In the News:
Ramses
I Found in Niagara Falls - Scientists believe they may have found
the mummy of Ramses I, perhaps the most famous
and powerful of the Egyptian pharaohs, in a tourist museum in Niagara
Falls. The body was stolen from its royal tomb some 3,000 years ago and
eventually wound up in the Niagara Falls Daredevil Museum. Museum
records show that Colonel Sydney Barnett, son of the museum's founder,
bought it during a visit to Thebes in 1860. Egyptologists from the Michael
C. Carlos Museum in Atlanta, Georgia, traced the mummy to the Niagara
museum and purchased it. They hope to prove it is Ramses I by comparing
the body's DNA with that of the mummy of Ramses I's son, Sethi I.
Ghostly
Explanation I - Researchers at Coventry University in the United
Kingdom may have discovered that some buildings are haunted not by ghosts,
but by sounds. In a paper to be published in the Journal of the Society
for Psychical Research Vic Tandy and Dr. Tony Lawrence claim that
they have found that rooms in buildings which have a reputation for being
haunted really have a low frequency (19 Hertz) source of sound. One "haunted"
laboratory was found to have a faulty exhaust fan making a 18.9 Hz sound.
The frequency is too low to be heard by humans, but may be "felt"
giving rise to feelings of unease. The scientists also investigated the
basement of the Coventry Tourist Information Center, which has a reputation
being haunted, and found a intermittent 19 hz sound, the source of which
they could not identify.
Ghostly
Explanation II - Swiss neuroscientist Peter Brugger of the University
Hospital in Zurich has come up with a new theory on "ghosts"
and "doppelgangers" (A doppelganger is ghost of a living person,
usually the viewer). Brugger, who's idea is detailed in an upcoming edition
of New Scientist magazine, thinks the viewer is experiencing a
"phantom of the entire body" just in the same way an amputee
might experience a "phantom limb." The limb is no longer there,
but the brain still tells the amputee it is. Brain damage can cause this
effect, but people with normal brains may have the effect triggered by
intense emotions such as fear, sadness, or euphoria. Burgger reports that
mountain climbers who have experienced oxygen deprivation at about 27,000
feet have reported feeling a "presence" or having an out-of-body
experience.
Brugger plans more experiments using a "virtual reality box" to try and prove his theory.
Bigfoot
Tracks in Washington? - Biologists and bigfoot experts rushed to the
Lower Hoh Indian Reservation in Washington state to look at "bigfoot"
tracks discovered on June 30th. Self-proclaimed Sasquatch tracker Cliff
Crook told the Peninsula Daily News that he went expecting "bear
tracks", but came to believe "This was for sure a bigfoot."
Not everyone agrees. Biologist Dr. Jeffery Meldrum assistant professor of anatomy and biology at Idaho State, examined the area and concluded that there was not enough factual evidence to continue the investigation.
Nessie
Explanation - Adrian Shine, a Loch Ness monster researcher, has declared
the creature is no more than a invisible giant wave that moves beneath
the surface of the Loch throwing debris up from the bottom. As interesting
as Shines theory is, he is hardly the first person to propose it (see
Monster Wave). Shine also tried to discredit
the monster in 1993 by growing a giant Baltic Sturgeon in a pond near
the lake to prove monster reports were actually sightings of a large fish.
Many locals who have seen "Nessie" disagree with Shine's conclusions.
Desperately
Seeking Kahn - Scholars from the United States are close to completing
an expedition to retrace the life of life of legendary Mongolian leader
Genghis Kahn. The team, led by Chicago lawyer Maury Kravitz, hopes to
identify Kahn's birthplace and maybe even the location of his tomb. When
Kahn died in 1227 he was buried somewhere in a mountain known as Burkhan
Khaldun, which means "Buddha's cliffs." According to Marco Polo
the men who buried Kahn were killed on completion of their task so that
nobody would know the location of his final resting place. Kravitz speculates
that Kahn was also buried with an enormous treasure. Even if the expedition
is not fully successful this summer, it may open the door for future trips.
In History:
Great
Balls of Fire! - Early in the evening on August 12, 1970, a violent
thunderstorm rolled in over Sidmouth, England. During the storm a "red
ball of fire" appeared in the air. After crackling a few seconds
it exploded sending jagged flashes of lightning to the earth and causing
thousands of television sets in the area to die.
What was this strange phenomena? Probably that most enigmatic of all electrical events: ball lightning.
On the Web:
Cosmiverse
Site - A new portal site with information on space and science has
premiered at www.cosmiverse.com.
The site features live space news, NASA cams, moon and star charts, and
other interactive features for space fans.
In the Sky:
Meteor
Shower - The Perseid meteor shower appears this month. As the Earth
crosses the track of Comet Swift-Tuttle, dust and debris left behind by
the comet hit our atmosphere. As they burn up they create streaks across
the sky that seem to come from the constellation Perseus (hence the name).
The shower will start to appear on August 9th and will reach a peak on
Saturday morning the 12th. For the best view go out after the moon has
set (2 or 3 AM) and take a blanket or lounge chair to lie down on and
view as much of the sky as possible.
Observed:
Lake Monster Trap for Selma - On August 12th GUST (Global Underwater Search Team) will deploy "Comet." Comet is, according to GUST, "the world's first functional serpent trap." Comet will be deployed in the waters of Lake Seljordsvatnet in Norway in an attempt to trap "Selma" a sea serpent-like creature that many people contend resides in the Lake.
Big Snake on the Loose? - Residents of Foreman, Arkansas, suspect that a 30-foot long snake is roaming the woods around town. Rumors have flown through the small community a few months ago a boa constrictor or some other big snake has gotten loose in the area and since then small animals have been disappearing from around town. Cats and bullfrogs have gone missing and cranes and herons have moved out of the area. Not every one is convinced a snake is on the loose. The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission is skeptical of the story. Officers searched the area and discovered big snake, but it wasn't nearly 30 feet in length and it was of a species common to the area. Residents suspect the snake is still there somewhere in hiding.
Meteorite Confirmed - Many of us have had the windshield on our cars broken by a stray pebble thrown up from a truck a couple of car lengths ahead of us. The rock that broke Rich Wirth's windshield though came from much farther. Outer space to be precise. The rock crashed into his car as it was parked outside his house on October 21st, 1996. Wirth thought it might be a meteorite, but didn't follow it up until his son took to a rock show. Someone there identified it and Wirth took it to professor Paul Weiblen at the University of Minnesota who confirmed it as coming from outer space. Weiblen said he'd seen thousands of rocks in the past 35 years that people had brought to him thinking they were meteorites, but this was the first case where it had actually panned out.
On the Tube:
The
Lost Ark -The Hebrews built it and put the pieces of the Ten Commandments
in it. Then it was mysteriously carried off. Indiana Jones went
after it in the movies. Now follow this special as it goes after in on
television. August 6 at 8PM ET. Repeats at 11PM on TLC.
Shark
Week - Discovery Channel will be running shark shows all week but
episodes of special interest are: Sharks 3-D August 13 at
9PM, 1AM, August 20 at 7PM ET/PT and Jurassic
Shark August 16
at 9PM, midnight, August 20 4PM ET/PT.
Chariots
of the Gods -- The Mysteries Continue -Did aliens build the pyramids?
Author Erich Von Daniken thinks so. Learn
about his controversial theories in this program on TLC. Airs August 12
6PM ET/PT.
Into
the Unknown - Check out these episodes this month on this fine series
from the Discovery Channel: Giant Creatures August 10 at 10 PM,
1AM August 12 at 2PM, UFOs and Alien Implants August 19 at 2PM
and Mysteries of the Sea August 31 at 10PM and 1AM ET/PT.
Science
Mysteries - The following episodes are of special interest on this
Discovery Channel series: Atlantis Found? August 24 at 9PM and
midnight, August 26 at 5PM, Monsters of the Lake August 31 at 9PM
and midnight ET/PT.
UFO's
Over Phoenix - In March of 1997 hundreds of people saw strange lights
in the sky near the vicinity of Phoenix, Arizona. Hear theories about
what they saw on this Discovery Channel Signature Series special. August
7 at 10PM and 1AM, August 12 at 1PM ET/PT.
Ghost
Ships - From the Flying Dutchman to the Mary Celeste history is full
of legends of ghost ships and mysteriously missing crews. Hear about them
on this History Channel premiere. Part of the Histories Mysteries
Series. August 21 at 8PM. Repeats September 3 at 12PM ET/PT.
LGM:
Science over the Edge Archives
Copyright Lee Krystek 2000. All Rights Reserved.