THE
ANOMALIST IS A DAILY REVIEW OF WORLD NEWS ON MAVERICK SCIENCE,
UNEXPLAINED MYSTERIES, UNORTHODOX THEORIES, STRANGE TALENTS, AND
UNEXPECTED DISCOVERIES.
ANOMALIST IS A DAILY REVIEW OF WORLD NEWS ON MAVERICK SCIENCE,
UNEXPLAINED MYSTERIES, UNORTHODOX THEORIES, STRANGE TALENTS, AND
UNEXPECTED DISCOVERIES.
NOTICE: News stories appear in new browser windows. Stories are not
archived; links may expire without notice.
CONTACT: Please email your news tips to the News
Editor.
RECOMMENDED SITES:
• Archives for the Unexplained
• Skeptiko
• Beachcombing’s Bizarre History Blog
• Magonia
• FOTOCAT
• NYUFO
• International Cryptozoology Museum
• Society for Scientific Exploration
• The Parapsychological Association
• National
UFO Reporting Center
• Library of Exploratory Science
• National Aviation Reporting Center on Anomalous Phenomena
April 17
Happy Easter from Patrick, Crystal, Bill, Linda, and the other guy we don’t talk about in polite company! 🗿🐰🐣🍫🥳🗿
April 16
Long before ‘Oumuamua and 2I/Borisov were gleams in an astronomer’s eye, something from beyond our solar system blazed across Papua New Guinea. It had the hallmarks of being an interstellar object, but what puzzles Brandon Specktor is why data around the event was classified ’til recently. Not so classified is Michelle Starr’s report on A Powerful ‘Space Laser’ Detected Beaming From Deep Space just last Thursday. It’s not artificial, as many believe so far, but there’s still reason to be awed by the majestic cosmic forces precipitating this phenomenon. Strange stuff still happens in our own neighborhood, for what it’s worth, and Ashley Strickland is scratching her head from the news of Neptune Experiencing An Unexplained Temperature Shift. In short the furthest of the blue twins cooled by 8° Celsius over 15 years, then recently warmed up by 11° Celsius in the span of two years. There are a few speculations as to why from NASA, but nothing concrete. (CS)
In order to reconcile general relatvity and quantum physics, it looks like the concept of time needs to go on the chopping block because no one, not even Sam Baron, can explain how time began in the first place. In fact time may be an epiphenomenon of causation,opening the door to many other wild theories. In other mind-blowing news, Iain McGilchrist goes into detail about How The Brain’s Left Hemisphere “Mesmerizes” Us Into Misunderstanding Reality. The throne of logic, details, and language within our head thinks it knows everything to the point of avoiding the bits it can not understand. Sound familiar? Perhaps the right hemisphere can help answer, “Who are we?” On the lighter side of subjective reality, This Mind-Boggling Optical Illusion Reveals Bizarre Facts About Your Brain as to whether you see a butterfly or two faces. Just wish Aliki Kraterou confided which of the two she saw first. (CS)
April 15
Rich Reynolds battles against the ETH, starting by questioning the “unaddressed issue” in an Ancient Aliens episode: “Why ETs would keep popping in on this planet?” Rich later argues You Can’t be Half-Witted About Extraterrestrial Life [ETs]. Here Rich makes the evolutionary argument against thinking intelligent ET lifeforms of necessity would want to stop by for a visit. And in That ET Idea: It’s a Malignant Hypothesis, he attacks the ETH from the standpoint of “The astounding diversity of beings” being reported, stemming more likely from psychological than touristic influences. And, just to make sure we’ve been reading attentively, Rich tests us with a Multiple Choice? (WM)
This is the talk remote viewer Paul Smith gave in Laughlin, Nevada, last November. In it he draws the most explicit connection he has ever made between consciousness and extraterrestrials. Paul discusses the topic in a responsible and grounded way. And while we are on the subject, we recommend listening to Ingo Swann The Man Who Started Remote Viewing, which is supposedly from his last public appearance. Swann was not just psychic, artist, and author, but also quite the comedian. He died in 2013. (PH)
More on FOIAmaster John Greenewald’s efforts to prise away information on government UFO/UAP activities. Here John primarily discusses a National Reconnaissance Office email which offers not only some interesting if small bits of information, but opportunities for John to fish for more data. John’s Navy ‘Releases’ 2020 Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon “Information Memo” credits UAPx’ Alex Garcia for another find. John says “releases like this prove that the discussion [on USG openness re: UFOs] has a long way to go before it can truly say it is seeing ‘”transparency.'” And in AAWSAP Documents – A Deep Dive John explicates the recent “FOIA dump” of stuff related to the Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program. John dispels some poor reporting about the documents and their release to several requestors; examines Dr. Christopher Green’s Defense Intelligence Reference Document on human effects; and then email exchanges about Senator Harry Reid, including his request for SAP status for the program, and contracts and slide presentations regarding BAASS performance to contract. John finds the 1500-odd pages released so far by the government more nearly support its non-UFO contention for AAWSAP than what’s been asserted by others more nearly involved. Curt Collins had reached some similar, some differing conclusions to John’s in The Pentagon UFO Program: Documents Released. Curt also references previous articles he and Roger Glassel wrote on the BAASS contract and subcontracting. (WM)
April 14
This is a difficult but important article to read. It’s here because of the unfavorable light it sheds on the government’s recent UFO program leadership. It likely vindicates many of Luis Elizondo’s claims of obstruction during his UFO-related service and, thereafter, attempted reprisals for his outspokenness. Along the way an unconscionably-familiar story of governmental sexual improprieties and intimidation plays out. It concludes with a punctuation “gut-punch” of a botched rescue campaign that may have ruined tens of thousands of lives. Tim McMillan clearly chronicles the result of one of The Debrief’s most significant investigations. Whether UFO/UAP issues ultimately had a part in the separation of a high-ranking official, and whether things will really be different for UFO studies now in a system that seems to countenance discreditable behavior among its leadership, remain to be seen. (WM)
Dr. Christopher (“Kit”) Green’s Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program (AAWSAP) contribution–and later work–have certainly attracted a lot of attention recently. And, says Jack Brewer, much of the “information” about it should be prefixed with a “mis-.” Brewer sets out to correct the misconceptions, largely by dint of a 75-minute phone conversation with Green on April 6. Brewer stresses Green’s unequivocal belief that “human beings are responsible for producing the technology that ultimately injured patients in the cases he examined.” Brewer also mentions his April 7th phone dialogue with Adam Kehoe, whose Twitter thread points out some “dubious sources” behind “some of the material cited by Green” on purported UFO cases. More background on Dr. Green is available in Sally Painter’s Dr. Kit Green Shares Paranormal Stories from the CIA Weird Desk. (WM)
One of Canada’s oldest ghost stories starts back in 1829, taking place over two years on a homestead in Southern Ontario. Known as the Baldoon Mystery, the well documented haunting appears to be the result of a stone-throwing, fire-starting poltergeist who may in fact have been an elderly shapeshifter with a grudge. If this has piqued your interest, you can learn more from this Virtual Talk: The Baldoon Mystery , posted by the Lambton County Archives. (CM)
April 13
One of the more outré things we’ve seen in the sky is the subject of Matt McNulty’s report. If it was a contrail, that was some contrail! And the Bizarre UFO Filmed in Israel is even more, well, “bizarrer.” Tim Binnall discusses the scant sighting particulars and explanations offered. Bradley Stokes and Charlie Duffield report about a North Wales Mum Left Stunned after Spotting ‘Two Flaming UFOs’ Zooming through Sky. At least here we have a good, solid name in the witness-photographer, even if Lynn Murphy’s imagery isn’t as exciting as the one in the previous article. And we have quite good provenance and a likely diagnosis for another Tim Binnall offering as a Doorbell Camera Films Odd UFO in California. (WM)
A pair of unrelated strange reports out of South America, starting with Argentina where a three-year-old boy and his dog wandered away from home only to wind up several miles away in a lagoon. The misadventure is being blamed on a Pombero, an anthropomorphic goblin, and not on neglectful parenting, and as skeptical as we are about the whole situation we can at least be glad for the toddler’s safe return. Next, in Venezuela: Luminous Mothman Over Caracas? More likely moth on camera lens, if you ask us. Good photo, though. (CM)
A quick trek through UFO history begins with its prehistory. Tom Emery chronicles central Illinois’ place in the 1897 U.S. “airship” wave. Emery records the impact claimed sightings had upon newspapers countrywide and public belief then and now. Suspected hoaxes and publicity stunts were mooted about. Brent Swancer has The Weird Case of Aliens at Steep Rock Lake. It’s a highly entertaining fiction from 1950, exposed by a Canadian APRO researcher named Robert T. Badgley in 1974. Brent notes the account is still touted in some UFO circles. Weirder still, a very similar tale was told by William Kiehl, who claimed participation in a 1914 encounter off the shore of Georgian Bay. Kiehl apparently wrote letters to Coral and Jim Lorenzen and also the sheriff of Wanaque, New Jersey, in 1966, as well as to then-House Minority Leader Gerald Ford on March 29th of that year. So why do people hoax, in particular UFOs? The Observer says Jim Keith has the answer in ‘Saucers of the Illuminati’. It’s all part of a grand conspiracy that could involve “brain implants” in people from Lee Harvey Oswald to “alleged saucer abductees.” And Curt Collins examines some Early Accounts of Alien Abductions from 1919 to Betty and Barney Hill in 1961. Curt employs Fort’s The Book of the Damned, comics and magazines–sci-fi and “less reputable”–and newspaper stories to illustrate his theme. (WM)
A psychiatrist at the University of Virginia has determined that most if not all Near Death Experiences include a life review and some form of out of body experience. The main challenge in studying the phenomenon is the unknown aspect of when a NDE will occur and the most often chaotic circumstances that follow immediately during and after. But that has not deterred the research. ‘Near-death experiences’ explored in first-ever peer-reviewed study , in large part due to death now being “potentially reversible” thanks to advanced methods of resuscitation. Additionally, we now know the human brain remains active for hours or even days after time of death has been declared. So while we may not know exactly what causes these experiences, we do know they are not caused by a biochemical waterfall from a dying brain. (CM)
We hope boomerangs make a comeback in UFO reporting. In this older case, the oddly-shaped object wasn’t just big; “it was much darker than the night itself.” And Nelson Polanco’s story of his 1994 sighting shared with his late brother is poignant, connects to another event, and had “a rather unpleasant surprise” for Nelson just a few months ago. Luis Burgos headlines Argentina: Object Plunges into Ocean at Punta Piedras. A very recent two-witness observation of something plunking into the water is juxtaposed with a 1996 sighting in which a “probe” apparently popped out of the drink at this active UFO/USO spot. And Nelson Polanco and Luis Burgos team up to give us OVNIRADIO – ICOU The Arroyo Zapata Humanoids (1983). An interesting interview with one of the two surviving witnesses to a CEIII experience echoes a witness’ later reticence to discuss the 1994 boomerang case. (WM)
April 11
Recently Stanford Professor Garry Nolan has been discussing “Havana Syndrome”-like symptoms in people claiming UFO-related Close Encounter injuries. Wayne State School of Medicine professor Christopher “Kit” Green now comments about a Defense Intelligence Reference Document he wrote for the Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program. (There are a few differences between the DIRD version ufologists like John Greenewald received and the EarthTech International submission featured in this article.) Green’s findings were stark, including that about ten percent of the patients he studied died within seven years of their anomalous exposures. However, Green “was able to explain every injury he has treated by currently existing, albeit advanced, human technology,” says reporter Josh Boswell. Yet the nature of some encounters Green describes apparently generating such adverse effects likely has “serious people in the Department of Defense” concerned about ET involvement. The article covers the “UFO-related” case symptoms and their proximate possible causes, and provides details on Havana Syndrome effects and known exposures worldwide. (WM)
The role “earthlights” may play in UFO reports is argued by one of that explanation’s most ardent and accomplished supporters. Paul Devereaux’s long excerpt from a recent book is fascinating yet does not by itself fully convince. Michael Havis and Hollie Bone coincidentally write of “an archaeological ‘earthquake'” as a Stone Tablet with Curse Written Inside May Solve Ancient Biblical Mystery. It’s an eye-opening assertion, but scholars will have to decide how well-grounded is that claim. Another researcher’s discovery has him asking were some “15,000-year-old” Gobi Desert Petroglyphs Made By Ancient Turks? Well, the rock art has yet to be securely dated and the prof and team are Turkish, but it’s certainly an interesting story and Turkish ethnic groups were in that general area at that period. And an Odd Star-Shaped Anomaly in Algeria Spotted on Google Earth has Tim Binnall’s attention. Tim notes this particular feature has been discussed for a while, with prosaic explanations for what some allege is merely the most remarkably-patterned of similar features in that part of Algeria. But it is amazing! (WM)
A look at the cultural and historical evidence pointing to the existence of the Yeti. In much the same way that the Indigenous Peoples of North America have included Sasquatch as part of their art, their storytelling, and faith practices, Himalayan religion and folklore refers repeatedly back to the Wild Man, or the “Shaman of the Forest.” Over at The Paracast we have an interview with Lon Strickler. Lon discusses Bigfoot, flying humanoids, dimensional doorways , as well what the heck may be going on at Chicago O’Hare airport, which some people think is a made-up story. (CM)
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