Gil Perez was a 16th century soldier and guard. He was a member of the Filipino Guardia Civil and worked at the palace of the Governor General in Manila, Philippines. His life was rather typical of a soldier in that place and time. He did his duty to his government and did his job regardless of any circumstances that arose during his guard duty–even the alleged spontaneous teleportation to another country.
Teleportation is a common theme in literature, movies and anything science fiction. The crew of the Starship Enterprise had it down to a science. The mad scientist in The Fly botched it terribly and Stephen King had it stealing the sanity of children in his short story The Jaunt. There is no denying that teleportation has an appeal in fiction because it strips away the location limitations of characters and it is open to interpretation; all manner of horrors can occur as a result because we simply do not know what side effects teleportation may have.
There is also an interest in real life teleportation because it would obviously be quite convenient. The real life applications could be life saving and bring people closer together. However, it could also change the face of modern warfare and make it very difficult to track criminals. That is all assuming teleportation is something we could control. What if there was no control? What if some people could teleport spontaneously without any knowledge they are about teleport? That is what reportedly happened in the case of Gil Perez.
On October 24, 1593, Gil Perez was doing his guard duties at the Governor's palace in Manila. Chinese pirates had assassinated the governor–Gomez Perez Dasmarinas–the night before, but the guards still guarded the palace and awaited the appointment of a new governor. Tired, Gil Perez decided to lean against a wall and rest for a moment. When he opened his eyes, he was in a completely unfamiliar place. Unsure how to react, he continued to do his guard duties until he was approached by someone who started asking him questions and telling him that he was somewhere that it was impossible for him to be. Gil was in Mexico City's Plaza Mayor.
When questioned, Gil Perez gave the story of his supposed teleportation and the death of his country's governor. The assassination was unknown to those in Mexico City, but Gil Perez was reportedly wearing the uniform of the palace guards in Manila. He was placed in jail because it was thought he might be a deserter and/or a servant of the devil. After two months, a ship arrived from the Philippines, bringing news of the governor's death. They said that they knew Gil Perez, though they did not know he was in Mexico City. The last time they had seen him was on October 23 at the palace.
The authorities in Mexico City decided to release Gil Perez and send him home. As there is no other account of Gil materializing anywhere, it is assumed that he never spontaneously teleported again. It was lucky for him that, if the story is true, he did not wind up in a country where Spanish was not spoken or worse, in a harsh terrain like the ocean, desert or arctic tundra. Some sources say that the story was not told until 100 years after it reportedly occurred. Other sources say that authorities documented the occurrence immediately. Without details like this, it is hard to say if the story is any more suspicious than its science fiction premise already suggests.
Sources
Teleportation, retrieved 8/21/11, psychic101.com/teleportation-learn.html
Showing posts with label Bizarre Events. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bizarre Events. Show all posts
Bizarre Nature: Earthquake Lights
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| Alleged earthquake lights Photo by Doug Aghassi |
Earthquake lights appear multi-colored, like aurora borealis, or bluish-white. They are brighter during earthquakes than they are before or after earthquakes. They were thought to be little more than a myth until about the 1960s, when people photographed them during an earthquake in Matsushiro, Japan.
Earthquake lights almost certainly exist and have existed for quite some time. Unlike other phenomena, there is little possibility that earthquake lights are a hoax or mistaken identity. In 373 BC, a massive earthquake destroyed the Greek cities of Helice and Buris. When Greek historian Callisthenes wrote of the disaster, he described "immense columns of fire" marking the event in the sky. There was no volcano involved with this massive earthquake, so this is taken as the first written example of earthquake lights. More were to come after. Therefore, it is hard to write earthquake lights off as myth or mistaken identity. There is photographic evidence of earthquake lights as well. Coupled, this written and photographic evidence leave little doubt.
Eyewitness accounts that clearly reference earthquake lights were absent until roughly 1930. At that time, there was an earthquake in the Idi Peninsula in Japan. More than 1500 people reported seeing strange lights in the sky. As mentioned above, they were still regarded as myth after this event. However, numerous examples have been recorded in writing and in photographs since.
NASA and the USGS acknowledge earthquake lights as a true phenomenon, though they have been unable to describe the cause of them. It has been suggested that earthquake lights are caused by gases released during the earthquake or by the force of the earthquake itself. These are just hypotheses. There is not enough data regarding earthquake lights to say for sure what mechanism is at work.
Some people have suggested that earthquake lights are caused by HAARP (High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program). This is unlikely, given that HAARP did not exist two-thousand, or even one hundred, years ago. Of course, there are also those who attribute the lights to aliens and other such unexplainable causes. Hopefully, we will know what causes these lights soon. If scientists could figure out how to predict earthquakes by understanding these lights, countless lives could be saved.
Sources
NASA, retrieved 11/10/10, search.nasa.gov/search/search.jsp?nasaInclude=earthquake+lights
Palmer, Sean B., Earthquake Lights, retrieved 11/10/10, inamidst.com/lights/earthquake
The Bizarre Tale of the Burke Hare Murder Dolls
Not long after a series of murders took place in Edinburgh, Scotland, a boy found an interesting group of dolls in coffins. They found the dolls in a cave on Arthur's Seat at Holyrood Park in Edinburgh. Initially, the dolls appeared odd, but did not seem to have any significance beyond their oddness and the location in which they were found. Over time, it became obvious that they were very similar in number and appearance to the victims of the recent killing spree.
William Burke and William Hare were two Irishmen who met in Scotland and became friends sometime in the 1820s. Hare ran a boarding house with his wife. There, in 1828, one of the tenants died of natural causes. Burke and Hare sold the body of the man to a doctor at Edinburgh University to be used as a medical school cadaver.
At the time, the medical schools had a shortage of bodies to use for dissection. They were only allowed to use executed criminals and criminals were being executed less frequently. Doctors were sometimes resorting to purchasing bodies from so-called body snatchers or, more accurately, grave robbers. It appears that one Dr. Knox of the University of Edinburgh was not averse to purchasing the bodies of murder victims, either, though it is not absolutely certain that he was aware of the fact when he started doing it.
After selling the body of the deceased tenant, Burke and Hare realized that they could make a living off selling the bodies of the dead. They were making less than the equivalent of 1,500 USD in modern currency per body, but that was enough to compel them to kill 16 individuals. Many were killed by smothering, though one was given a medication overdose and a little boy had his back broken. Eventually, a tenant found a body underneath a bed at the boarding house and turned the pair into the police. The body was gone by the time the police got there. However, Hare made a deal and told all in exchange for his freedom. Burke was executed and dissected publicly and several of his body parts, included a death mask of his face, were saved.
The dolls discovered in the cave numbered 17. They also appeared to represent each of the bodies sold to Dr. Knox -- who was not charged with any crime. The dolls are roughly 4 inches long each and have their own individual coffins. Dating puts them around the same time as the murders and many assume that one of the killers is responsible for carving the dolls. Modern DNA testing conducted on the body of the Burke and on the dolls found no connection, but that is because there was nothing to find on the dolls after all this time.
If indeed the dolls were made during the killings, only a handful of people could have done the carving. There was Dr. Knox, who likely knew the cadavers he was purchasing were murder victims. There were Burke and Hare, Hare's mistress and Burke's wife. Dr. Knox's brother possibly knew as well, but there were almost certainly no more people who could have made the dolls. One of these people could have made the dolls out of guilt. Of course, one of the killers could have made the dolls as souvenirs and stashed them in the cave when the murders were discovered. Hare could have made them after Burke's murder trial and stashed them as well. If they were made after the murders were discovered, it could have been anybody.
There are currently only 8 of the original 17 murder dolls left. They are kept at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. The dissected remains of one of the men who killed the people the dolls reportedly represent -- Burke -- are kept at the University of Edinburgh.
The Anthrax Letters
On September 11, 2001,
foreign terrorists attacked the United States. Citizens of the United States
were shocked, scared and grieving. It was a time of paranoia and distrust.
People wondered when and if the country would be attacked again. Then, a matter
of days later, something happened that caused nearly everyone to believe that
the U.S. was still under attack. A number of letters containing spores of the
bacteria that causes anthrax were sent to public figures. People who had been
exposed to these letters, or letters that had come into contact with the
anthrax letters, began falling ill.
Anthrax is a disease
that is caused by the bacteria Bacillus anthracis. It typically affects
herbivorous mammals, but can infect any mammal, as far as we can tell, including
humans. Most human anthrax infections are caused by contact with infected
animals or infected animal byproducts. There are three ways to contract the
disease, through open skin, breathing in spores or eating the bacteria. It is
not contagious, meaning it cannot be spread from one infected human to another.
The bacterium is tasteless, odorless and the amount needed to kill a person is
invisible to the naked eye.
Anthrax that is
contracted through the skin, or cutaneous anthrax, causes necrosis. It starts
as a small bump that escalates into a painless ulcer. This form of anthrax is
highly treatable. Only one percent of treated cases of cutaneous anthrax will
cause death. The mortality rate is 20 percent for untreated cases.
Anthrax that is
contracted through the digestive system can cause a painful death. The symptoms
are nausea, vomiting and loss of appetite. Later symptoms include bloody vomit
and diarrhea. Twenty-five to fifty percent of people who contract anthrax in
this manner will die.
Anthrax that is
contracted through the lungs is the deadliest form of the disease. Symptoms
start like the common cold and progress to severe difficulty breathing.
Eventually it becomes so bad that victims have described the sensation as
having your head held under water. Shock is very common in this form of
anthrax. Roughly 75 percent of people who contract anthrax through their lungs
will die. The Anthrax letters of 2001 caused five deaths. All of them occurred
in individuals who had inhaled the bacteria.
According to the F.B.I.,
there were four letters (there are claims of more, however). The first two were
sent on September 18, 2001. Their intended recipients were Tom Brokaw of NBC
and the New York Post. Two more were sent October 9, 2001. The intended recipients
of these letters were Senators Tom Daschle and Patrick Leahy. All of the
letters were mailed from a box in Newark, New Jersey. According to the CDC, 23
people contracted anthrax as a result of these letters; one of them was a baby.
Obviously, the person or group was sending these letters did not care who got
hurt.
Through handwriting
analysis, the F.B.I. was able to conclude that the same person wrote each of
the letters. Of course, this did not rule out the possibility that a group
planned the attack. The popular (and logical) thinking, initially, was that a
foreign terrorist group was responsible for the attack. Authorities knew that
they had to uncover the person responsible and fast. Terrorists who are capable
of using biological weapons and are not afraid to use them are a scary
prospect. However, authorities did not uncover a foreign terrorist group. When
it was found that the anthrax came from an American source, the F.B.I. turned
their attention to possible domestic terrorists.
The first public
"person of interest" in the anthrax letters case was Doctor Steven
Hatfill. Hatfill was an Army doctor. He was closely scrutinized by the F.B.I.
for quite some time. He was eventually found innocent of any wrongdoing.
However, he had been so closely watched that he felt it had damaged his career.
He sued the government for invasion of privacy and won.
The next noteworthy
"person of interest" in the anthrax letters case was an unassuming
Army biodefense expert, Doctor Bruce Ivins. The F.B.I. had concluded that the
anthrax causing bacteria had come from his laboratory (experts have since
claimed that the F.B.I.'s evidence for this was not conclusive). They subjected
Bruce to the same scrutiny that they subjected Steven to. However, they found
many things that led them to believe that Bruce was their guy. Bruce had a
number of photos of blindfolded women in his computer (circumstantial); later
in the investigation, they found correspondence of Bruce's in which he claimed
to have multiple personalities (circumstantial); the F.B.I. discovered that
Bruce was obsessive about women (circumstantial) and they also listened in on a
conversation in which Bruce said that he couldn't remember having mailed any
anthrax letters and that he thought (hoped) he wasn't capable of such a thing
(decidedly not a confession). Dr. Bruce Ivins committed suicide by ingesting an
overdose of Tylenol in 2008. He never confessed to the crimes, nor has direct
evidence been found linking him to the anthrax letters.
In February of 2010, the
F.B.I. officially closed their investigation into the anthrax letters of 2001.
They concluded that Dr. Bruce Ivins was responsible for the letters and that he
acted alone. Many people believe that the F.B.I. closed the case prematurely and/or
that they based their investigation on preconceived notions. Lawrence Sellin
Ph.D., and others, believes that, while it could have been Ivins, the case has
yet to be thoroughly investigated. Furthermore, it is the belief of some that
Ivins' mental issues (apart from his obsession with women, which hardly makes
him a murderer), including his suicide, were a direct result of the
investigation.
Read more from the
F.B.I.'s investigation here.
Sources
Council on Foreign
Relations, The Anthrax Letters, retrieved 5/1/10, cfr.org/publication/9555/#p1
Shane, Scott, F.B.I.,
Laying Out Evidence, Closes Anthrax Case, retrieved 5/1/10,
nytimes.com/2010/02/20/us/20anthrax.html
Questions and Answers
About Anthrax, retrieved 5/1/10, bt.cdc.gov/agent/anthrax/faq
L. Polyedrum and Glowing Red Tides
Lingulodinium polyedrum is a bioluminescent phytoplankton or more specifically a dinoflagellate. Bioluminescent essentially means it glows. Numerous organisms in nature do this. However, L. polyedrum is special even amongst this group of naturally glowing organisms. That is because Lingulodinium polyedrum forms red tides, more accurately known as algae blooms. These are times when organisms like L. polyedrum are particularly numerous in coastal waters. So, what happens when there is an algae bloom of bioluminescent organisms in warm coastal waters? The waves glow like college students at a rave.
Red tides are not always pleasant to look at and many people would rather not enter the water when microscopic organisms have so visibly taken over. L. polyedrum is much prettier than some red tides and possibly less frightening when it comes to entering the water. However, there may be cause for such concern when it comes to Lingulodinium polyedrum. There is some evidence that these dinoflagellates can be harmful to fish populations and possibly even people. However, a number of people continue to swim and surf despite L. polyedrum algae blooms without any known ill effects. The potential is still there, though.
Whether they are dangerous or not, these organisms certainly create a beautiful show. It is as if lights are turning on in the waves as they begin to crash. It is said that a footprint in the sand will glow when these organisms are present. Therefore, one can walk down the beach agitating them with their feet and making them glow in the sand while watching the light show they put on in the water. There really is nothing like it. It is like a trip to Pandora.
Watch the video below for some great footage of this phenomenon. Sorry for the music, if it is not pleasing to your ears, but these are the best lengthy shots of waves out of the bunch.
Bizarre Hoaxes: The Halifax Slasher
The Halifax Slasher was an alleged attacker who caused panic in Halifax, Nova Scotia in November of 1938. This person was said to roam the streets attacking mostly women but also a few men with blunt objects and sharp blades. The mention of blades is what led to the man's nickname the Halifax Slasher. The problem with this story is that it was likely concocted. In fact, much of it is known to have been concocted.
The trouble began on November 16, 1938 when Gertrude watts and Mary Gledhill alleged that they were attacked. The said their attacker -- a man -- had a mallet. The only other identifying feature was bright buckles on the man's shoes. The next "victim" was Mary Sutcliffe. She said that the man carried a blade when he attacked her on November 21. More people came out over the next few days. What was bizarre was the public reaction and subsequent hoaxes that followed the alleged initial attacks.
Not long after the three women claimed they were attacked, the town went a little crazy. Citizens hunted for the Halifax Slasher, often coming up with innocent men. Beatings took place and more people came forward saying they had been attacked. The local police called in Scotland Yard for help. In the end, the conclusion was more bizarre than the alleged crimes. A man stalking women in the streets is sadly far from unusual. A town gone crazy and individuals pretending to have been attacked to perpetuate the hysteria is significantly more unusual.
On November 29, a man said he was attacked but later admitted that he lied. The man even harmed himself to make it look like he had been attacked. The investigation turned up a number of these hoaxes and the Halifax Slasher was declared a combination of hysteria and distasteful lies. The people who were found guilty of lying about the attacks were penalized.
Bizarre Events: Mumbai Sweet Water
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| Mahim Creek in Mumbai, India Courtesy of Nicholas from Wikimedia Commons |
On August 18, 2006, a bizarre phenomenon occurred in Mumbai, India. It is known as the Mumbai Sweet Seawater Incident. What was bizarre about it was not really the allegedly sweet seawater as there were a number of logical explanations for comparatively sweet seawater. The really bizarre aspect of the incident was the reaction.
Early on August 18, 2006, reports started to spread that Mahim Creek was delivering sweet water. That very same day, the same phenomenon was reported with ocean water in Gujarat. People flocked to Mahim Creek and the waters of Gujarat to collect this supposedly sweet water in containers. This was not so people could wash their clothes in Willy Wonka water. This was so they could drink it!
Some might think drinking some creek or even ocean water that suddenly turned sweet is not such a big deal. However, Mahim Creek is notoriously polluted. Not only is it inundated with industrial waste but it is also inundated with raw sewage. That is right. Fecal matter, urine and any number of unhealthy chemicals lurk in the water, no matter how sweet it is. In fact, it is known for having an awful stench. Besides, drinking seawater is a bad idea even if it is clean.
Luckily, there was not widespread cholera or other such waterborne disease epidemics. There is some speculation that the recent monsoon season not only purified the water, insomuch as such water can be purified, but that it also caused the sweet water. It may have also been a case of mass hysteria. Whatever the cause, drinking that water was surely a bizarre reaction. It makes one wonder who drank it first to discover it had turned sweet.
Bizarre Events: The June Bug Epidemic
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| June Bug (Public Domain Image) |
The June Bug Epidemic was a case of mass hysteria that occurred in a North Carolina textile mill in 1962. Several workers came down with an illness that made them dizzy and nauseous. There was also vomiting. Because there were some June bugs in the mill, they began to believe that the bugs had bitten them, causing the illness. While some of the workers may have been bitten, there is no illness connected with the bite of June bugs. By the time the event had reached its peak, 62 of the mill workers had come down with the mysterious illness. The CDC investigated the case and reached the conclusion that it was mass hysteria.
While mass hysteria is more a diagnosis of elimination than anything, it is nearly certain in some cases. In the case of the June bug Epidemic, the victims all worked closely together. No physical reason for the symptoms, such as a virus, was detected. All of the victims had the same or similar symptoms. All of this on top of the fact that the symptoms matched some of those associated with mass hysteria led to the diagnosis of it.
Mass hysteria occurs when a group of people is convinced they are ill because of the symptoms of one or a few. It is presumed that there is at least one truly ill person in some cases, but that the illness only spreads through the convictions of the others. Symptoms include nausea, vomiting and dizziness. These are also symptoms of acute anxiety. If a person becomes convinced that they are going to "catch" what someone else has, they may develop anxiety. If this happens to enough people in a given area, mass hysteria results.
Bizarre Events: Zombie Walks
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| Kids at a Zombie Walk Courtesy of Mark Marek Photography |
All right, you shouldn't just dress like a zombie and walk around by yourself. It is no fun scaring small children if you don't have a posse. Besides, you are less likely to get arrested if you are part of a gang of harmless zombies. If you're alone, you just look like a nutcase. These groups are called zombie walks. These people go around Dawn of the Dead style through the streets reminding us why zombie flicks are almost never frightening. The best part is, sometimes this is done for charity. Want to raise money for sick children while scaring healthy ones? Zombie walks are the thing for you.
Yes, zombie walks are bizarre and possibly a little nerdy, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. However, if you are going to do a zombie walk, make sure you are following the local laws and don't give people heart attacks. If someone looks genuinely frightened, don't lick your lips and run toward them. Fear can be dangerous and you don't want to be sued or hurt anyone, especially in the name of charity. It is a little counterproductive.
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