Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Mysterious markings discovered at Great Pyramid of Giza 

A robot explorer has revealed ancient markings inside a secret chamber at Egypt's Great Pyramid of Giza.

posted by Prof. Hex at 5:07 PM

Township mob burns 'talking' monkey as witch 

A monkey was pelted with stones, shot at and burned to death in a South African township because residents believed it was linked to witchcraft, an animal welfare agency has said.

posted by Prof. Hex at 4:10 PM

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Saint's head to be sold at auction in Duleek 

He is believed to have lived in the 1300s and after a rather murky life, went on a series of pilgrimages and finally became a Benedictine monk.

Cool. With pic.

posted by Prof. Hex at 5:42 PM

Leatherman mystery lives on; no body found in New York grave of 19th century wanderer 

The old Leatherman took his secrets to his grave for a second time today.

posted by Prof. Hex at 2:42 PM

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Feet washed ashore in B.C. identified 

Two of the feet, anyway.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:43 PM

Egyptian pyramids found by infra-red satellite images 

More than 1,000 tombs and 3,000 ancient settlements were also revealed by looking at infra-red images which show up underground buildings.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:42 PM

6 Bizarre Ways Architecture Is Designed to Ward Off Ghosts 

When designing a building, you have to account for things like terrain, materials, weather, handicapped accessibility and, of course, ghosts.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:29 PM

Spider's monster 82ft wide web found in Madagascar 

Sleep tight.

posted by Prof. Hex at 7:11 PM

Monday, May 23, 2011

How to spot a psychopath 

From Broadmoor to boardroom, they're everywhere, says Jon Ronson, in an exclusive extract from his new book.

More good stuff from author Jon Ronson.

posted by Prof. Hex at 1:01 PM

The Lurking Dogman 

Thick trees surrounded the property where seven-year-old S. Costea met the strange dog, a dog with red, glowing eyes – a dog that sometimes walked on two legs.

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:49 AM

Creatures of the Crop 

Without doubt, one of the strangest aspects of cryptozoology, is its tie-in with the Crop Circle mystery.

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:47 AM

Monsters & the Men in Black 

For decades - or perhaps even for centuries, some firmly believe - the infamous Men in Black have been elusive, predatory, fear-inducing figures that have hovered with disturbing regularity upon the enigmatic fringes of the subject of Unidentified Flying Objects...

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:46 AM

Awesome or Off-Putting: Video Of An Alien Blinking And Such 

And this naked alien doesn’t just sit there either – it blinks, looks around and pushed a button or something.

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:45 AM

Allende's body taken from Chile tomb for autopsy 

The remains of deposed Chilean President Salvador Allende were removed from his tomb Monday for an autopsy to determine whether he committed suicide or was assassinated during the 1973 military coup that ousted the leftist leader.

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:36 AM

Let's take a field trip to the Daoist underworld 

At the Beijing Dongyue Temple, you can visit the various "departments" of the Daoist supernatural realm, where terrifying spirits and demonic government officials dwell.

With pics.

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:33 AM

Mystery beast causing panic in Quang Ngai province 

Hundreds of households in Binh Dong Commune of Binh Son District in Quang Ngai are living in panic after mysterious footprints were seen on the sand and loud roaring sounds heard in the area.

With footprint pic.

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:33 AM

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Earth's inner-core melts and freezes at the same time 

The inner-core of Earth is simultaneously melting and freezing due to circulation of heat in the overlying rocky mantle, according to researchers.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:47 PM

Ketchikan, Alaska is an unlikely place for a bigfoot sighting 

Driving up the Alcan Highway through Canada, there is a whole stretch of Canadian towns along the road touting their bigfoot-rich properties, a tourist draw for those who believe in the unsubsantiated animal.





See also: Bringing Bigfoot to life

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:44 PM

A meteor mystery in New Jersey? 

"Something clearly came out of the sky."

Let's hope it's not like the last time something came out of the sky in New Jersey.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:33 PM

Local doctor studies the mystery behind meditation 

Ommmmmmmm.

posted by Prof. Hex at 6:43 PM

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Is Big Pharma Ignoring a Potential Cancer Cure? 

One of Salk's admirers is Evangelos Michelakis, a cancer researcher at the University of Alberta who, three years ago, discovered that a common, nontoxic chemical known as DCA, short for dichloroacetate, seems to inhibit the growth of cancerous tumors in mice.

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:55 AM

Satanism fear stalks village as goats are tortured and killed 

Four goats have been cruelly slaughtered in a village, raising fears of ‘satanic rituals’.

See also: 'Warlock' gravedigger found guilty of rape

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:46 AM

Threatened rock carvings of Pakistan 

The proposed site of the dam hosts some 30,000 ancient art carvings and inscriptions which may vanish forever due to the construction of this reservoir.

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:28 AM

Morgellons mystery itching symptoms called 'delusional' 

They complain of mysterious, creepy symptoms: bugs — or some form of infestation — crawling beneath their skin, sometimes burrowing to the surface, leaving odd specks and colored filaments in their wake.

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:26 AM

Giant Snake Near Morganza? 

Here's a pic of what is purported to be a giant snake fleeing the floodwaters at Morganza.

And here's the debunking.

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:20 AM

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

9 of the Best Recordings From the Library of Congress' New Music Service 

The Library of Congress launched a project to make thousands of recordings from 1901 to 1925 available online yesterday. The collection documents the explosion of recorded popular music styles.

posted by Prof. Hex at 3:56 PM

Was John P. Wheeler Murdered? That Now Seems To Be Increasingly Likely 

It has been going on five months since the battered corpse of defense consultant John P. Wheeler fell from a trash truck at a northern Delaware landfill, and if anything the mystery surrounding his death has deepened.

posted by Prof. Hex at 2:10 PM

The real Da Vinci Code: Rosslyn Chapel's stone cubes may conceal a 500-year-old secret 

Rosslyn Chapel may hold yet another mystery - a musical one. Worth reading.

posted by Prof. Hex at 1:50 PM

Chinese man Sheng Xianhui wakes up with mystery tattoo on bottom after routine surgery 

A man who went for a routine operation in the Yunnan province of China woke up with a nasty surprise - a mystery tattoo on his right buttock.

posted by Prof. Hex at 1:38 PM

A Gold Coin Treasure in San Pedro Bay? - or - Just Another Tale of Wells Fargo? 

According to early Southern California lore and legend, there lies a fortune in gold ore, bars and coins still buried deep in the cold murky mud on the ocean bottom of the San Pedro Bay.

posted by Prof. Hex at 1:26 PM

How L.A. Noire Rebuilt 1940s Los Angeles Using Vintage Extreme Aerial Photography 

L.A. Noire's carefully reconstructed world owes a huge debt to Robert Spence, who photographed Los Angeles while leaning out of a biplane with a 46-pound camera in the 1920s.

posted by Prof. Hex at 1:25 PM

San Francisco man becomes first in history to be ‘cured’ of AIDS 

Timothy Ray Brown, a 45-year-old San Francisco man previously known to the medical community as “the Berlin patient,” has become the first person to ever be cured of AIDS.

posted by Prof. Hex at 1:06 PM

Thursday, May 12, 2011

Italian archaeologists hunt for Mona Lisa model 

"Let her rest in peace! What would finding the remains change compared to the fascination of Leonardo’s painting,” Natalia Strozzi, who is also an actress and a local vintner, told reporters ahead of the dig.

Natalia Strozzi claims to be descended from Lisa Gherardini del Giocondo, the Mona Lisa.

posted by Prof. Hex at 7:32 AM

Rochester's mystery beast proving to be elusive catch 

With pic.

posted by Prof. Hex at 7:22 AM

Lost Colony mystery solved? Expert weighs in 

The theories of the missing colonists of Sir Walter Raleigh’s Lost Colony continue to this day.

posted by Prof. Hex at 7:19 AM

'Unnerving' rumble in Virginia Beach a mystery 

The skyquakes are back!

posted by Prof. Hex at 7:12 AM

Widnes teen claims UFO over Millington Close must be secret stealth project 

You could say he was an "eye-Widnes."

posted by Prof. Hex at 7:11 AM

An Interview with Lawrence Block, Author of A Drop of the Hard Stuff 

A new Block book is always cause for celebration.

posted by Prof. Hex at 7:07 AM

200-year-old library book returned to Camden 

A man from Thousand Oaks, Calif., hand-delivered the book in mid-April to the Edward J. Walsh History Center at the Camden Public Library, along with two other antique volumes with strong ties to the area.

posted by Prof. Hex at 6:26 AM

Man dressed as 'Batman' busted on Michigan roof for trespassing, carrying 'dangerous weapons' 

Where does he get those wonderful toys?

posted by Prof. Hex at 6:00 AM

Dolores Fuller, RIP 

A fantastic Hollywood life which included Ed Wood, Elvis Presley, and Dinah Shore. Her IMDB page says she was even in It Happened One Night!

Here's Elvis doing one of Dolores's songs in Kid Galahad, and pretty damn smoothly I might add.

posted by Prof. Hex at 2:42 AM

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Enema of the People 

An visually-impaired California man got a bum deal recently in the form of an unauthorized enema in his own home.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:41 AM

Japan's ancient tsunami warnings carved in stone 

Weathered stone markers recalling the deadly tsunamis of centuries past dot the saw tooth coastline of northeast Japan, serving as silent warnings from the ancestors.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:39 AM

Europeans never had Neanderthal neighbours 

The first humans to reach Europe may have found it a ghost world. Carbon-dated Neanderthal remains from the foothills of the Caucasus Mountains suggest that the archaic species had died out before modern humans arrived.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:03 AM

The most expensive Roman gold coin ever sold at a public auction 

As one of the largest surviving Roman medallions, this piece is one of only two known.

With pic.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:02 AM

Ancient cave paintings found in Spain 

Spanish archeologists have uncovered a collection of cave paintings in northern Spain, which they believe date back to about 25,000 years ago.

posted by Prof. Hex at 7:56 AM

The Burning of a Monster 

The death of Tarasca (the monster blamed for all the wrongs of the year) began with a theatrical presentation.

posted by Prof. Hex at 7:51 AM

Discovery special reexamines Bigfoot 

Bigfoot was a big deal back in the day. Kids naturally grow more skeptical about everything with each passing month, but Bigfoot represented the final frontier.

posted by Prof. Hex at 7:50 AM

At least three killers dumped bodies at Long Island's Gilgo Beach: Suffolk County DA 

The Long Island murder mystery took a macabre turn Monday with the revelation there are three killers on the loose - and one of them is a butcher.

posted by Prof. Hex at 7:27 AM

The mystery ‘acid man’ returns 

This time, in the heart of the city — as if taunting cops to catch him!

posted by Prof. Hex at 7:23 AM

New Zealand probes mystery 'kiwi' found in Russian port 

New Zealand says it is checking reports that a rare kiwi bird has been found thousands of miles from its native land in the Russian port of Sochi.

posted by Prof. Hex at 7:19 AM

Monday, May 09, 2011

Ancient chemical weapons that were ahead of their time 

None are as fearsome as the terrible and ancient 'Dutch Oven.'

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:13 AM

Saturday, May 07, 2011

Welcome NPR listeners! 

If you heard me on On The Media with Brooke Gladstone thanks for taking the time to stop by. Be sure to bookmark this site to keep up to date on the weirdest strange and mysterious news. Click here to read the original article I wrote shortly after bin Laden's death.

You can follow me on Twitter here, Facebook here, and read all my Examiner articles here.

Click here for my short fiction collection and here for a list of interesting and curious historical titles I've made available for eReaders through Amazon.

Thanks again for stopping by!

And if you haven't heard the show yet, be sure to check your local NPR listings for On The Media.

posted by Prof. Hex at 1:28 PM

Friday, May 06, 2011

Why Casablanca is the future of the world 

Well, we'll always have Paris.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:06 PM

The Osama bin Laden Conspiracy Theory 

Your humble Professor did an interview with the Canadian news site The Mark concerning Osama bin Laden conspiracies. I don't think I came off as too big of a dolt. Click here to watch it.

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:16 AM

Synchronized arousal between performers and related spectators in a fire-walking ritual 

Hot to trot, apparently. Thanks, Scott.

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:15 AM

'Viking shipyard' found on Skye 

A 12th century Norse shipyard has been discovered on the Isle of Skye, complete with boat timbers from the 1100s and a stone-built quay.

With video. See also: Archaeologists are investigating a 12th-century Norse shipbuilding site on Skye, which is unique in Scotland.

posted by Prof. Hex at 9:28 AM

Mysterious ancient skills of the Shaolin Warriors 

Returning to the Theatre Royal stage with a brand new show, Shaolin Warriors is a breathtaking theatrical performance vividly showcases the rarely-seen Kung Fu masters’ feats of agility, strength and skill.

posted by Prof. Hex at 9:24 AM

From Haircuts to Hangnails – The Barber-Surgeon 

When's the last time you've had a leeching?

posted by Prof. Hex at 9:14 AM

Airships are ready to make their big comeback 

Ever since the Hindenburg disaster in 1937, airships have been a largely abandoned technology...

See also: MIRACULOUS new AIRSHIP set to fly by 2013

posted by Prof. Hex at 9:12 AM

Documentary studies 'Vanishing of the Bees' 

My good friend George Langworthy and co-director Maryam Henein get some press for their fine film.

See also: Auteur Werner Herzog fulfills his lifelong dream of exploring ancient art.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:38 AM

Death of Osama bin Laden: Mystery shrouds the quiet man who built Bin Laden's compound 

I wonder if anyone builds lairs for a living.

"Yeah, Dr. No's place? That's one of mine."

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:35 AM

Animal Planet Announces FINDING BIGFOOT 

Series Premiere is Sunday, June 5.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:28 AM

GOBLIN ELEPHANTS AND WERE-SPIDERS - SURVEYING THE EYE-POPPING YOKAI IMAGERY OF GOJIN ISHIHARA 

Not long ago, graphics artist Andy Paciorek alerted me to a truly extraordinary Japanese book on the subject of yokai - the traditional monsters of Japanese legend and folklore.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:02 AM

Why that study about psychic porn was totally bogus 

I should have seen this coming.

posted by Prof. Hex at 7:39 AM

Sea Monster Battle Preserved for the Ages 

One hundred and twenty million years ago, when a Cretaceous sea covered what is now South Australia, an ichthyosaur had a really bad day.

posted by Prof. Hex at 7:31 AM

Thursday, May 05, 2011

A New Magazine about New Orleans Voodoo and Hoodoo 

I never thought there would come a day when it would be feasible to create, sell and buy a magazine that focuses on New Orleans Voodoo and hoodoo.

Looks pretty damn cool.

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:52 PM

Lake monster invades Arthurs Seat 

With pic.

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:43 PM

What’s Really Under the Sea 

Her book, “Sex, Drugs, and Sea Slime,” blends scientific research with totally gross and hilarious anecdotes about our marine friends. And boy, do humans have a narrow view of the world. As the salacious title suggests, there is plenty to titillate in the ocean. (Squeamish and prudish readers—you’ve been warned.)

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:33 AM

The Old Leather Man: controversy over digging up a legend 

An archaeological team will open the grave of The Old Leather Man, a mysterious wanderer who from 1883 to 1889 walked a 365 mile loop from the lower Hudson River Valley into Connecticut and back.

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:14 AM

Wednesday, May 04, 2011

The strength of dark matter might vary with the seasons...but why? 

There's no reason at all why something as mysterious and cosmic should sync up with the changing of seasons on Earth...and yet now two independent sources claim that's exactly what it's doing.

As above, so below.

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:29 PM

Odd behaviour of neighbours makes sense after bin Laden killing 

It's always the quiet ones.

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:25 PM

Paranormal studies to continue despite LePar's death 

The source of insights during LePar’s trance states, known as The Council, provided more than 2 million words of dialogue with questioners in SOL’s research study groups.

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:22 PM

Mystery of the Nasca Lines 

The curtains in my Lima hostel room were cluttered with the mysterious shapes which draw thousands of people to the Nasca Lines every year.

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:03 PM

Aviation Geeks Scramble to ID bin Laden Raid’s Mystery Copter 

Um, yeah...... What the HELL is THAT?

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:59 PM

100 years later, rock 'n' roll originator Robert Johnson's mythic crossroads remains a mystery 

Robert Johnson remains mysterious.

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:54 PM

Noise Pollution Reaches the Oceans 

A recent study found that human-caused noise pollution in the oceans might inflict severe trauma on marine life, causing damage to hearing and orientation structures in squid and octopuses.

posted by Prof. Hex at 2:52 AM

Tuesday, May 03, 2011

Born fighter: The five-year-old boy who has sold 3,000 of his own monster drawings to pay for the cancer treatment they could save his life 

The little boy has sold more than 3,000 drawings, many of them sketched in his hospital bed as he underwent gruelling treatment.

Total sales topped more than $30,000 and Aidan has sold enough that his family were able to take their home off the market and they no longer require further funding for his care.

posted by Prof. Hex at 9:50 PM

Mummified body of former Playboy playmate Yvette Vickers found in her Benedict Canyon home 

Vickers, 82, had not been seen for a long time. A neighbor discovered her body in an upstairs room of her Westwanda Drive home on April 27. Its mummified state suggests she could have been dead for close to a year, police said.

Thanks to Andrea for the tip.

posted by Prof. Hex at 9:06 PM

Monday, May 02, 2011

Peculiarium: Museum relies on a less-than-typical aesthetic 

It's not every museum where you'll find an interactive exhibit asking you to become the victim of an alien autopsy.

posted by Prof. Hex at 1:42 PM

Could this Sumerian statue depict an ancient extinct giraffe? 

For decades, paleontologists have agonized over a strange Sumerian statue found in central Iraq.

posted by Prof. Hex at 1:33 PM

Woman gets British accent after surgery 

Over the next few days, the swelling subsided and the pain vanished, but Butler's newly acquired accent did not.

posted by Prof. Hex at 1:21 PM

Dambusters: Cambridge scientists recreate daring World War Two raid 

It was one of the most audacious acts of the Second World War and provided a huge propaganda boost to the Allies.

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:52 PM

'Panther' on the prowl at Reef 

Brett Matthews was visiting long-term local Pat Liffman's property last month when he saw the carnivore a few hundred metres away.

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:41 PM

Deep Sea Gigantism: Curious Cases of Mystery Giant Eels 

Among the vast and varied catalog of odd aliments out there, gigantism is a rare condition that refers to abnormal growth among members of a species, primarily due to imbalances in the regulation of growth hormones.

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:39 PM

Hunt for the true Mona Lisa begins 

Researchers have begun their hunt for the remains of the woman who might have been the model for Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa, hoping to unravel a mystery that has baffled art historians for over five centuries.

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:47 AM

German 'thought car' could be driven on Sabbath, Rabbi says 

A German-designed car that can be driven by thought alone could allow Jews to drive on the Sabbath, a young Rabbi and artificial intelligence scientist says.

For what it's worth, Wiki notes:

Jewish law (halakha), especially the Talmud Tractate Shabbat (Ch7, Mishna 2), identifies thirty-nine categories of activity prohibited on Shabbat (or thirty-nine melakhot; Hebrew: ל״ט אבות מלאכות, lamed tet avot melakhot‎), and clarifies many questions surrounding the application of the biblical prohibitions. Many rabbinical scholars have pointed out that these regulations of labor have something in common—they prohibit any activity that is creative, or that exercises control or dominion over one's environment.

Call me crazy, but I think driving a car with your brain might qualify as dominion over one's environment.

_______

/and a hat tip to Scott.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:42 AM

Helpful Resources for Criminologists and Criminology Buffs 

So many links it's...criminal.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:30 AM

Osama bin Laden is dead but conspiracy theories live on 

The announcement that 9/11 mastermind and international terrorist Osama bin Laden was killed by U.S. intelligence forces in a mansion outside Islamabad, Pakistan, has ignited both the world's media and its conspiracy theorists.

My latest at The Examiner.

posted by Prof. Hex at 6:00 AM

Sunday, May 01, 2011

Osama bin Laden Killed by US Strike 

Osama bin Laden, hunted as the mastermind behind the worst-ever terrorist attack on U.S. soil, has been killed, sources told ABC News.

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:09 PM