The gang debuts the brand new Podcastr webapp for listening to the show. Brian debates the thought process of Ronald Reagan as he confesses his alien invasion fears to Mikhail Gorbachev. Adventure scientists Dr. Herb Vellasic and Viederman try to crack the case of the frog plague. Andrew, for one, welcomes our new robot overlords in the wake of Watson pwning the Jeopardy! champions.
Try out the brand new PODCASTR player, featuring wireless syncing between desktop browsers and iOS devices, by clicking on the image:
The Weird Things staff loves all kinds of science, but we hold a special place in our heart for “weird science”, which is exactly what astronomers from the University of Alberta are saying is going on inside the neutron star Cassiopeia A. Astronomer Craig Heinke’s team has found that this neutron star contains a core of superfluid, a friction-less liquid that could seemingly defy the laws of gravity. The astronomers started researching the star after a sudden temperature drop and they determined that the temperature drop was due to the fact that its core transformed into a superfluid and is venting heat in the process.
“If you could put some of this superfluid in a jar it would flow up the walls of the container and over the edge,” said Heinke.
In Scotland, 321 acres and the ruins of Yester Castle have hit the market for offers over £450,000. The ruins date back to before 1267 and the only remaining structure is the subterranean Goblin Ha’ or Hobgoblin Ha’ (Goblin Hall). According to legend, the castle was built by Sir Hugo de Giffard, a wizard and necromancer. Old Hugo decided to build a castle and made a pact with the devil in exchange for an army of hobgoblins who helped build it.
Over at Phantoms and Monsters an interesting and fun tale about a haunted painting has been posted. According to the story, the painting, entitled The Anguished Man, has been in the family for more than 25 years. It was kept in the attic until recently and the artist apparently committed suicide after making this painting. Oh – and the oil paint was mixed using the artists own blood.
There are reports of strange noises, dark figures, and fitful sleep. You can watch the entire video series with more detailed information here, including when the so-called former skeptic owner decides to ramp things up by moving the painting into his bedroom. If nothing else, it is a fantastic tale.
Before Alan Moore’s 1987 retelling of the story, came 1979’s Czech ballad of The Swamp Thing. From what we can gather, this meme has been around for a little while but it’s new to us and hopefully a few of you guys.
Thanks to Weird Things reader @Bizmar on Twitter for throwing this our way.
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A few friends go hiking in the Russian wilderness on an early February night in 1959. The Ural Mountain area is desolate, but not unmanageable for these nine veteran hikers.
On a larger scale, the Soviet Union continues to ascend in global power. Cuba is weeks away from succumbing to Communist revolution. Secrecy and corruption in all levels of government continue to run unchecked in an Iron Curtain system which it’s own citizens don’t dare question and the rest of the world fears.
Those nine hikers were found dead. Two of them had fractured skulls. Many of them were in various states of undress. One of them had her tongue ripped out of her mouth. All of their clothes had trace levels of radiation.
Their tent was ripped open. From the inside.
What were they trying to get away from? Were they running from something? Or someone? Did top secret chemical weapons testing cause them to go psychotic? Did a group of indigenous people brutally, torture and murder the friends?
Why was the subsequent investigation sealed under high level secrecy for decades?
The intervening 52 years haven’t provided hard answers, but there are plenty of theories ranging from UFOs to high-tech military testing.
The snow swept scenery is now called Dyatlov Pass in memory of Igor Dyatlov, the leader of those who died under such odd circumstances. Read about them AFTER THE JUMP… Read the rest of this entry »
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While kayaking on Lake Windermer in the UK, Tom Pickles snapped a photograph with his cell phone of what it being referred to as the “English Loch Ness Monster”.
Mr Pickles said he saw an animal the size of three cars speed past him on the lake and watched it for about 20 seconds.
“Its skin was like a seal’s but it’s shape was completely abnormal – it’s not like any animal I’ve ever seen before.”
The creature is known by local residents as “Bownessie” and this is the eighth reported sighting in the last five years.
Archaeologists working in Gough’s Cave in Somerset, UK have unearthed three human skulls used as cups, and at 14,700-years-old they are some of the oldest known examples in the world. Much care went into their construction:
“The cut-marks and dents show how the heads were scrupulously cleaned of any soft tissues shortly after death,” says Silvio Bello from London’s Natural History Museum. Later, the face bones and the base of the skull would have been removed, before the cranial vaults were meticulously shaped into cups by retouching broken edges. “All in all,” says Bello, “it was a very painstaking process given the tools available.”
CBS Atlanta has recently launched an investigation into whether the government is poisoning you with airplanes. I am not going to spoil the answer for you; you are going to have to watch yourself. Tough questions indeed.
A Russian military engineer, Evgeny Ubiyko, is building an $80,000 Doomsday Capsule designed to survive the 2012 apocalypse, as understood from folklore, television and movies. Ubiyko is building his capsule on an abandoned battery farm just outside Moscow.
“The capsule is hermetic, it’s got four layers of insulation. It can float, roll down hills, and land upside down – without being damaged,” Evgeny explains.
“It cannot be destroyed by tremors, or lava, or magnetic storms. This is where the shower will be, and the air purification systems. It can house up to four people for 40 days and costs $80,000.”
I want to reiterate this last point: the inventor claims that this capsule is impervious to LAVA. That is something that I would like to see in action. Hey, fun fact – if the world doesn’t actually end, Evgeny says the capsules can be used as saunas or industrial fridges. He strongly recommends that the government order several thousand immediately.
A strange corpse washed up recently on Long Island and a number of pictures were submitted to Phantoms and Monsters. What kind of animal do you think this is?
A man driving around Lake City discovered a military rocket on the side of the road and decided to bring it in to the local police station.
“Officers determined it was indeed a live, high-explosive military device. Explosives experts from Alachua County responded and identified the device as an M247 rocket with 2.3 pounds of composition B for the explosive.”
“Police also remind everyone not to approach any suspicious devices, and to call police immediately.”
Clearly, I am spending too much time indoors and need to get out and drive around this fine state more.
