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Jackolonimbus

Unusual clouds in New York spark imaginations, with many spotting Michael Jackson's face in mammatus formations. Discover the fun!

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The other day while at the gym, the TV was showing CNN. I couldn't see the screen clearly, but the segment was about unusual clouds in New York... and how some people saw Michael Jackson's face in them. At the time I thought the segment was serious, but in fact it was Jeanne Moos doing her gag schtick, as you can see on You Tube: If you're wondering about the actual MJ shot, here you go:

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That's a screen grab from the video. I suppose it looks a bit like Jackson, though, like most examples of faces in the clouds, it looks more like Lou Ferrigno. Or maybe a zombie. Take your pick.

Incidentally, the clouds in question here are called mammatus, and are actually quite common here in Colorado, and I've taken a lot of pictures of them, like the one shown here. I remember the first time I ever saw mammatus clouds; I was in Maryland and the remnants of a hurricane had swept through. The clouds were like little bulbs hanging down, and I had never seen anything like it before... so I'm not surprised that people freaked out a little. But I wonder, just how many people really did think this was a sign of some sort? Sham-on!

Tip o' the sequined fedora to Skeptical Teacher.

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