23. Reading Moles
While dermatologists might question the practice, some
seers interpret the moles on a person's skin in order to
predict the future. Called moleoscopy, the theory is that
moles result from the influences of the planets in the
natal horoscope. For example, Saturn governs black moles;
Jupiter, purple or brown; Venus, light brown; and the Moon,
blue-white. In addition, the position of the mole on
different parts of the body is said to be significant. A
mole on the ankle, for instance, indicates ambition.
24. Killer Crocs
In Papua, New Guinea, residents of Aure village are blaming
witchcraft for a series of terrifying crocodile attacks.
Aure locals say neighboring villagers are using sorcery to
encourage croc assaults because both communities fish in
the same waters. In the latest attack, a 10-year-old Aure
boy was dragged away by a monster crocodile and is presumed
dead. Aure locals are so angry, they're considering a
full-scale assault on their neighbors.
25. Medical Mind Power
If you, or a family member, need to have surgery, be sure
and examine your fears about it. Some medical experts
believe that those who think they will die during surgery
stand a good chance of doing just that. In fact, studies
show that some patients who must have an operation don't
mind the idea of dying and, in fact, look forward to an
afterlife where they can reunite with loved ones. "Close to
100 percent of people under those circumstances die," says
Harvard professor Herbert Benson.
26. Voodoo Magic
Brought to Haiti from Africa, voodoo is a powerful blend of
magical ritual, chanting, dancing, singing and drumming.
Such ritual practices, including the use of herbs and
potions, lead to pronounced trance states. Voodoo is most
known for some of its darker, more sinister rites,
including the ritual use of corpses and snakes. In some
voodoo ceremonies, practitioners believe they are possessed
by the gods.
27. The Living Dead
Our previous tip introduced the topic of voodoo, a mix of
religion and magic that began in West Africa, spreading to
Haiti and other locales. Voodoo practitioners insist that
they can bring back the dead through magical spells of
enchantment, and the result is a creature known as a
zombie. The zombie has no will of its own, behaves
robotically and is controlled by its voodoo master who
gives it menial tasks to perform. According to belief, if a
zombie eats salt, it awakens to its condition and hurries
back to the graveyard for reburial.
28. Thomas Edison Fails To Contact The Dead
The legendary genius invented the electric light, the
phonograph and many other astonishing wonders, but he
passed away saddened that he had been unable to create a
mechanical device for contacting the dead. The
sophisticated machine was based on the assumption that
there was a radio frequency between the long and short
waves that would make contact with the Other Side possible.
But the dead didn't answer -- or at least pretended not to
be home.
29. Qu'est Que C'est? - During an 1880 daytime thunderstorm, a French observer wrote in "Comptes Rendus:" "I saw leave from a black cloud a luminous body, very brilliant, light yellow, almost white, in shape a little elongated," slightly more than a foot long and slightly less than a foot around. Its ends were "cut short like a cone." The ball lightning lasted for a few seconds.
30. A Real Hotfoot - Abbot Ralph of Coggeshall compiled a medieval
chronicle of events, one of which supposedly took place late in the
twelfth century: "In the time of King Richard I, of England, there
appeared in a certain grassy, flat ground human footprints of
extraordinary length; and everywhere the footprints were impressed the grass remained as if scorched by fire."
31. Marconi Fails To Visit The Past
Guglielmo Marconi, the inventor of the radio, created a
device that he hoped would record voices from the past.
Until his death in 1937, Marconi endeavored to pick up
voices from days gone by. He produced a fascinating
contraption with which he hoped to travel back in time and
record great historical events. A devout Roman Catholic,
Marconi even hoped to record words spoken by Christ on the
Cross! Yet, like Thomas Edison, he failed to build a
machine that could transcend the known boundaries of time
and space.
32. Unsettling Sounds - Legendary newsman William Allen White had a rather bizarre experience one summer night in 1891 in El Dorado, Kansas. He wrote about it in "Autobiography" in 1946: He awoke before sunrise to the sound of music. He was astounded to see a group of little people, 4 inches tall, dancing underneath an elm tree. He went to some considerable lengths to assure himself he wasn't dreaming, and after 5 minutes, the figures faded away.
33. French UFO - In 1967, two children from Cussac, France were playing when they came upon a spherical UFO resting on the ground. They told investigators that they saw "four little devils" near it, and that the figures levitated before entering the craft, which took off with a soft, whistling sound.
34. If there are any planets like Earth in the universe, it's
likely that one-third of them contain life forms similar to
those found on our planet, according to a formula devised
by a pair of Australian scientists. And, if life can emerge
on planets unlike ours, the odds of encountering it are
even more likely, say Charles Lineweaver and Tamara Davis
of the University of New South Wales in Sydney. Which means
that tomorrow, the next century, or a thousand years from
now, there's a real possibility that we will contact alien
entities we can communicate with.
35. A Ghost Of Her Own
"Sally G." of Phoenix, Arizona claims to have a personal
ghost that has lived with her for 30 years. The mischievous
spirit hides her possessions and gives them back at odd
times. The lost items are usually personally significant
and are returned to very obvious places; for example, a
missing ring showed up six months later in the bathroom
next to her toothbrush. Astonishingly, no one else had been
in Sally's home for days, and she uses her toothbrush twice
daily!
36. Do You Know The Monkey Man? - An hysteria has gripped New Delhi, India, where residents fear attacks by mysterious "monkey man"
creatures that have killed two people and injured 35 others. Victims
who have been mauled and scratched say men masquerading as monkeys attacked them. Some witnesses say the creatures are 10-feet-tall and have red-colored eyes and feet with springs. However, Indian newspaper reports described the creature as "short, dark and hairy, with human legs and an ape-like face."
37. One of the most famous books on mystical understanding is
entitled the Cloud of Unknowing. Written in the late 1300s,
the author, who remains anonymous to this day, says that
the "cloud of unknowing" is what separates human beings
from God. Although knowledge of God can be penetrated, it's
the presence of love -- not the intellect -- that brings us
closer to comprehending God's many secrets.
38. Medical Astrology
It's the branch of astrology which associates zodiac signs
and planetary influences with illnesses and disorders of
specific bodily organs. For example, Aquarius is
correlated with diseases of the legs and ankles as well as
lameness and cramps; Taurus is associated with illnesses of
the neck and throat, tonsillitis and tumors; and Leo, with
heart disease, the back and vertebrae of the neck as well
as fevers, plague and jaundice.
39. OK, Who's Been Cooking Again? - Scientists in Australia's Parkes
Observatory thought they had positive proof of alien life, when they
began picking up radio waves from space. After some investigation,
however, it was found that the radio emissions were traced to a
microwave in the building.
40. BLOOD AND FLESH
July 1869: As mourners prepared for a funeral at a farm near Los
Angeles, blood and meat rained out of a clear sky for three minutes. The substances blanketed two acres of a corn field. On examination the blood was found to be mixed with what looked like hairs from animal fur. The flesh ranged in size from small particles to six and eight inch strips and included what witnesses took to be pieced of kidney, liver, and heart. One witness brought samples to the Los Angeles News, whose editor subsequently declared (in the August 3 issue) "That the meat fell, we cannot doubt. Even the parsons in the neighborhood are willing to vouch for that. Where it came from, we cannot even conjecture."
From "Unexplained" by Jerome Clark
41. July 14, 1911. Pyramid Lake, Nevada. The Elko Free Press first published news items on the Monster of Pyramid Lake. It is a probable newspaper hoax.
42. July 14, 1951 Loch Ness, Scotland. Lachlan Stuart photographed three angular humps close to the beach. A little later, he confessed to a local resident, the author Richard Frere, that it was a hoax. Frere did not reveal the secret for thirty years.
43. July 14, 1968. Rivieres Des Prairies, Quebec. A fisherman caught a 4 foot long shark in a freshwater stream.
44. July 14, 1969. Saddle Camp, California. George Haas and John Dana discover a quarter mile of Bigfoot tracks on a trail at West Low Gap in the Yolla Bolla Mountains going to the East Fork of the South Fork of the Trinity River. The tracks are 16 inches long and the stride is 3 feet.
45. July 14, 1971. White River, Arkansas. CBS-News shows up in northeast Arkansas to attempt to film the White River Monster due to a series of recent sightings.
46. WORMS
July 25, 1872: At 9:15 P.M. on a hot evening with a heretofore clear
sky, "a small cloud appeared on the horizon" Nature reported, "and a
quarter of an hour afterwards rain began to fall, when to the horror of
everybody, it was found to consist of black worms the size of an
ordinary fly. All the streets were strewn with these curious animals."
From "Unexplained" by Jerome Clark
47. Ron Bonds was a conspiracy expert, publishing books on provocative subjects ranging from the Kennedy assassination to black helicopters. Bonds was even consulted by X-Files writers for story ideas. His own untimely death is providing fodder for conspiracy buffs, because Bonds died mysteriously at age 49 after eating at a favorite Atlanta restaurant. Food poisoning was the diagnosis of the Fulton County medical examiner. The alleged culprit? A combo plate consisting of a beef burrito, enchilada, beans and rice. The restaurant owner disputes the finding. If he's correct then who--and what--caused Ron Bonds' death?
48. A bizarre low tide has uncovered a lost seaside city that some experts are calling the Atlantis of Scotland. In the 17th century, shifting sands buried the coastal community of Findhorn. Eventually, the town vanished completely beneath deep waters and was forgotten by all but local historians. However, a freak tide early this spring allowed the area to be accessed on foot, and an investigator uncovered the ruins of the once-thriving port. "Atlantis has been found," the investigator, a retired RAF surgeon, reported.
49. Car Trouble - One Fall evening in 1967, a car driven by a man near
Aldersyde, Alberta, Canada, suddenly ceased functioning. As it rolled
to a stop, the driver noticed that an oval-shaped UFO with a turret to
paws circling 300 feet above his car. All the while, he was feeling
strangely cold. After four or five revolutions around, the object
departed, and the car started again.
50. Black Rain - In the middle of a Fall day in 1780, the Bay of Quinte
area of Ontario, Canada, was overcome with darkness. One chronicler
stated that at noon "a pitchy darkness completely obscured the light
of the sun" for 10 minutes. The process was repeated all through the
afternoon. In between, the skies were filled with dense, dark clouds,
and black rains and showers of ash fell. The phenomenon was likely
generated by the spewing of volcanic materials elsewhere in the world.
51. BENT OUT OF SHAPE
Old spells and charms sometimes survive in strange and mangled forms. Take, for example, the chant of the children of Douglas on The Isle of Man on Hollantide (12 November). Carrying jack-o'-lanterns made not from pumpkins (like our Halloween ones) but from turnips, the children go about a sort of trick-or-treat procedure and chant:
'Jinny the witch
Goes over the house
To fetch a switch
To lather the mouse
Hop-tu-naa.'
52. The Silver Platter - As he was harvesting his crops in 1957, a farmer from Covington, Indiana noticed a "silver-platter-shaped" object hovering at 1,500 feet. It was making a whirring noise, and a pink flame was shooting out of its base. When it started to ascend, the flame turned blue, and the farmer's combine suddenly ceased functioning.
53. UFO Prints - While hunting near Mobile, Alabama in 1973, two young men witnessed the landing of a round UFO with four legs and an antenna on top. When a door opened and closed quickly, they panicked and began shooting at the object, which rose with a whirring sound and flew away at a leisurely pace. Pressed grass and four imprints on the round testified to the UFO's presence.
54. Don't Walk In Toronto - While walking his dog through a park in Toronto one night in 1973, a man reportedly saw a fluorescent, blue-green light crate a circle on a brick wall. Within the circle, a television screen appeared, depicting alien entities who communicated briefly with the witness. The scene vanished, and the man was left feeling physically ill, and his dog was extremely frightened.
55. Safe In Its Hangar - One Fall day in 1931, a giant dirigible sailed quietly across the Ohio River. Witnesses on both sides of the river (Ohio and West Virginia) observed the airship's passage. Suddenly, according to one, "it seemed to buckle and fall." Erupting into flames, it crashed into the hills south of Gallipolis Ferry, West Virginia. Searchers found no trace of it or its crew, and the dirigible it was thought to be (the newly-built "Akron") was safe in its hangar.
56. You Have Befouled My Air! - One night, back in 1762 in Detroit (only a settlement at that time), darkness reigned. A resident noted that
when the sky cleared briefly at 9:00am, "the body of the sun...appeared as red as blood, and more than three times as large as usual. The air...was of a dirty, yellowish, green color." The blackness returned, and later, a "sulphurous" rain fell. The correspondent speculated that "the eruption of some volcano" had blacked the sky and befouled the air.
57. Withering Trees - According to "Scientific American," a Venezuelan family awoke one night in 1886 when a loud noise and vivid light of unknown origin filled their house. Soon, they became violently ill, and their faces and lips became grossly swollen. Nine days later, their skin peeled, and their hair fell out. That same day, the trees around the house suddenly withered. No UFO was seen, which makes it even more bizarre.
58. Floating Fire - According to sixteenth-century scholar and curiosity collector Joan Petri Klint, one night in 1597, fire rained out of the sky onto the bay at Braviken. It was accompanied by a "gruesome din,
noise, and turmoil," which continued into the morning. Even the water didn't douse the fire, and it burned freely both there and on land, even as streams of fire continued to float in the air.
59. A Shocking Experience - In the wee, wee hours of the morning one day in 1954, a Libyan farmer reportedly witnessed the landing of an egg-shaped object some 150 feet from him. The transparent top part was brightly illuminated, and in the light, he could see six masked, humanlike men in yellow uniforms. Approaching the craft, the witness suffered an electric shock. One of the occupants waved him away. For the next twenty minutes, the farmer watched the crew working with the craft's instruments before it flew away.
60. Wild Man - In the Fall of 1875, some Pulaski County, Arkansas residents swore they had seen a hair-covered figure who looked like a "half-wild animal." Other ridiculed these accounts, then, one day in December, the wild man was captured and taken to Little Rock, where a newspaper reporter described him as the "wildest, greasiest, ugliest-looking, half-clad specimen of humanity it was ever our lot to behold." The "wild man" turned out to be a mentally deficient wanderer.
61. Confide In Me - In 1998, former Apollo moon-traveler Edgar Mitchell told the British tabloid, "The People," "I am an American astronaut and a scientist, and because of my position, people in high positions confide in me. As a result, I have no doubt that aliens have visited this planet. The American government and governments throughout the world have thousands of files of UFO sightings that cannot be explained."
62. You Say Potato - Lake Bala, in Wales, supposedly harbors an enigmatic animal or animals that witnesses occasionally observe. Descriptions vary. Two fisherman who claim to have seen it one day in 1995 said it "had a small head and a long neck, like pictures of the Loch Ness monster." Another witness, though, lake warden Dafydd Bowen, who saw it ten years earlier, thought it "looked like a crocodile with a small hump in the middle."
63. Hoppy Trails - In the Fall of 1974, Illinois suffered a plague of
oddly out-of-place kangaroos. One sighting was by an off-duty Plano
police officer, who, while driving just outside the city limits late
one evening, saw one leap from a cornfield into the middle of the
road. The officer almost hit it. His cousin, who was driving the car
behind him, "just plain ran off the road." The kangaroo simply hopped
away calmly.
64. Strange Scratches Suddenly Appear
Rajni Bakhra, a 16-year-old girl in New Delhi, India was helping her mother wash the dishes when long, bloody scratches suddenly became visible on her forearms. Rajni's mother screamed, then rushed the distraught teen to the hospital, where her superficial wounds were wrapped in gauze. Medical experts have no explanation for the scratches, as no broken glass or crockery was found in the sink and Rajni's mother was only a few feet away when the blood began flowing.
65. Ghost Scares Singer Off The Stage
The Gilded Balloon, a cabaret in Edinburgh, Scotland, is notorious for the ghosts that haunt it and other clubs in the city's historic Old Town
district. However, none had bothered any of the entertainers until this
year's Fringe arts festival. That's when Sylvia Smythe, a young singer,
complained that a cold, invisible hand grasped her around the waist, causing her to screech loudly during a rendition of "Amazing Grace." Humiliated, Ms. Smythe stalked off the stage, vowing not to return until the mischievous spirit was removed by a bouncer.
66. Officials in Livermore, Calif., apparently weary of breakdowns in the city's sewer system, made a formal apology in August to American Indian Adam "Fortunate Eagle" Nordwell, who had placed a curse on the system in 1969 after city workers chopped off a portion of the totem pole he had donated for the city's centennial celebration. Some residents have routinely attributed any sewer breakdown over the years to the curse. [Santa Cruz Sentinel-AP, 6-3-02]
67. Altered States
A hallucination is simply a visual illusion, or other sensory perception,
that is not based on immediate reality. Hallucinations may occur in two
primary ways--by using psychedelic drugs or by creating a condition of
sensory deprivation, such as being immersed in an isolation tank. In eastern Ecuador, for example, shamans use a hallucinogenic drink derived from a rare plant to induce visions of giant jaguars and writhing snakes as they seek admittance to the spirit world.
68. Not So Even-Handed
Righties and lefties are polar opposites in the paranormal world. Left-handed people are often thought to be "sinister" (the Latin word meaning "left"); or are regarded as having unusual characteristics, such as the ability to cast the evil eye. On the other hand (so to speak) the spiritual path of white magic is said to be that of the right-handed path. The path of black magic is referred to as the left-handed path.
69. Whoooo, Me?
In American popular culture, the owl is often associated with intelligence and wisdom. However, in other parts of the world the nocturnal creature is often linked with evil, death and misfortune. One such belief holds that if a pregnant woman hears the hoot of an owl, her baby will be fated to a life of ill health and melancholy. Therefore, an expecting woman sleeps with the windows shut and cotton in her ears--even on the hottest of nights.
70. Canada's Healing Lake
Manitou Lake in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan has the power to cure arthritis, rheumatic fever, psoriasis and even smallpox, according to Indian legend. Now investigators are discovering there's a scientific basis behind the legend. The lake's buoyant, salty waters contain magnesium--which benefits the skin--and iodine--which can improve some glandular functions. Further study is planned. Intrigued? Manitou Lake is about 70 miles southeast of the city of Saskatoon.
71. It appears the east coast vs. west coast rivalry isn't limited to rap music. In rural Virginia, a 55-year-old hiker encountered a hairy, Bigfoot-like creature he estimated was twelve-feet tall and weighed over a ton! In contrast, the west coast Bigfoot is typically reported to be about eight-feet tall and weigh approximately 400 to 500 pounds. However, experts are unwilling to certify the existence of the super-sized east coast Bigfoot until it is spotted again.
72. Did you know the reason why barber shops have the candy stripes displayed out the front of their shops?
Well, back in the middle ages when they used to blood let people, it was the barber shops that used to perform the actual act of letting with their sharpened razors. The candy stripes represent the red being the blood and the white representing the tourniquet used around the arm!
Imagine walking in these days and letting a barber shop owner know what he's displaying!
Thank's to Lisa Muston for this amazing fact!
73. In a tremendous loss to science, a Mongolian tribal leader has outfitted himself, his wife and three children in fur coats he claims came from a giant Yeti he found dead. Chinese scientists who later arrived on the scene believe the chieftain actually shot the legendary beast before skinning it and serving the meat to his fellow nomads. A ritual ceremony then followed in which the bones were ground into a powder that is thought to have medicinal powers. Shockingly, a scientist who attempted to obtain a swatch of the fur has disappeared. The chieftain claims the 73-year-old researcher merely "walked away to die."
74. During the middle ages in Germany a pure white horse was walked across burial sites in graveyards in order to detect any vampires. It was said if the horse reared up over a particular gravesite they would dig up the coffin and burn the persons remains!
Also, to cast out evil spirits in villages ( I think in Holland) they would dress up a pair of twins with their undergarments inside out and walk them through the street at the stroke of midnight. Apparently, this scared any evil spirits away!!
A cure for whooping cough in children was to ride on the back of a wild bear! Strange as you would be instantly mauled by the bear if you even got close to achieve this bizarre ritual!
Thank's to Lisa Muston for another amazing fact!
75. Known and loved these days as Halloween, ye olde pagan festival represented the change of season from autumn to winter. It was also a time when the souls of the deceased revisted their former homes and once again enjoyed the company of their kinsfolk and friends around an open fire. Do you think they wore Austin Powers masks too?
76. It was about 30 years ago that famed neurophysiologist Dr.
John Lilly created the isolation tank in order to help foster meditative states and inner peace. Resting in the tank in warm water, isolated from all external stimuli, the voyager would soon find himself entering a realm of expanded consciousness, similar to a psychedelic "trip." Many reported that they followed a golden light to a world where they felt united with all living things. The intensity of the experience was too much for some. Even today, Lilly's isolation tank has not attained mainstream acceptance.
77. The practice of "insufflation," or breathing on a dead person in a ritualistic manner, can restore that individual to life, say some occultists. Warm insufflation, according to practitioners of the art, also aids blood circulation and eliminates gout and rheumatism; a cold breath relieves pain. A warm breath is obtained by drinking hot tea
beforehand; a cold breath involves ice water. In may cases, warm and cold insufflation is alternated to ensure maximum healing.
78. From ice cream to Star Trek, most of us have an obsession. Dallas Thompson of California is obsessed with finding the secret hole he believes will allow him to visit the center of the Earth. Once he discovers the tunnel, Thompson plans to enter it in a specially prepared helicopter. His ultimate goal: to fly from one side of the Earth to the
other, via the passage. Good luck, Dallas!
79. On September 9, 1970, Captain William Schaffner, an American flying for the RAF, disappeared along with his jet while over the North Sea. UFO buffs claimed that Schaffner was abducted by an alien spacecraft. But a BBC investigation has found long-suppressed documents indicating that Schaffner crashed when his plane flew too
low to the sea. "It was a tragic accident and there is no other explanation," a spokesman for the British government told the BBC.
80. In the paranormal world, the Right-Hand Path is the direction associated with spiritual illumination, virtue and positive aspirations. It is the path of light, as opposed to the so-called Left-Hand Path of darkness, evil and spiritual backwardness. Fortunately, the path one takes is a matter of choice--so keep a good internal compass on
hand.
81. Dragons are often composite creatures of many animals. In ancient Babylon, for instance, one dragon was described as having the head and horns of a ram, the forelegs of a lion, a snake's body, and the back legs of an eagle. In medieval stories, dragons possessed gigantic jaws, large, shiny eyes, a forked tongue, the talons of an eagle and a bat's
wings! And in ancient Greek literature, soldiers wore blue dragon motifs on sword belts and three-headed dragon designs on breastplates.
82. A woman in New Mexico claims that a dark, hooded monk entered her bedroom one night, rendering her unable to move. She told a reporter, "I awoke with my vocal cords paralyzed. I asked the monk what he wanted, but after a few moments he slipped from the room without saying a word. My fear left at once." A psychic investigator has concluded that the monk was a sign of approaching danger. However, the woman's husband slept through the entire event.
83. (Weird News Brief)
HVITA, Iceland -- Iceland may be best known for things like vikings,
tundra, and the quirky pop singer Bjork, but soon all that may change.
According to Radio One journalist Thorvaldur Fridriksson, there's been
a dramatic increase in "sea monster" sightings in the Hvita area.
Fridriksson says most of these mysterious creatures have long necks and tails and are "pretty harmless." However, other Icelandic sea monsters are not because, according to Fridriksson, "They are mermen and eat humans."
84. According to Professor Bill Bomhoff, a psychologist at the University of California in Santa Cruz, told a reporter for Discover magazine that dream interpretation is "a scam." Bomhoff, who has studied thousands of dreams, also said, "I'm unimpressed with any evidence that dreams have a function or a purpose." So if last night you dreamed of flying to Mars on a dill pickle while wearing a Nixon mask--don't worry!
85. In an encouraging development for UFO buffs, former Clinton
White House Chief of Staff John Podesta has come out strongly for the release of classified documents about possible outer space alien visits. Says Podesta, "It is time for the government to declassify records that are more than 25 years old and to provide scientists with data that
will assist in determining the real nature of this phenomenon." Podesta made his stunning announcement in -- where else? -- Washington, D.C.
86. Some special units of the U.S. armed forces will soon be equipped with devices to allow them to see through walls or into hidden underground bunkers. One such device, called SoldierVision can be pointed at a wall "and what you see is an outline of the room behind, with people showing up as yellow blobs," says Ralph Petroff, CEO of the company that designed it. The system fires millions of ultrashort
electronic bursts at a surface, some of which penetrate it in order to create an image of what lies beyond.
87. When the Tyscho family of Poland brought home a Christmas
tree in 2001, they had no idea that the fir would still be retaining its needles 12 months later. And this is no artificial tree. The Tsychos removed the beautiful 8-footer from a woods that borders their dairy farm, secured it in a container filled with water and decorated it for the
season. However, the tree never lost its needles and the astonished family kept it in their living room all year. "It's been like having a Christmas celebration every day," said Paul Tsycho, adding that he, his wife and five children feel blessed by the bizarre event.
88. Elves have a long history and not only with Santa. The first elves were said to be descended from the children of Eve. They were hidden from the sight of God because they were considered unclean. In German and Scandinavian mythology, there were elves of light and elves of darkness. Dark elves were comparable to dwarfs, but white elves resembled angels. In folk legend, elves are often depicted as small fairies who dance around flowers in the garden, leaving elf-rings and elf-mounds as tokens of their presence. Not to mention helping Santa place real presents under the Yule tree.
89. What Are Zener Cards?
Give up? Well, they're cards used in experimental tests for extrasensory perception. Developed by psychologist Karl Zener, the cards feature five prominent symbols: a star, a circle, a cross, a square and a field composed of three wavy lines. In ESP tests, the individual under study is required to guess the sequence in which the symbols will appear without looking at the cards. Any person who guesses correctly more than twenty percent of the time is thought to possess ESP abilities.
90. In mundane astrology, each planet symbolizes a different segment of society. For example: The Sun is the planet of CEOs and managers; the Moon is the planet of the working classes; Mercury is related to the intelligentsia; Venus is related to ambassadors of good will; Mars is the planet of military rulers; Jupiter is the planet of judges and lawyers; Saturn is related to politicians; Uranus is related to persons involved in transportation; Neptune is the planet of political and social activists and Pluto is the planet of organized labor.
91. Mundane astrology concerns itself with large-scale phenomena like wars, national social trends and disasters. It's based on the premise that cosmic influences affect large groups of people and also the physical structure of the Earth. However, predictions on this scale are inevitably less accurate that in calculations based on the natal horoscope of a single person.
92. UFO Is Not Santa's Sleigh
Every Christmas Eve weathercasters around the world jokingly report that an "unidentified flying object" similar to Santa's sleigh has been spotted flying over the North Pole. However, the UFO seen over Chinese skies just before this Christmas had the appearance of a giant
skateboard! That's right--several veteran commercial airline pilots spotted the 100-meter-long "flying skateboard" above the city of Nanjing in southeastern China. Adding to the intrigue, the blue and white craft was not visible from the ground.
93. Yey Prahao is 87-years-old, battleship gray and weighs several tons, yet the beloved elephant has healed thousands of Cambodians. According to believers, Yey Prahao knows how to stir water in a way that gives it medical powers. In one recent case, an elderly woman bathed her clouded eyes in water that the elephant had just blessed. According to family members, the cataracts that had plagued the woman disappeared in a matter of days. And I bet Yey Prahao only charged peanuts.
94. In mid-20th century popular culture, UFO aliens were often
depicted as "little green men." Amazingly, the legend is based on an alien attack that a Kentucky farm family claimed really took place. In 1955, Cecil Sutton, his wife and children were enjoying a quiet evening at home when, they say, hostile UFO monsters struck without warning. A pitched battle ensued and the family was able to drive away the tiny green men. A documentary about the incident is now being filmed, with plans for a Summer, 2003 release. Working title: "Monsters of the UFO."
95. The Temple of Kukulcan is 1,100 years-old, yet it still sounds sweet to the ear. According to scientists who have studied the pyramid in the ancient Mayan city of Chichen Itza, when hands are clapped in front of it, the structure replies with bird sounds. "Now, I have heard echoes in my life, but this was really strange," said an American acoustical engineer on the scene. Researchers speculate that the Mayans intentionally built the pyramid to create the weird sound effect and astonish visitors.
96. Some deceased spirits can do incredible imitations, according to experts. That doesn't mean you'll ever see them impersonating Ronald Reagan on the Las Vegas stage, like veteran entertainer Rich Little. In the paranormal realm, it is believed that one spirit can mimic and
impersonate another, thus confusing and deluding the psychic medium who is receiving messages for you at a séance. The best way to foil such mischievous spirits is to have the medium ask a question that only the real deceased entity would know. Example: "What's my grandmother's maiden name?"
97. ARE YOU A GREEN BEING?
East Indian mystics see green as the marriage of balance and harmony,
the color ray that bridges our karma because it provides a healing link
between our emotional actions and reactions. Indeed, green has
everything to do with sharing and balance. If we see green in our dreams it means we need adaptability, reconciliation, healing, and harmony within ourselves or in our dealing with others.
People who are attracted to green usually display an artistic, creative,
harmonious, stable, enduring, and quiet personality - though too much of the green vibration may result in a capricious wasteful, and indolent
temperament. When green is a least favorite color, it may indicate a
disposition that is lazy, wanton, overweight, subject to throat infections, and on occasion envy.
98. Hindus describe the world in terms of a believer's state of
consciousness. For example, because the waking world is viewed as basically an illusion, this level of consciousness is said to be the lowest form of perception. In the language of Sanskrit, the term for simply being awake is Jagrat. The opposite condition, called Swapna, simply means the state of being asleep.
99. If you like turquoise, you're in luck, literally. In most of Asia and many parts of Africa, the deep blue-green turquoise is thought to be a lucky stone. Said to ward off the "evil eye," turquoise is crafted into rings, necklaces and bracelets as a way to protect oneself and especially, one's children. Often, tiny turquoise earrings are placed
in the pierced ears of infants still in the cradle, in order to fight off harmful spirits.
100. In the days before people ran to dermatologists to have moles removed, diviners were using moles to predict future events or even to interpret aspects of an individual's character. This belief was based on the astrological notion that moles result from influences of the planets. For example, if a mole was located on the lower leg, it proved
the person was exceptionally ambitious. A mole on the toe suggested a love of all things artistic, while one on the breast indicated an unattractive personality. However, themole a girl might try to keep hidden from a future husband was one on her knee -- which meant she was wildly extravagant with money!
101. Famed Irish poet William Butler Yeats was not only a major
literary force, he was also a mystic who celebrated the occult in his most private life. Yeats, along with his closest friends and colleagues, joined secret societies devoted to understanding the arcane world of magic and the occult. Incorporating his mystical visions into his
writings, Yeats' reputation flourished during the late 1800s and early 1900s. An international literary superstar thanks to his hush-hush paranormal leanings, the poet was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1923.
102. Most of us are familiar with dowsing as a way to find
underground sources of water. As the dowser walks around an area, the Y-shaped rod he carries jerks in an uncontrollable manner when it passes over a water source. However, in England recently, a dowser's stick used by a farmer pointed to a spot, that, when dug up, revealed
several ancient unmarked graves. The unknown bodies were transferred to a cemetery where they were re-buried in a
solemn service.
