Thursday, November 10, 2016

10 November - Unexplained Mysteries

Unexplained Mysteries 

Most popular

Real-life snake on a plane disrupts flight
The large green reptile slithered out of a ceiling compartment during a routine flight to Mexico City. In the cult classic movie 'Snakes on a Plane', ...
Mystery surrounds X-rays streaming from Pluto
Scientists have spotted X-rays trickling from the dwarf planet despite there being no obvious source. Pluto might be small, but when New Horizons obta...
Airbus reveals self-driving flying taxis
The aircraft manufacturer hopes to alleviate traffic congestion with its automated airborne taxi service. Known as Vahana, the futuristic flying taxi,...

Yesterday

Bizarre creature filmed on the ocean floor
An extremely peculiar creature with a bulbous transparent head has been spotted by a diver in Bali. There are some very strange-looking animals living...
Australian telescope joins the hunt for ET
The Parkes radio telescope has been turned towards our nearest neighbor to listen out for signs of life. Situated only 4.2 light-years away, Proxima b...

Nov 08

Agencies carry out asteroid threat exercise
NASA and FEMA officials got together last month to respond to a hypothetical doomsday asteroid scenario. It's a possibility that has been played out t...
Aging bonobos need reading glasses to groom
Scientists studying bonobos reveal that it is not only humans who suffer from diminishing eyesight. The discovery suggests that long and short-sighted...

Nov 07

Has lost Cold War nuke finally been found ?
A diver believes that he may have discovered a missing nuclear weapon at the bottom of the Arctic Ocean. The bomb was being carried from Alaska to Tex...
Ghostly face appears in haunted tour photo
The unexpected extra was discovered in a photo taken during a recent tour of an abandoned hospital. Phil Barron had been leading a 32-strong group of ...
Erich Von Daniken predicts 'ET will return'
The controversial author of 'Chariots of the Gods' predicts that aliens will return within 20 years. Published in 1968, the book is one of several by ...

Nov 06

Could robots force a universal basic income ?
As robots automate more and more jobs, will the government be forced to pay everyone a basic wage ? There's no denying that robots have the potential ...
Giant snowballs appear along Siberian coast
An unusual natural phenomenon in Siberia has covered an 11-mile stretch of beach with huge snowballs. Locals living along the Gulf of Ob in the northw...

Nov 05

Man keeps vigil for Siberia's Labynkyr Devil
Andrey Solovyev has braved freezing temperatures in his quest to locate Siberia's own Loch Ness Monster. One of Russia's most remote and mysterious bo...
SpaceX solves mystery of Falcon 9 explosion
The private space firm has finally figured out what caused its rocket to explode back in September. SpaceX made headline news two months ago when one ...
Cis-lunar space station could replace ISS
There are plans to build an ambitious new space station around the Moon within the next two decades. The International Space Station, which began cons...

Nov 04

Has Amelia Earhart's skeleton been found ?
The bones of a castaway found on a Pacific island in the 1940s could be those of the famed aviator. When Amelia Earhart disappeared over the Pacific O...
Mystery surrounds rise of two-headed sharks
Scientists have reported an unexplained rise in the number of sharks being found with two heads. The peculiar mutation, which has been occurring acros...
Canadian military investigates strange sounds
A surveillance plane has been looking in to reports of a 'pinging' sound in the Fury and Hecla Strait. The mysterious sound, which has also been descr...

Nov 03

Rare supermoon will be brightest in 70 years
Skywatchers will be out in their droves when the Moon lights up the night sky later on this month. A supermoon, which sees the Moon appearing unusuall...
Curiosity investigates strange iron meteorite
NASA's Curiosity rover has taken a closer look at an odd-looking meteorite lying on the surface of Mars. The peculiar golf-ball-sized object was first...

Nov 02

SpaceX under fire over rocket fueling process
Experts have warned that SpaceX's plan to fuel rockets while astronauts are on board could prove fatal. The private space firm suffered a significant ...
Mystery surrounds 'Conspiracy Banksy' discs
Packages of CDs containing files about popular conspiracy theories have been turning up around Wales. Residents in the Welsh Valleys have been left pe...
Green fireball caught on camera over Japan
The bright green object made headline news after it was spotted flashing across the sky in eastern Japan. Captured on video by a Nippon TV affiliate w...

Nov 01

Zombies could take over within just 60 days
A new computer model has calculated how long it would take for a real-life zombie virus to spread. Developed by Argonne National Laboratory just in ti...
Bionic spinach is able to detect explosives
Scientists have found a way to transform regular spinach plants in to highly effective bomb detectors. As part of a new study at the Massachusetts Ins...

Oct 31

'Ice monster' filmed in Alaska's Chena River
Video footage of a strange snake-like creature covered in ice has recently gone viral on social media. The peculiar spectacle was spotted by Craig McC...
Color flashing stars could be evidence of ET
Two Canadian astronomers have found possible signs that an alien civilization is trying to communicate. In a recent study, Ermanno F. Borra and Eric T...
Ukranian man changes his name to 'iPhone 7'
Olexander Turin went through with the name change in an attempt to win one of the devices in a contest. The 20-year-old made the decision to change hi...
Could a dead astronaut spread life to Mars ?
If an astronaut dies in space, could their body eventually go on to spread microbes to other planets ? If the deceased - perhaps cocooned within a spa...

Oct 30

Did Frankenstein actually save mankind ?
Scientists have revisited the classic Mary Shelley novel to find out what it teaches us about extinction. Written in 1818, the gothic horror masterpie...
Quadcopter drone causes UFO flap in Austria
The remote-operated aerial drone managed to cause quite a stir in the cities of Vienna and Graz. As drones become more and more affordable, their use ...

Oct 29

World's first dinosaur brain fossil unearthed
The discovery was made by fossil hunter Jamie Hiscocks who found the specimen on a beach near London. The first known fossilized dinosaur brain tissue...
Burger King dresses as ghost of McDonald's
The fast food chain decided to have a dig at its rival as part of its celebration of Halloween this year. Draped in thin white sheets billowing in the...

Oct 28

58% of wildlife wiped out over last 40 years
If things don't change soon the ongoing decline is likely to reach two-thirds by the end of the decade. The disturbing statistic was reported via a gl...
French town upholds ban on flying saucers
The town has long refused to lift a ban on UFOs following a mysterious encounter over 60 years ago. Situated in the south of France around 7.5 miles t...
Jesus' burial slab uncovered in Jerusalem
The marble that encased the stone slab has been removed for the first time in almost five centuries. Believed to be the 'burial bed' on which Christ's...

Oct 27

New study exonerates HIV/AIDS 'patient zero'
The man thought to be responsible for bringing the virus to North America was actually totally innocent. One of the most demonized patients in history...
Saturn's mystery hexagon has changed color
A large hexagon-shaped feature in Saturn's atmosphere appears to have changed color from blue to gold. First observed during the original Voyager miss...

Oct 26

New 'Vertical Walking' could replace stairs
A team of designers from the Netherlands have somehow managed to reinvent the humble staircase. The novel new invention looks like a cross between sta...
Giant halos spotted around distant quasars
The discovery has the potential to challenge what we currently know of how early galaxies formed. Quasars are highly luminous, energetic and distant a...
School evacuated due to radioactive uranium
Authorities were left shocked when a rock on display in a classroom turned out to be a lump of uranium. The discovery was made in Austria by antinucle...

Oct 25

Huge 14lb lobster caught off Bermuda coast
The gigantic crustacean was caught just one day after Hurricane Nicole swept through the area. Fishermen Matthew Jones and Tristan Loescher had been f...
Could Planet Nine explain sun tilt mystery ?
A large planet lurking in the outer solar system could be causing the sun's rotational axis to tilt. Nobody knows exactly where it is, how big it is o...

Oct 24

70 years on: first image of Earth from space
Seven decades ago, scientists in new Mexico took the first ever pictures of our planet from outer space. Capturing the image of the Earth against the ...
'Ghost' tips over cleaning supplies in pub
CCTV footage recorded in a pub in England appears to show objects being moved around by an unseen force. The Chapel House pub on Ruiton Street in Dudl...
Right-handedness found in human ancestor
Dominant hand preference appears to date back to a time long before modern humans arrived on the scene. Some of us are right-handed and some left-hand...

Oct 23

Scientists build 3D floating 'e-ink' display
The promising technology enables a three-dimensional image to be suspended in mid-air using sound waves. Developed by researchers at the University of...
Secret Nazi base discovered in the Arctic
Russian scientists have located a secret Nazi facility that was abandoned before the end of World War II. Constructed in 1942, the mysterious base, wh...

Oct 22

'Air bombs' could explain Bermuda Triangle
Scientists have come up with a new theory that could help to explain the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle. There are few mysteries as enduring and as w...
Expansion of the universe 'may be constant'
A new study has cast doubt on the idea that the universe is expanding at an increasingly rapid rate. Back in the 1990s, three astronomers made a funda...
Did the ancient Scots eat roasted rodents ?
Forget haggis - Neolithic Scots living on the islands may have once had an appetite for the humble vole. Evidence of this unusual dining choice was di...

Oct 21

ExoMars lander may have exploded on impact
It looks like the Schiaparelli lander slammed in to the Martian surface after its landing system failed. The fate of the probe, which had separated fr...
Italian town unveils working wine fountain
Installed in Ortona, Abruzzo, the fountain offers an inexhaustible supply of wine to thirsty visitors. The town, which is situated to the south of Rom...
Mystery surrounds object found in Romania
A strange aluminium object unearthed in Romania in 1973 is thought to date back up to 250,000 years. The unusual artifact was originally discovered al...

Oct 20

Who or what was the Braidwood 'hairy man' ?
A strange hairy beast made headlines after it was felled by an Australian cordial manufacturer in 1893. The peculiar incident occurred when Arthur Mar...
Tesla's cars will soon all drive themselves
Elon Musk has revealed that all Tesla's upcoming vehicles will be capable of driving autonomously. In a surprise announcement during a press conferenc...

Oct 19

Fate of ExoMars lander hangs in the balance
The ExoMars mission's lander Schiaparelli has reached Mars but it is unclear whether or not it survived. Earlier on today, scientists at ESA waited wi...
WWI submarine was 'attacked by monster'
A German submarine said to have been attacked by a sea monster has been found off the coast of Scotland. Discovered near Wigtownshire in the south-wes...
Patent for second-generation EmDrive revealed
EmDrive inventor Roger Shawyer has received a new patent for the next version of his 'impossible' engine. The electromagnetic propulsion engine, which...

Oct 18

MIT's fusion reactor sets new world record
A world powered by practically limitless, clean energy is now one step closer to becoming a reality. Often seen as the Holy Grail of power generation,...
Two 'moonlets' found in orbit around Uranus
30-year-old data from the Voyager 2 spacecraft has revealed the presence of two hidden moons. Despite the fact that it has been over three decades sin...
Two 'secret rooms' found within Great Pyramid
Two previously-unknown cavities have been identified within the walls of Egypt's Great Pyramid of Giza. The discovery was made through a collaborative...

Oct 17

Scientists create mice from artificial eggs
Japanese scientists have succeeded in creating female mouse eggs using cells from the animals' tails. In what has been described as a 'remarkable' bre...
Mystery surrounds conspiracy theorist's death
Father-of-two Max Spiers was found dead back in June after going to Poland to give a talk about UFOs. Having made something of a name for himself in t...

Oct 16

The Great Barrier Reef is not quite dead yet
Scientists have criticized news reports claiming that the world's largest coral reef had 'passed away'. The furore began a few days ago when newspaper...
Huge 175-ton jade stone unearthed in Burma
Miners were ecstatic when they came across the stone which is thought to be worth around $170 million. Found in Kachin state, the enormous hunk of jad...
World's largest jade stone unearthed in Burma
Miners were ecstatic when they came across the stone which is thought to be worth around $170 million. Found in Kachin state, the enormous hunk of jad...
'Bigfoot' filmed in remote Indonesian jungle
A video showing an alleged Bigfoot walking in front of a waterfall has been doing the rounds online. Very little is known about the origins of the foo...

Oct 15

Galaxies are a lot more numerous than thought
There are believed to be ten times as many galaxies in the universe than previous studies had suggested. The discovery was made by an international gr...
Super-strong Kengoro robot can do push-ups
This remarkable Japanese invention is even capable of sweating to help keep its motors from overheating. It might look like a prototype of Arnold Schw...

Oct 14

Device can make broccoli taste like chocolate
A new invention called Taste Buddy has the potential to make any food taste like any other food. Developed by scientists at City University in London,...
Consortium unveils space nation 'Asgardia'
Referred to as the 'first nation state in space', Asgardia will seek to safeguard the entire planet. The extraordinarily ambitious project has been ma...
What sounds did the dinosaurs really make ?
Contrary to popular belief, the dinosaurs probably did not make loud roaring noises like in the movies. In the Jurassic Park film series, dinosaurs su...

Oct 13

New dwarf planet found beyond orbit of Pluto
This tiny, distant world is believed to take up to 1,140 years to complete a single orbit of the Sun. Known as 2014 UZ224, the object was picked up by...
Scientists discover new type of earthquake
It turns out that earthquakes can occur significantly below the upper half of the Earth's crust. Conventionally, earthquakes are understood to occur u...

Oct 12

Obama aims to send humans to Mars by 2030s
The US President has reiterated his efforts to send humans to the Red Planet within the coming decades. In an op-ed article published by CNN on Tuesda...
'Extinct' river dolphin shows up in China
Chinese conservationists believe that they have spotted an extinct dolphin species in the Yangtze river. Sometimes referred to as the "goddess of the ...
Ghost ship illusion appears on Lake Superior
An intriguing optical illusion has been caught on camera from the shores of North America's largest lake. Recorded by Jason Asselin off the coast of M...

Oct 11

Creepy clowns phenomenon spreads to the UK
Mysterious individuals dressed as clowns have recently started to turn up on the streets of England. What started out as little more than a roadside p...
Tales of the 'old hag' continue to endure
A terrifying phenomenon known to cause paralysis and hallucinations at night is surprisingly common. Have you ever found yourself in a half-waking sta...
New room found in Winchester Mystery House
The mysterious Victorian mansion has remained a place of intrigue since Sarah Winchester's death in 1922. One of San Jose's most popular tourist attra...
300+ 30d

10 November - Contrary Brin

Contrary Brin

Today

Shining light on cyber-secrets
Okay. All right. I am putting together some thoughts about moving forward. And yes, with confidence in a future-oriented civilization that may, yet, save the planet and take us to the stars. It will take a couple of days. Meanwhile - a topic I know a thing or two about... our increasingly (and now it had better be) transparent world. First off: Here is the video of my recent popular talk on the f

Nov 08

Science, human nature, power! Delusion! And a few final political thoughts...
A brief (mostly) apolitical interlude before civilization shifts. Maybe 90% of this posting is about what should be our core focus. Moving forward as a joyously confident scientific civilization. But first: Where do the candidates stand on science? Science News meticulously compares the science-related statements of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Scientific American analyzes the answers given

Nov 05

Winding up. It's about our future...
Okay, we're winding up. The next few days should tell us a lot about this generation of the republic and the American Experiment. It has certainly brought home to me the self-indulgent differences between blogging and old-style journalism! And the day after the election... if we aren't packing for New Zealand... I plan to allocate more time to science fiction. But first: more grist for you undeci

Nov 03

The Worst American Keeps At It. (It's not Donald Trump!)
In a bit, I'll get to my nominee for the Worst American. But first, a bit more about (did you guess?) the election before us. Things might have been much tighter - indeed, Donald Trump might have won, given the 'third-term curse' - but for one factor that tipped him over the edge, preventing him from reaching out to the middle of America. It's those rallies , those insanely-addictive festivals of

Nov 01

Taxation, capitalism, free enterprise and fair play
A lot to cover, and yes, politics. But first ... == Capitalism, democracy and fair play == Evonomics is on a roll. The site has become the central place where serious minds ponder how to revive a mixed economy that served us so well. The miracle that communists never understood and that oligarchs seek to destroy. In the lead article, zillionaire entrepreneur Steve Roth writes: “ Democracy. Capita

Oct 29

Science Fiction and Science Fact Inspiration!
Turning away from politics for a while... (everyone, wipe your feet and shower first... now, have a tall drink and settle in for something different... science fiction!) Let's start with a way cool look at the physics and paradoxes of time travel, in the newly released Time Travel: A History , by science historian James Gleick (author of The Information: A History, A Theory, A Flood ). As usual,

Oct 27

A cantankerous political climax (at last).
A midweek political posting, as I get ready for our flight home from Vegas. Re this awful election, I think we've mostly said what there is to say. Heck, Clinton and Obama seem at last to get what I (separately and unbeknownst, alack) have been calling for. Going after the troglodytic Roger Ailes puppets in Congress. Nothing would be better for human civilization, for the nation, and for the poss

Oct 24

International concerns and promises
Keeping with a breather from the US election... (phew!) ... except for maybe a lagniappe at the end. Still, there are adjacent topics worth contemplating! Such as: Instead of building A Wall, Why Not a Binational Border City? Consider... Border City - plans by Fernando Romero A Mexican architect, Fernando Romero, has a utopian vision for a walkable city straddling the U.S.-Mexico border. And no,

Oct 22

Amazing - and sometimes deadly - animals
Oh, thank you science! For offering alluring reasons why I can turn every weekend posting away from politics! And this time, let's look at some of our fantastic fellow creatures on this globe. For example: Russian researchers have teased out the separate sounds from two dolphins, demonstrating that they take turns and emit sequences of bursts that seem to be discursive… in other words – conversat

Oct 20

Post-debates, post... mortem? Hillary's ten mistakes. And Donald's missing veer.
All right, I've been typing too much about the G#!*&d@m election. Oh, for it to be over! And yet, like Donald Trump, I get addicted to my audience -- which consists of mostly bright folks who want to get some off-angle perspectives, of the kind you get only here! So what to I do with my backlog of extra material? Tell you what... I'll go ahead with this posting that was already prepared... but if

Oct 17

Buckle your seatbelts... October surprises, cheating, and the things Clinton won't say...
This posting will be hurried, geting it in before the final debate. Like the rest of you, I am both fascinated-addicted and so, so, so eager for it to end. First off, Trump challenged Clinton to take a ‘blood test” before the next debate. She should reply: “Sure Donald, we’ll both do that. But in return, you have to accept one of MY challenges! You (Trump) must appoint five sages to a fact-checki

Oct 15

As we move forward...
Just returned from giving speeches about artificial Intelligence and other fututure wonders/fears, for GE and Viacom. But there's time to squeeze in - for the weekend - a posting that's not about the U.S. political civil war. And hence... Lest the media's obsession with bad news suggest that the world is going to hell in a handbasket, Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker argues in an interview that

Oct 13

Can elections be hacked? And the Russian gambit.
As the pace quickens, I'll use this political posting to catch up on side items... such as... Hey Hill! Want a solution to all the fuss around the Clinton Foundation? Hand it all over to the Carter Center , lock stock and barrel. Analogous to Warren Buffett making Bill Gates his heir! Because the Gates Foundation is run so well. Likewise, the one thing all Americans agree about Jimmy Carter is hi

Oct 11

The President Pence Gambit is now openly discussed. And doubling down on insanity
The cycle time for my sci fi forecasts becoming reality keeps getting shorter. See below, how the GOP lords are now openly calling for a scenario to impeach a President Trump and install Mike Pence, exactly as I described. First... In an earlier political blog , I showed how those states that have invested in infrastructure, universities and people have vastly outperformed those slashing taxes an
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