Today In Strangeness

[Them]

Today in Strangeness: December 13th...

Charles Dickens' classic tale, A Christmas Carol, about a bitter miser who is visited by three ghosts was published in 1843.
In 1903, Wilbur and Orville Wright proved man could fly during their historic Kitty Hawk flight.
On this date in 2003, deposed Iraqi president Saddam Hussein was captured by US forces.

Charles Dickens

Mr. Scrooge

***
Wilbur and Orville Wright

...also...

Rare 'Snownado' Filmed in Poland:

A pair of hikers trying to escape a monstrous storm in the mountains of Poland managed to capture a rare 'snownado' on film.
The swirling vortex of frosty flakes appeared in front of Michał Nikon Bielas and Ilona Kowalik while they were visiting the country's Tatra National Park.

When a powerful storm swept over the area, the duo were told by officials that they best head back to their hostel, cutting short their adventure exploring the
mountain. However, perhaps sensing that their stay at the site may have been a letdown, mother nature seemingly repaid them with the breathtaking snownado they spotted along the way.


...extra...

How to open a can without a can opener:

(I hope it never comes to this...but)
If a zombie apocalypse were to come tomorrow, would you be prepared? You might have enough food and water to hunker down in a basement
for awhile, but what would you do if you forgot to grab the can opener? Luckily there’s a trick to opening a can without one. Click
play to see how you can get a can open without a can opener.

 

[Them]

Today in Strangeness: December 14th...

Happy Monkey Day ! Created in the year 2000 by artist Casey Sorrow, Monkey Day takes place every December 14th and is an "annual celebration of all things simian." The event is seen as both a lighthearted day of tomfoolery as well as an attempt to raise awareness of the plight of certain monkey species. While still a young "holiday," the popularity of Monkey Day is growing by the year and, in 2005, Peter Jackson released King Kong on December 14th, perhaps as a nod to this offbeat event.

Monkey Day:
Monkey Day is an unofficial international holiday celebrated on December 14. The holiday celebrates monkeys and "all things simian," including other non-human primates such as apes, tarsiers, and lemurs. en.wikipedia.org

...also...

Frozen Bigfoot Head Unveiled?:

A man who claims that his father killed and subsequently froze a Bigfoot back in 1953 has unveiled what he says is the head of the famed cryptid.
Dog trainer Peter Caine made waves at the beginning of 2017 when he showed the world a massive foot that allegedly came from the aforementioned Sasquatch.

And now, as the year comes to a close, he has revealed yet another purported piece of the creature: its frozen head.
The large, hairy, frost-covered object sports a pair of teeth which almost appear to be smiling in a video created by Caine this week.

At times quite gruesome, the footage features Caine zooming in on the possible Bigfoot head and poking at it with his fingers, perhaps to 'prove' that it is not some kind of fake. To that end, he declared to viewers "not everything's a joke. Yeah, I do joke around, but this is not a joke. This is real."

According to him, the cranium weighs around 120 pounds, requiring him to enlist help when it comes to carrying or moving the head.
As to what he plans to do with the frozen Sasquatch that was passed down to him by his father, Caine indicated that it will be put on display at a Bigfoot museum and theme park that he hopes to build.

Until then, he's promised to produce an upcoming video which will show all of the Sasquatch parts reassembled so that people can see the creature as a whole. Although one wishes that the object on display in the video is truly the head of a long-dead Bigfoot, Caine's story seems a bit suspicious since he has had nearly a year since showcasing the creature's foot yet has failed to prove its veracity via DNA tests or expert analysis.

With that in mind, viewers of the video would be wise to watch the footage with some skepticism, lest they fall victim to the man who cried Bigfoot a few too many times. (...This is a little interesting...but it should be quite easy to "prove" or "disprove" IMMHO!...it also seems this guys is trying to make a buck...?
he could or should have done that years ago...again IMMHO.)


...extra...

Pope Francis Shares Worrisome Warning About Satan:

In an interview with a Catholic media outlet, Pope Francis provided some unnerving insight into the nature of Satan.
Perhaps the most chilling among his musings were that the devil is not simply some kind of boogeyman invented to frighten people, but is actually a genuine incarnation of evil.

"He's not like mist. He's not a diffuse thing, he is a person," Pope Francis told the Italy-based broadcast network TV2000.
Although he did not speak to the possible identity of the devil, His Holiness did express concern about anyone who may encounter the wicked individual and
foolishly engage him.

"I’m convinced that one must never converse with Satan," Pope Francis said, "he's more intelligent than us, and he'll turn you upside down."
The Pope went on lament that the devil "always pretends to be polite - he does it with priests, with bishops. That’s how he enters your mind. But it ends badly if you don’t realize what is happening in time."

Some theologians attribute Pope Francis' words as well as his previous statements regarding Satan to his Jesuit background, but stress that the Pontiff speaks quite seriously when he talks of the devil and his nefarious ways. While that may be the case, one also can't help but wonder if perhaps the Pope's knowledge of Satan is also informed by his role as the head of the Catholic Church and whatever secrets he may have been told upon assuming the position.

To that end, it's far more troubling to hear that Satan is a living being that can outsmart humans when it is said by the Pope rather than the guy on the corner handing out Chick Tracts.

 

[YosemiteSam]

• George Washington died today in 1799
  
• In 1900, the first groundbreaking paper released by Max Planck which brought about model quantum theory physics.
• Someone was born and someone died on this day every year for at least the last two millennia.

 

[Them]

Today in Strangeness: December 15th...

50 years ago, on December 15, 1967, the Silver Bridge connecting Point Pleasant, West Virginia to Gallipolis, Ohio, collapsed, killing 46 people. The tragedy is forever linked in esoteric circles with the infamous cryptid Mothman who reportedly made multiple appearances in the Point Pleasant area in the weeks preceding the event. It was rumored that on this day in 1966, upon his death, Walt Disney was rushed into cryogenic suspension.

Mothman

Mothman on Silver Bridge

Mothman cruising Downtown

...
Walt Disney

...also...

NASA Announces Exoplanet Discovery Made Via AI:

At a press conference held on Thursday, NASA announced that a groundbreaking project using artificial intelligence had successfully located a heretofore undiscovered exoplanet. The newfound world is particularly significant as it is the eighth planet known to orbit around one specific star which has been dubbed 'Kepler-90.'

This matches the number of planets found in our own solar system and constitutes the most exoplanets found orbiting a single star.
Beyond the historic nature of the discovery may be the way in which it was accomplished, since the method holds tremendous promise for future celestial finds.

A research team from Google developed a form of a sophisticated computer system that was able to siphon through the massive amounts of Kepler data through a 'neural network' that functions similar to a human brain. The 'machine learning' technique proved to be a success as it subsequently spotted the exoplanet now known as 'Kepler-90i' which had not been noticed by astronomers in their initial examination of the data.

Although the space agency's announcement will no doubt disappoint UFO and ET enthusiasts who expected something more profound to be revealed, there are some tremendous implications from today's news which are worthy of celebrating. As the application of artificial intelligence to massive data sets improves, so to do the chances of finding the long-sought-after exoplanet that happens to harbor life.

And, should this technology become readily available to independent researchers, perhaps a perusal of the enormous catalogs of UFO reports collected over the years could actually yield something about the phenomenon that has been hiding in plain sight for all this time.
Considering the science fiction-like nature of ETs, it almost makes sense that a similarly-futuristic tool such as AI would be the way to find them.


...extra...

Massive Python Bagged in Florida:

A trio of hunters working to reduce Florida's worrisome python population bagged a monstrous 17-foot-long serpent that is the stuff of nightmares.
Jason Leon and a pair of cohorts took down the monstrous snake late last week while taking part in the state's ominous-sounding 'Python Elimination Program.'

The endeavor, which pays snake hunters both an hourly wage and a bonus for big catches, is aimed at eradicating what is seen as an out-of-control problem plaguing the Everglades The invasive animals, which have been allowed to essentially slither free in Florida because they are the top of the proverbial food chain, are blamed for wiping out native wildlife in the region due to their insatiable appetite.

This particular python, which weighed a whopping 132 pounds, netted Leon and his fellow hunters a bounty of $375 dollars due to its record-breaking length. Lest one feel bad for the Burmese python that ran afoul of the hunters, consider the plight of the critters who call the Everglades homes and would never stand a chance should they encounter the creature.

 

[Them]

• George Washington died today in 1799
  
• In 1900, the first groundbreaking paper released by Max Planck which brought about model quantum theory physics.
• Someone was born and someone died on this day every year for at least the last two millennia.

*George was a good man...I would vote for him if he was "running" today!
* Quantum Theory eh?....Einstein probably read that paper...and improved on it I would imagine.
*Yes.

 

[Them]

18.) Hair

Hair has significant ties with sexuality, according to Freud. Abundant hair may symbolize virility, while cutting hair off in a dream shows a loss of libido.
Hair loss may also express a literal fear of going bald.
Hair, since it grows out of your head, may represent other things that come from your head, such as your thoughts or way of thinking.
Cutting your hair in a dream may symbolize removing negative thoughts or shedding some aspect of yourself.
Dreaming of growing facial hair may suggest that you are trying to mask or conceal some aspect of yourself.

...hit it...

Gimme a head with hair
Long beautiful hair
Shining, gleaming,
Streaming, flaxen, waxen

Give me down to there hair
Shoulder length or longer hair
Here baby, there mama
Everywhere daddy daddy

Hair, hair, hair, hair, hair, hair, hair...?...nevermind!!

 

[Them]

Today in Strangeness: December 18th...

Considered the "father of modern clowning" Joseph Grimaldi was born on this day in 1778.
Scientist John Draper took the first celestial photograph of the moon on this date in 1839.

Joseph Grimaldi

Joseph the clown

***

the first celestial photograph of the moon

...also...

Pentagon Reveals Secret UFO Research Program:

A clandestine and contemporary program aimed at studying UFOs spotted in the skies over the United States has been officially acknowledged by the Pentagon for the first time. A remarkable report released by the New York Times on Saturday reveals details about the Advanced Aviation Threat Identification Program which ran from 2007 to 2012.

The initiative, which boasted an annual budget of $22 million dollars, centered around UFO sightings recorded by US military aircraft and whether or not these anomalous objects posed a threat to the country. According to the Times, the AATIP was created at the behest of former Nevada senator Harry Reid.

To that end, the newspaper reports that "most of the money" went to a research company run by Bigelow, which may explain his certainty about the UFO reality during his appearance on 60 Minutes earlier this year. Insiders who worked on the program insisted that, despite purportedly being shut down in 2012, research into these UFOsightings has continued in a less official capacity ever since.

Akin to something of a modern day Project Blue Book, the AATIP interviewed military personnel and civilian witnesses who had, ostensibly, noteworthy UFO encounters and, no doubt, studied any footage available from these cases. Intriguingly, the newspaper also says that the program had buildings in Las Vegas which were used for " the storage of metal alloys and other materials" that "had been recovered from unidentified aerial phenomena."

What information was learned about those materials as well as where they are today goes unsaid, unfortunately, but hopefully that aspect of the program will be pursued by UFO researchers soon. Deemed a "restrictive special access program," the AATIP was described by Reid to the Times as being funded with "so-called black money" in an effort to keep the venture under wraps to avoid ridicule from other members of Congress, the mainstream media, and the public.

Although the revelation of the program's existence serves to confirm that the United States government has a present-day interest in the UFO phenomenon, it remains a mystery as to what kind of insights the AATIP produced. "If anyone says they have the answers now, they're fooling themselves," Reid told the Times, "we do not know."

While that may be the case, one should also note that the Pentagon is only just telling the world about the program now and, therefore, it's entirely possible and maybe even likely that they have additional information that they wish not to share with the public at this time. For UFO disclosure advocates, both the story itself as well as its coverage in the vaunted New York Times and the ripple effect that will create are most certainly being seen as a major victory for the movement.

That said, one would be wise to temper their expectations for now, since there remain quite a few more steps in the presupposed journey from 'the government is trying to figure out UFOs' to 'there are aliens visiting the Earth.' And, should we ultimately reach that conclusion, we're all still left wondering perhaps the most worrisome question of all: why are they coming here? ...(Here we go again!...)

...extra...

Can you spot the bird hiding in this video?

Normally, chameleons come to mind when we think about animals that blend in well. But the bird in this video is also very talented at hiding in plain sight.
Can you spot it? Watch and see if you can find it before the answer is revealed.

 

[jobberone]

• On this day in 1776 Thomas Paine published the first in a series of pamphlets entitled The American Crisis, opening with the now-famous line, "These are the times that try men's souls."

Wikipedia

 

[jobberone]

• 1271 Kublai Khan renames his empire "Yuan" (元 yuán), marking the start of the Yuan Dynasty of China

 

[Them]

• 1271 Kublai Khan renames his empire "Yuan" (元 yuán), marking the start of the Yuan Dynasty of China

...Well Mr. Jobberone...I like that!...It's too bad that I can't give your posts an official like... ...but maybe you and a few others can take over for me next year Eh?

 

[jobberone]

...Well Mr. Jobberone...I like that!...It's too bad that I can't give your posts an official like... ...but maybe you and a few others can take over for me next year Eh?

Like. Like. Like!

 

[Melonfeud]

Today in Strangeness: December 6th...

On this date in 1884, construction of the Washington Monument was completed, with workers placing a nine-inch aluminum pyramid at the top of the tower. Made of some 36,000 blocks of marble and granite, the monument was the tallest structure in the world at the time. But, back in the 1860s, when construction was halted during the Civil War, Mark Twain described the unfinished monument as looking like a "hollow, oversized chimney."

1884 Washington Monument uncapped

Cap...

Washington Monument capped

...also...

Odd 'Ball' Spotted on Mars:

Anomaly hunters studying images from Mars believe they have spotted yet another out-of-place item in the form of an eye-catching ball of some kind on the surface of the Red Planet. Noticed in a photo taken by NASA's Mars Curiosity Rover, the odd grey object looks remarkably smooth and spherical, standing out among the jagged rocks around it.

It is believed that the ball is around the same size as a softball or, as some imaginative observers have noted, a cannonball.
This particular perspective argues that the anomaly is further evidence that there was some kind of battle on the Red Planet prior to a collapse of the Martian civilization.

One conspiracy theorist went so far as to suggest that it was an indication that Mars was once pelted with artificial meteors, presumably by an hostile ET race, in an effort to strip the planet of its atmosphere. However, that is merely one possible interpretation as the 'ball' serves as something of a Martian Rorschach test, allowing viewers to put their own spin on its origin and purpose.

Some may see a more whimsical side to the anomaly, believing that it was, perhaps, the centerpiece of an exotic Martian game played long ago.
Others might propose a utilitarian take on the object, positing that it's possibly a form of food eaten by the advanced denizens of the Red Planet akin to our
astronaut ice cream.

Skeptics, of course, say that it is simply a rock which took on the ball-like shape via the geological process known as 'concretion.'(...much like the skeptics'
brain I suppose!... *>)

...extra...

Australian Shepherd helps mom with her exercises:

Australian Shepherds are incredibly intelligent dogs. They were born to herd sheep, but you can teach these dogs to do almost anything - they just learn so fast. You can even teach them to do things you’d never expect. Like this beautiful Aussie that helps her mom with sit ups and squats. They are such a great team!

Wow! I've never seen the Martian 'cannonball' picture,,, and I'm really kind of a fiend concerning that subject matter,Thanks for that picture.

 

[Melonfeud]

• On this day in 1776 Thomas Paine published the first in a series of pamphlets entitled The American Crisis, opening with the now-famous line, "These are the times that try men's souls."

Wikipedia

• 1271 Kublai Khan renames his empire "Yuan" (元 yuán), marking the start of the Yuan Dynasty of China

 

[Them]

Today in Strangeness: December 19...

Benjamin Franklin began publishing "Poor Richard's Almanac" on this date in 1732.
Apollo 17 splashed down in the Pacific bringing an end to the program that landed men on the Moon (1972).
And the all-time biggest bigamist, Mrs. Theresa Vaughn, 24, confessed in court to having 61 marriages in five years (1922).

"Poor Richard's Almanac" (earliest edition I could find.)

Ben Franklin

...also...

CA Cops Nab 'Bad Santa' Stuck in Chimney:

A California man with visions of the perfect caper dancing in his head found out the hard way that taking a trip down a chimney is a job best left to Santa Claus. While trying to illegally enter a business in the city of Citrus Heights via their chimney, Jesse Berube became stuck and was forced to call 911 for help. Rescue workers quickly responded and managed to extricate the 'Bad Santa' from the situation by pulling him out of the chimney.
Although he emerged from the predicament unscathed, Berube quickly found himself restrained in an altogether different way when cops slapped some handcuffs on him after they arrested him for the burglary attempt.

...extra...

Pentagon UFO Program Revelation Puts Spotlight on the Phenomenon:

This past weekend's bombshell revelations regarding the Pentagon's secret UFO research program has sparked a media frenzy surrounding the phenomenon which has produced some additional insights into the story. The remarkable report published by the New York Times has received extensive coverage from national news outlets and catapulted UFOs to the forefront of the public consciousness for the first time in quite awhile.

Unlike many stories generated by the phenomenon, this particular tale seems to have taken hold in the zeitgeist thanks to the seriousness with which the US government has been revealed to take UFOs. To that end, the response to the Pentagon's confirmation has been largely curious rather than dismissive, although it has also spawned some thought pieces on the propriety of spending tax payer money on UFO research.

Amid the tidal wave of stories detailing Saturday's Times piece, some intriguing new details about the Advanced Aviation Threat Identification Program have come to light. Perhaps most tantalizing is that the group produced a 490-page report on their research that was ostensibly issued to the Department of Defense.

It is unknown what insights were contained within the report as well as whether or not it will be made available to the public.
Equally remarkable were some new insights into the "metal alloys and other materials" that were purportedly recovered and studied by the AATIP.

One of the Times' reporters who penned the story elaborated on that aspect of the research in an interview with MSNBC.
Ralph Blumenthal explained that this "material from these objects that is being studied so that scientists can try and figure out what accounts for their amazing properties." Asked what type of material it is, he replied, "they don't know. They're studying it, but it's some kind of compound that they don't recognize."

How the story unfolds from here remains to be seen, but there is hope in the UFO disclosure community that the tremendous public interest in the Pentagon's admission can create momentum towards more revelations from the government. More cynical observers and seasoned UFO researchers are taking something of a 'wait and see' approach as the constantly-churning news cycle may push the phenomenon back into the periphery before any progress towards answers can be achieved as has happened many times in the past.

And some concerned conspiracy theorists are already crying foul and warning people that the 'threat' aspect of the AATIP's mission may be used to fabricate a 'hostile ET' narrative should this truly be the start of some kind of UFO disclosure. While that may turn out to be the case, the attitude of many who have longed for UFO answers seems to be that they'll cross that proverbial bridge when they come to it so long as they receive confirmation about ETs.

Ultimately it may take some time before we know if the Pentagon's admission was a watershed moment in the march towards UFO disclosure or simply another maddening misstep leading us even further into the dark.

 

[haleyrules]

Today in Strangeness: December 19...

Benjamin Franklin began publishing "Poor Richard's Almanac" on this date in 1732.
Apollo 17 splashed down in the Pacific bringing an end to the program that landed men on the Moon (1972).
And the all-time biggest bigamist, Mrs. Theresa Vaughn, 24, confessed in court to having 61 marriages in five years (1922).

"Poor Richard's Almanac" (earliest edition I could find.)

Ben Franklin

...also...

CA Cops Nab 'Bad Santa' Stuck in Chimney:

A California man with visions of the perfect caper dancing in his head found out the hard way that taking a trip down a chimney is a job best left to Santa Claus. While trying to illegally enter a business in the city of Citrus Heights via their chimney, Jesse Berube became stuck and was forced to call 911 for help. Rescue workers quickly responded and managed to extricate the 'Bad Santa' from the situation by pulling him out of the chimney.
Although he emerged from the predicament unscathed, Berube quickly found himself restrained in an altogether different way when cops slapped some handcuffs on him after they arrested him for the burglary attempt.

...extra...

Pentagon UFO Program Revelation Puts Spotlight on the Phenomenon:

This past weekend's bombshell revelations regarding the Pentagon's secret UFO research program has sparked a media frenzy surrounding the phenomenon which has produced some additional insights into the story. The remarkable report published by the New York Times has received extensive coverage from national news outlets and catapulted UFOs to the forefront of the public consciousness for the first time in quite awhile.

Unlike many stories generated by the phenomenon, this particular tale seems to have taken hold in the zeitgeist thanks to the seriousness with which the US government has been revealed to take UFOs. To that end, the response to the Pentagon's confirmation has been largely curious rather than dismissive, although it has also spawned some thought pieces on the propriety of spending tax payer money on UFO research.

Amid the tidal wave of stories detailing Saturday's Times piece, some intriguing new details about the Advanced Aviation Threat Identification Program have come to light. Perhaps most tantalizing is that the group produced a 490-page report on their research that was ostensibly issued to the Department of Defense.

It is unknown what insights were contained within the report as well as whether or not it will be made available to the public.
Equally remarkable were some new insights into the "metal alloys and other materials" that were purportedly recovered and studied by the AATIP.

One of the Times' reporters who penned the story elaborated on that aspect of the research in an interview with MSNBC.
Ralph Blumenthal explained that this "material from these objects that is being studied so that scientists can try and figure out what accounts for their amazing properties." Asked what type of material it is, he replied, "they don't know. They're studying it, but it's some kind of compound that they don't recognize."

How the story unfolds from here remains to be seen, but there is hope in the UFO disclosure community that the tremendous public interest in the Pentagon's admission can create momentum towards more revelations from the government. More cynical observers and seasoned UFO researchers are taking something of a 'wait and see' approach as the constantly-churning news cycle may push the phenomenon back into the periphery before any progress towards answers can be achieved as has happened many times in the past.

And some concerned conspiracy theorists are already crying foul and warning people that the 'threat' aspect of the AATIP's mission may be used to fabricate a 'hostile ET' narrative should this truly be the start of some kind of UFO disclosure. While that may turn out to be the case, the attitude of many who have longed for UFO answers seems to be that they'll cross that proverbial bridge when they come to it so long as they receive confirmation about ETs.

Ultimately it may take some time before we know if the Pentagon's admission was a watershed moment in the march towards UFO disclosure or simply another maddening misstep leading us even further into the dark.

Now, the Pentagon investigation is very interesting and the most reliable Pilots story is very believable. He certainly observed a real time Alien.

 

[Them]

Now, the Pentagon investigation is very interesting and the most reliable Pilots story is very believable. He certainly observed a real time Alien.[/QUOTE]
...Yes. ... Yes he did!...

 

[Them]

Today in Strangeness: December 20th...

On this date in 1968, the notorious Zodiac Killer began his reign of terror by claiming the lives of Betty Lou Jensen and David Faraday in Benicia, CA. Despite a myriad of suspects and theories, the true identity of the Zodiac Killer remains an unsolved mystery. In recent years, there has been renewed hope that the case may someday be solved, as investigators have gleaned DNA evidence from the envelopes of the infamous letters that were sent by the murderer to the San Francisco press.


...also...

Zombie Nativity Scene Rises from the Dead One Last Time:

The owner of a notorious zombie-themed nativity scene in Ohio has announced that this will be the final year for the controversial display.
Located in a suburb of Cincinnati, the unorthodox holiday tradition began three years ago and generated headlines for both its creepy nature as well as a legal battle that it spawned.

The first two incarnations of the nativity scene, in 2014 and 2015, led to creator Jasen Dixon being cited an astounding 27 times by his town for what was deemed a zoning violation. A contentious showdown with his local government eventually led to the display being allowed to continue in 2016 without any intervention from the town, although it did fall victim to vandals.

It would seem that, having won the war against his town but now facing new harassment from ne'er-do-wells, Dixon was ready to call it quits and actually decided to pull the plug on the scene at the end of last year. However, the remarkable popularity of the display led him to reconsider and so, befittingly, the zombie nativity scene has risen from the grave for one last holiday season.

Dixon insists that this will truly be the final year for the odd showcase that has drawn visitors from hundreds of miles away and been featured on innumerable TV news segments. What will become of the display after this Christmas has yet to be determined, but he has suggested the possibility that it could be sold, meaning that there's the possibility that the zombie nativity scene could pop up in your neighborhood next year.


...extra...

You’ll never believe the size of New York’s biggest cat!:

There are so many different species of cats, but most house cats are about the same size. Some species of house cats are a little longer or fluffier, but Samson, a Maine Coon, definitely takes the cake.

 

[YosemiteSam]

Today in strangeness.

 

[Them]

Today in strangeness.

...?... ...!...?...That is strange!...

 

[YosemiteSam]

...?... ...!...?...That is strange!...

There were several people calling for him to be cut just days before he was ranked as the best CB playing last Sunday hah. (hence strange rofl)