# Invasion of the Tumbleweeds **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 19, 2018, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/invasion-of-the-tumbleweeds/812700 "2018-04-19T12:05:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2018, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/invasion-of-the-tumbleweeds/812700/1 "2018-04-19T12:05:33Z")
> **[Terrifying Tumbleweeds Take Over California City, Trapping Residents Inside...](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/tumbleweed-invasion_n_5ad81de3e4b0e4d0715d375d)** > > "It’s a nasty nightmare.” > [@](#): > > A California city is under siege ― from tumbleweeds. > Victorville, located about 60 miles northeast of Los Angeles, has been invaded by the wind-blown objects. Footage shows the weeds tumbling down the streets and stacking up against homes, forming two-story mounds that blocked some residents inside. Many had to call 911 for help. > “We’re not exactly sure how many homes are affected, but we’re estimating about 100 to 150 homes in that area,” city spokeswoman Sue Jones told the Victorville Daily Press. > > “Normally you get a few flying down the street or whatnot, but never this many that will stack up even this much, and this is mild compared to what it was actually in the backyard and in the front of the house,” resident Tanya Speight told KABC. “So no, it’s never been this bad.” > The city’s code enforcement has dispatched trucks to haul away the tumbleweeds. > “It seems like every time we get the tumbleweeds cleared up, the wind blows and blows them right back again,” real estate broker Bryan Bagwell told the Washington Post. “It’s a nasty nightmare.” Go to the linked site – there are lots of pictures. We’ve seen this story before. They did it on the original _Outer Limits_ in 1964 in an episode titled “City of Silence”, about a couple traveling cross-country when their car breaks down and, traveling on foot, realize they’re being stalked by – tumbleweeds. They take refuge in a house, and are besieged by the plants. It’s like an all-vegetable version of _Night of the Living Dead_. (Actually, considering that the husband is Eddie Albert, it’s like the REALLY weird pilot for _Green Acres_ “Oh, Oliver, New York is where I’d rather stay. I get allergic being attacked by tumbleweeds.”) > **[Cry of Silence](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cry_of_Silence)** > > "Cry of Silence" is an episode of the original Outer Limits. It first aired on 24 October 1964, during the second season. > "In the not-distant future, the sound of Man will invade those unknown depths of space which as yet we cannot even imagine. In his own world there are no places left beyond the reach of his voice. His neighbor is no longer just next door, but anywhere at the end of a wire. And it all began when prehistoric man discovered the art of communication..." A city couple driving in t... (The Outer Limits episode is supposed to be similar to Algernon Blackwood’s story “The Willows”. I’ll put in a vote for Fredric Brown’s _the Mind Thing_, as well. That story started life as a low-budget movie script.) ---
**Author:** ![Whiskey\_Dickens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9fc348/32.png) [@Whiskey\_Dickens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whiskey_Dickens)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2018, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/invasion-of-the-tumbleweeds/812700/2 "2018-04-19T13:55:51Z")
Haha, tumbleweeds causing problems?! What a bunch of pussies! Just kick them out of the way! _Clicks link_ :eek: :eek: :eek: ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2018, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/invasion-of-the-tumbleweeds/812700/3 "2018-04-19T14:09:41Z")
Oh my god, those are some piles of tumbleweeds!!! Going to send the link to my city service director and ask him if we have the manpower and equipment in place in case this happens out here 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2018, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/invasion-of-the-tumbleweeds/812700/4 "2018-04-19T14:52:56Z")
I was attacked by a tumbleweed once. I was driving south on I-5 north of Bakersfield a ways, It was November which is one of the seasons when the damn things are ripe and there was a steady strong wind blowing from about 2 o’clock. Quite a few weeds were seen traversing the empty fields in the distance and some had fetched up against the freeway boundary fence. Nothing like those horror pics in the link but enough to look like the opening stages in a zombie attack. Then one tumbleweed a bit bigger than the others caught my attention. A quick mental calculation came up with an intersecting solution to the two vectors. “No need to worry; the fence will stop it.” Ha! A gust of wind at an inopportune moment let the damn thing easily vault the fence and roll aggressively across the right of way. A quick check in the mirror revealed someone coming up in the number one lane so there was no place to dodge to and I didn’t want to risk jamming on the brakes. Stand by for collision! Wham! The thing struck the front of the car about half way between the centerline and right fender in an explosion of dust and sticks. The car shook and **DesertWife** , who was dozing beside me, awoke with a little shriek. The fiend was stuck on my car’s front end but luckily did not obscure the view ahead (it was certainly tall enough). About a half-mile ahead was an exit, one of those along the freeway with absolutely nothing there. I took it, stopped, then drove around in a 360-degree circle hoping that when the wind was from behind, it would fall off. No such luck; it was stuck fast. Reluctantly I got out and started gingerly pulling at it. They have tiny thorns and if you get scratched, it raises welts. If I’d had a pair of work gloves handy I would have put them on, but no such luck. A couple minutes and it was free; I stepped aside and let it pass to galumph down the overpass, not nearly as round as before. No serious damage was done and we continued on to San Diego with no further incident. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2018, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/invasion-of-the-tumbleweeds/812700/5 "2018-04-19T15:07:35Z")
You know, if one of those tumbleweeds roamed out to LA for a roll along the beach, it would make an interesting opening sequence for movie. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2018, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/invasion-of-the-tumbleweeds/812700/6 "2018-04-19T15:12:14Z")
It’s an almost unknown fact that the “Outer Limits” episode was based on a true incident, and now it’s happening again! Don’t believe me? Just leave the tumbleweeds alone for a while. They’ll eventually dissolve the house and consume the people inside. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2018, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/invasion-of-the-tumbleweeds/812700/7 "2018-04-20T15:45:55Z")
I’ve seen similar news stories over the years. Never heard how they dispose on tumbleweeds, after collection from properties. Crush them and burn? Maybe wait for them to rot? Sell as souvenirs on eBay? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2018, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/invasion-of-the-tumbleweeds/812700/8 "2018-04-20T20:46:57Z")
Sigh, that was one of my all time favorite [comics](http://www.tumbleweeds.com/). ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2018, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/invasion-of-the-tumbleweeds/812700/9 "2018-04-21T03:31:06Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > [Terrifying Tumbleweeds Take Over California City, Trapping Residents Inside Homes | HuffPost Weird News](https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/tumbleweed-invasion_us_5ad81de3e4b0e4d0715d375d) > > (The Outer Limits episode is supposed to be similar to Algernon Blackwood’s story “The Willows”. I’ll put in a vote for Fredric Brown’s _the Mind Thing_, as well. That story started life as a low-budget movie script.) Funny you should bring up Fredric Brown… > **[Arena (short story)](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arena_(short_story))** > > "Arena" is a science fiction short story by American writer Fredric Brown, first published in the June 1944 issue of Astounding Science Fiction magazine. The members of the Science Fiction Writers of America selected it as one of the best science fiction stories published before the advent of the Nebula Awards, and as such it was included in The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume One, 1929–1964. > Its most famous adaptation is in the American television series, Star Trek, with an episode of th... ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2018, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/invasion-of-the-tumbleweeds/812700/10 "2018-04-21T03:38:46Z")
[Better link.](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arena_(short_story)) ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2018, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/invasion-of-the-tumbleweeds/812700/11 "2018-04-21T09:14:10Z")
they just sort of dissolve since there actually dead… living about an hour from Victorville (antelope valley) we used to have them rolling around but were built up too much these days ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2018, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/invasion-of-the-tumbleweeds/812700/12 "2018-04-21T21:38:17Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > [Better link.](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arena_(short_story)) And why are you posting this? Don’t get me wrong – it’s one of my all-time favorite SF stories. A lot of people agree with me, because it’s in **The Science Fiction Hall of Fame – Vol. I** because it was voted one of the all-time bests. It’s been ripped off lots of times – with the _Outer Limits_ episode “Fun and Games,” for instance. Supposedly the _Star Trek_ episode of that title, and credited to Brown, started life as an independent story by Gene L. Coon, until someone noticed the similarities. That’s probably why it differs in so many particulars from Brown’s story. That, and Roddenbery’s idea of how interstellar politics ought to operate. I’d love to see Arena properly adapted as a movie. I’ve filmed it in my head countless times. Done right, with moden CGI and good writing, you don’t need voiceovers and such crutches. And you could give it Brown’s original ending. But it’s got nothin’ to do with the Tumbleweeds stories,m except the author. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2018, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/invasion-of-the-tumbleweeds/812700/13 "2018-04-22T05:57:29Z")
I posted it because when I read _Arena_ back in high school, the description of the Outsider made me think of a malevolent, self-propelling tumbleweed. And I was really disappointed in the costume design of the Gorn. As if Carter could have overpowered a giant lizard. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2018, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/invasion-of-the-tumbleweeds/812700/14 "2018-04-22T06:05:22Z")
I mean _Carson_, of course.