Will-o’-the-Wisp SCULLY: The National Weather Service last night reported atmospheric conditions in this area that were possibly conducive to lightning. MULDER: Possibly. SCULLY: It is feasible that the truck was struck by lightning, creating the electrical failure. MULDER: It’s feasible. SCULLY: And you know, there’s a marsh over there. The lights the driver saw …
Ball Lightning The stovepipe sharply rattled. Laura looked up and screamed, “Ma! The house is on fire!” A ball of fire was rolling down the stovepipe. It was bigger than Ma’s big ball of yarn. It rolled across the stove and dropped to the floor as Ma sprang up. She snatched up her skirts …
St. Elmo’s Fire The power of the goddess, having indeed been manifested in previous times, has been abundantly revealed in the present generation. In the midst of the rushing waters it happened that, when there was a hurricane, suddenly a divine lantern was seen shining at the masthead, and as soon as that miraculous light …
Do the Ankole-Watusi The amount of money that he’s spent on this whole darn project between the car and the bull I could’ve had a brand new kitchen. — Rhonda Meyer Americans are most likely familiar with the word “Watusi” thanks to a 1960s dance craze. In 1962, the Orlons scored a number-two hit with The Wah …
Atlantropa The Strait of Gibraltar is a location of extremes. On a worldwide scale, the stretch that separates the Atlantic Ocean from the Mediterranean Sea is tiny, just eight miles. One might suspect that something of this size might easily fit into the schemes of modern engineering. The world’s longest bridge is over 100 miles long. The Chunnel, connecting …
The Corpse Flower Today’s featured object is chock full of interesting and bizarre tidbits. We’ll start with a sentence you probably never thought you’d read: anthophiles worldwide flock to the smell of corpses. Fret not, it’s not human bodies attracting plant lovers, just a scent similar to the one that might emanate from dead bodies. …
Monotreme Mucus Bubbles In Greek mythology, Echidna was half-woman and half-snake. With Typhon, she birthed some of the most famous mythological monsters, including, according to various sources, Cerberus, Hydra, Chimera, the Nemean Lion, Sphinx, and Scylla. When early naturalists encountered one of the planet’s strangest critters, they weren’t sure if it was a mammal or …
Gravity Hills If you’ve ever taken an extended, curvy driving tour through mountainous, rural America – Hatfield and McCoy country or deeply forested Oregon, perhaps – you might have encountered a sign much like this one: Mystery Hill in Blowing Rock, North Carolina Known as gravity hills, mystery hills, magnetic hills, mystery spots, and a slew of other catchy …
Aye-Aye, Captain Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore— While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.“’Tis some visitor,” I muttered, “tapping at my chamber door— …
Man of the Hole South America’s Amazon Rainforest is, in many ways, the heart of our planet. The eponymous river drains more water than the next seven-largest waterways, approximately 20% of Earth’s total. The rainforest is the largest and most diverse in the world. Of all the plant and animal species extant, one in 10 lives …