March – and was expected to clear by Wednesday.
This photograph taken on April 23, 2024, in Athens shows a view of the city of Athens shrouded in haze, as southerly winds carried waves of dust to the city
So X (formerly Twitter) naturally had a field day....
Sahara dust turning Athens into blade runner, bloodied horses running through London, the big Ben striking on the wrong hour - our ancestors would be going bananas over these omens
— Yiannis Baboulias (@YiannisBab)
April 25, 2024in ancient times black and white blood soaked horses running through the capital would be an ominous omen pic.twitter.com/8HO4pKvJnB
— Jeet Sidhu (@jeetsidhu_)
April 24, 2024Big Ben stops. Horses rampaging through the streets. Now this. Is this the apocalypse? Please let this be the apocalypse. https://t.co/l3KIdHWz3M
— Jes Steele is your ally (@prickleandgoo)
April 25, 2024I thought the Apocalypse was meant to be Tuesday gone. Anyone checked on the ravens at the Tower? https://t.co/fzidltPanj
— Graeme Scarth Lloyd (@ScarthLloyd)
April 25, 2024Blood splattered white horses gallop through London. Moulin Rouge falls. I'm sure Yeats had a poem about this. https://t.co/uNvxtIpinj
— Ian Dunt (@IanDunt)
April 25, 2024I'm not a superstitious person but this is absolutely the sort of omen which ushers in 500 years of darkness suffering and strifehttps://t.co/ZLTxhpY0sL
— Harry Robertson (@aitchrobertson)
April 24, 2024Related...
- So Why Were Horses Running Loose Around London, Covered In Blood?
- 4 Strange Bits Of News Which Prove The Earth Is Still One Big Mystery
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