January 2009

  • Spontaneous Human Combustion

    By roskopp on 1/29/09 5:46am
    4 Comments

    One of the most fascinating unexplained phenomena’s is spontaneous human combustion. The idea is that a human being can just burst into flames and burn away without an external source of ignition. The most common theory is that the heat is internally generated by a chemical reaction however many scientists deny the phenomena exists suggesting we simply haven’t found the right explanation.

    Many cases of spontaneous human combustion have been reported over the years and in fact you can find references to it as far back as medieval times. Victims are generally entirely burned away, sometimes portions of their clothes or individual limbs are left behind and the surrounding furnishings are always left unscathed as though the person combusted from the inside with a fierce intensity.

    The idea has been used extensively in fiction throughout the years and various people have attempted more serious studies but there is no concrete proof that it can occur and it seems to fly in the face of conventional wisdom.

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  • Aliens at Area 51?

    By roskopp on 1/27/09 3:43am
    1 Comment

    Area 51 sits on the southern shore of Groom Lake in the Nevada desert and it is easily the most famous military base in the world. It must also be the least secret base in the world and it has long been suspected by UFO enthusiasts to be the location that alien spaceships are whisked away to.

    Area 51The US military have always rubbished claims that there are any aliens or alien technology at the base insisting that it is a location for aircraft and weapons development and testing. They tested the B-2 stealth bomber here amongst others and unsurprisingly they denied the existence of the base for years. They eventually admitted there was an “operating site” there but added that “the work is classified”. Aerial shots of the base taken by a Russian satellite were released back in 2000 and revealed little beyond some buildings, a hangar and a runway.

    Area 51 has spawned countless conspiracy theories about alien technology, spaceships, aliens, teleportation and time travel devices.

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  • The Bermuda Triangle vs. Lloyd's of London

    By jemanji on 1/15/09 10:36pm
    1 Comment

    As most people know, dozens of spectacular disappearances have occurred in the Triangle that is located off the southeast coast of the United States. The actual area of the triangle is controversial, but most authors agree that it includes at least the area between Miami, Bermuda, and San Juan.

    Not only the number of disappearances, but their mysterious natures have impressed paranormal buffs. Wikipedia has an interesting mini-catalogue of some of the most bizarre anecdotes:

    In 1881, the Ellen Austin came across an "abandoned" ship in the Triangle -- abandoned why? Because abducted by UFO? Because so terrified, the crew hurled themselves into the water? -- and put some of its own crew on board to sail it to New York.

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  • The Piri Reis Map

    By nerdyspice on 1/9/09 1:12pm
    3 Comments

    The oldest known human civilization is by general consensus thought to be the Sumerians. It is roughly 4,000 BC and they have no cultural heritage to speak of. However, in high regard they hold an ancient race that some call the Nefilim. To the Sumerians, these beings were as Gods. Is it not possible, that there was once a time far beyond our reckoning in which civilizations were well beyond advanced? Many have attempted to present such a case to the scientific community at large and are, unsurprisingly, not taken too seriously.
    Regardless, when presenting such theories, one piece of evidence that tends to b e used is the Piri Reis Map, a map said to be produced in 1513 by famous Turkish Admiral and cartographer of whom the map is named after. It was discovered in 1929 when Topkopi Palace was being converted into a museum. It was printed on gazelle skin and had noted scribbled on it by Reis himself.

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  • The Voynich Manuscript

    By nerdyspice on 1/9/09 9:47am
    3 Comments

    The Voynich Manuscript is without a doubt the 'holy grail' of cryptographers and linguists around the globe. Produced likely in the late 15th century, it is an illustrated collection of approximately 246 pages written in some unknown language or script, the papers have become an enigmatic bane to those who call historical cryptography their discipline. Since its introduction into the mainstream of the scientific community roughly around 1915, attempts to translate the manuscript have proved fruitless. Priests, historians, linguists and even code breakers from World War II, all of whom were eventually defeated by the mysterious manuscript, have studied it vigilantly.
    But that is not to say that their have not been numerous theories and alleged 'solutions' to the document with the earliest modern of these dating back to 1919, with claims that it was actually the work of 13th century empiricist Roger Bacon, who was well versed in the fields of languages and astrology.

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