Weekly World Wednesday

I have a confession to make. I like conspiracy theories, I think UFOs (or else there should be a bloody good explanation for all the weird stuff people take pictures of, can't be that many weather balloons up there, can there?) may exist, and I've seen some instances that seriously make me think that ghosts (or spirits) are a valid form of phenomena. So am I a kook? Perhaps. But face it, for everyone of you serious Herald Tribune, Time or Newsweek readers, there are at least an equal number of people who regularly turn to the Weekly World News and assorted tabloids for their fix of wacky goodness. Now I for one, think that some of these things really warrant a serious scientific inquiry, free of labelling and jeering, while as for others..well. Now before I go any further, I'd like to point out that the information I'm going to hand out may be false or unverified, that I am in no way an expert in the field of cryptozoology, UFOlogy or government coverups, and that all these clippings should be taken with a healthy dose of salt. Preferably of the rock variety. So for those of you waiting for the work day to close, get a hot cup of coffee, open a document and minimise it (just in case) and sit back, as we explore some of the lesser known news stories. Enjoy.

The Bad Astronomer

Earlier this year, some people predicted that the world would end because a massive unknown planet (known as Nibiru, or planet X) would pass by the Earth, therefore causing a shift in our magnetic/gravitational field and inflicting what would effectively be doomsday. Pictures were circulated of this planet, as it sped (or so they say) towards our little green one. Quite a stir was caused, as some people actually believed this. As usual, NASA and the world's governments were accused of hiding/covering up the news (although what good it would do for them to cover up an event of this magnitude eludes me). What made it worse was that some of these 'prophets' claimed to receive their knowledge from aliens, and also that various works of historical art pointed to the existence of this strange planet (cue Erich Von Daniken). The date for this mega apocalypse was set to be the 17th of May, 2003. Well, I was understandably worried, since it would be barely 3 days after my birthday. I did hold my breath (since you can't be too careful) but the date came and went, and there was no Pole Shift (as they call it). Neither was there any kind of object in the atmosphere anywhere near resembling said planet. Ookay. Score one for the scientists on this one. In the early months before the supposed event, I surfed around and found the website of an astronomer called Phil Plait, who runs the website BadAstronomy.com. In it, he debunks very nicely assorted claims such as these, using scientific principles and examples. Definitely worth a read, and very informative, too. It was by reading his site (and others linked to it) that I was able to get an objective assessment of the situation, and thus reassure some people who were already preparing to run to the hills (not that it would have made a difference). If you're interested, drop by his Nibiru page to get the scoop. Or better yet, try running a search on Google (or any other search engine) to see what some of these so called prophets have to say.

Phil is also responsible for another page debunking claims that the Apollo 11 moon landings were faked by NASA. Of course the more conspiracy minded of us would think "well he IS working for NASA", but I seriously recommend checking it out. For those of you unfamiliar with the story, earlier this year, there were rumors that NASA and the US government faked the Apollo moon landings to gain political superiority over the Soviet Union. As proof, proponents of this theory often pointed out seeming mistakes in the pictures that the astronauts captured while on the moon surface. However, this particular theory has fizzled out somewhat, especially since Phil has demonstrated (often using examples you can try at home) how these theories are wrong.

Additionally, his site also has movie reviews, especially of those using a scientific premise (The Core, Armageddon, etc). I'd whole heartedly recommend this site to anyone with a scientific frame of mind and who is interested in some good ol' scientific detective work.

The Fortean Times

As we read about war, rape, pillage and the threat of nuclear destruction, we sometimes get bogged down by the sheer gloominess of it all. However, there are some bits and pieces of news we never see, and it's these bits that are the speciality of the Fortean Times. Started waay back when, the Fortean Times is a delightful compendium of all things strange and sometimes wacky. Consider the following clippping on today's version of the site (thanks to the forteantimes.com):

"23 July. Just before the schools broke up for the summer holidays in 1989, Sarah Jayne Tait, aged six, from Edinburgh, came home upset and crying, her left eye painful and badly swollen. Her teachers and her family could see nothing in her eye, and neither could the doctors at the Sick Children's Hospital. Finally a specialist at the Eye Pavilion put a probe behind her eye, and out popped a baked bean. Sarah Jayne had no idea how the bean had got there. She didn't even like baked beans."

This and more such stories await readers almost every day. The team of newshounds scour newspapers (printed and online) as well as international news sources in order to bring you some of the weirdest stories ever to grace the media. They cover topics ranging from cerealogy (the study of crop circles), UFOlogy, cryptozoology (the study of mysterious animals) and many, many more. It's interesting to read because they carry on the original Charles Fort's legacy: not to make judgements, but instead, collect these stories in order to investigate them someday. For those of you interested, you may read about the colourful life of Charles Fort here. Very entertaining, and (to the ox, at least) helps bring back some of the magic into the world. The Charles Fort Institute is another good site for those of you interested in the weird. Good stuff.

Other links that should be interesting to fellow weird-news collectors:
Rense.com - this is a site that's updated several times a day and has articles on politics, sex, entertainment, government policies and more. They claim that regular media only gets their scoop sometimes months after it has appeared on rense. I dunno about that, but it sure is an interesting read.

UFOs in Art History - Thought provoking series of ancient art that seems to portay UFOs.

Well that's about all the time we have this week, so tune in again next week for another edition of Weekly World Wednesday, your tabloid in a blog!

Cheers!