The Agents of F.L.A.S.K.

[Tiki Tom]

On a similar vein ---and as Halloween is approaching--- here is an interesting short (six minute) BBC documentary on the "Hell Hound" of British legend. Note that, at the end, the old village historian cannot quite bring himself to admit that the whole thing is a myth. In fact, he says he has talked to several people who claimed to have seen the beast and, in general, he tends to believe that they really saw something. Happy Halloween!

https://www.bbc.com/reel/video/p07rfbd9/black-shuck-the-mythical-hell-hound-from-british-legend

 

[Benny Holiday]

What about this old favourite chaps?

https://io9.gizmodo.com/what-really-happened-during-the-philadelphia-experiment-5944616?IR=T

there has been a dearth of evidence for its veracity down through the decades, yet rumours persist. One of the more popular stories for the conspiracy theorists out there!

 

[Tiki Tom]

What about this old favourite chaps?

THANKSGIVING EDITION!

It is surprising how the Philadelphia experiment continues to have a life. Especially considering that, if you do even a cursory search, there are probably ten stories debunking it for every one story wondering if there is any truth to it. What I didn’t realize was its link to another crazy conspiracy theory, the Montauk Project (short version: secret Government labs doing tests on telepathic children.) Down the conspiracy theory rabbit hole we go!

https://www.thrillist.com/entertain...story-montauk-project-philadelphia-experiment

The thing that makes conspiracy theories so resilient is the following:

Mary: “There is absolutely no evidence that the Philadelphia experiment ever happened. None.”
Steve: “That’s what they want you to believe, Mary. It was a highly classified project. Naturally, the government went to great lengths to cover up all traces of the experiment. It’s common sense. But with a project involving that many people, word was bound to slip out. The Government’s next step is to discredit the witnesses…”​

Using that dubious argument, virtually any far-fetched conspiracy theory can be propped-up and defended.

On the other hand, just because Steve is certifiably paranoid, does not automatically mean that he’s wrong. (Reminds me of the old gag: "Just because you are paranoid does not mean that people are not out to get you!") Anyway.

P.S.-- I'm not a conspiracy theorist. Really.

 

[Tiki Tom]

Here we go again!

Quote: “Dr. MAYOR: “We actually captured on video a piece of evidence that I feel is an equally strong attack. I shared it with a couple of colleagues, one of which is a world renowned primatologist who has seen every living primate in the wild and is very familiar with primates, and does not believe in Bigfoot. When they saw this piece of evidence, they were blown away and confirmed to me what my suspicion was, is that something apelike was far from its home. ”

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jimdob...prove-the-elusive-beast-is-real/#316997393ddd

Someone who has access, please report back.

I want to believe.

 

[Benny Holiday]

I wonder how compelling the video evidence will be, especially to the untrained eye. I'm imagining the researchers finding some sliver of bone and claiming it belongs to an ape or some sort of hominid as some sort of proof, which would be far from convincing to me, especially in light of the imaginative 'science' that went into claims about Nebraska man. In that instance, all they found was a tooth, and paleontologists touted it for years as 'proof' of the 'missing link', going so far as to have models and drawing published around the world of a hairy half man-half ape creature. Proper examination years later, however, showed it was actually a pig tooth! So much for real science.

 

[Tiki Tom]

It goes without saying that it is a bogus story. That said, the following article is an interesting look at how these folk myths are born...

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/santiago-flight-513-wormhole/

 

[Tiki Tom]

Mysterious Big Cat tracks found in remote Australia.

"There's a very, very long history of [these big cat stories], it's so engrained into the local folk law and culture," he told Nine.com.au. Theories behind how such a rare cat could end up roaming the Australian bush range from circus escapes, to US army mascots released into the wild and even a home-grown big cat called a Thylacoleo – a marsupial lion that existed thousands of years ago and has been labelled extinct.

Despite a lack of clear indisputable evidence, Mr Waldron says there's still a possibility there are big cats at large in the Australian bush.
"Just because it's folklore doesn't mean it isn't true. I'm very open to the notion someone might find something."

https://www.9news.com.au/national/b...-it-real/4c70f3a7-be11-4964-8335-27b693023a22​

 

[3fingers]

Bobcats are becoming common here in Illinois. The state denied their existence for years until they became numerous enough that it could no longer be plausibly denied. We now have a limited hunting season for them.
Panthers, many of them black, are occasionally seen as well, though again the state strenuously denies their existence.
I don't put much stock in any government pronouncements over whether different species of wildlife exist or not.

 

[Tiki Tom]

The Forrest Fenn Treasure claims a life. RIP.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/colorado-man-dies-in-search-of-rocky-mountain-hidden-treasure?ref=home

Here is the poem containing the clues leading to the hidden treasure in the Rockies:

http://fennclues.com/the-poem.html

Be careful out there!

"We encourage everyone to vigorously pursue their outdoor passions, but think like a local. Before you go after the treasure, consider your level of skill, preparation and knowledge of the area," Sheriff Gootkin said.

 

[Tiki Tom]

Things that make you say “hmmm. Really?” This one refuses to die. (It has come up earlier in this ill-conceived thread.) But the fact that someone is investigating this cryptozoology story peaks my interest. I’m not sure why.

http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/4662574

Oh. It gets better. Here is his website:

https://www.laattorneyvideo.com/nonlegal/pterosaurs/

 

[Lean'n'mean]

^^^^ If you do come across one, don't eat it, it's probably full of viruses.

 

[Benny Holiday]

John Hammond has a lot to answer for . . .

 

[Tiki Tom]

John Hammond has a lot to answer for . . .

Good point. Speaking of John Hammond and Jurassic Park, whatever happened to the scheme to clone a Wooly Mammoth from that well preserved specimen of a baby that they found frozen in (I think) Siberia?

Regarding the pterodactyl stories, the town that my wife comes from in Hawaii had a pterodactyl sighting a few years back. Honestly, some tourist must have seen a frigate bird... survival of an extinct species set aside for a moment, there simply is not enough untrammeled, remote real estate in Hawaii to hide some pterodactyls. Still, I love to tell the story at the tiki bar.

http://www.dinosaurbirds.com/media/pterosaur-sightings-in-hawaii/

 

[crawlinkingsnake]

Bobcats are becoming common here in Illinois. The state denied their existence for years until they became numerous enough that it could no longer be plausibly denied. We now have a limited hunting season for them.
Panthers, many of them black, are occasionally seen as well, though again the state strenuously denies their existence.
I don't put much stock in any government pronouncements over whether different species of wildlife exist or not.

I've been told by people who should know (fish & wildlife personnel) that bobcats can live around you and you never know it. As far as panthers aka cougars, mountain lions, painters have been told they exist in eastern mountainous regions from New York south to North Carolina. Don't know for sure, but believe I saw one (not black) a few years ago in Canaan Valley WV. Later that same day while in a private conversation with a person in the Dept of Natural Resources, he quickly responded with, "yes, you may have, as I saw one this past fall in eastern WV".

 

[3fingers]

As far as I know, all of the reasonably reliable panther sightings have been in southern Illinois. I don't believe as of this time that anyone north of I-72 will need to worry about stumbling onto one. At least not yet.

 

[GHT]

The Loch Ness Monster, or Nessie, is a cryptid in Scottish folklore that is said to inhabit Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands. It is often described as large, long-necked, and with one or more humps protruding from the water. Popular interest and belief in the creature have varied since it was brought to worldwide attention in 1933. Evidence of its existence is anecdotal, with a few disputed photographs and sonar readings.

The scientific community regards the Loch Ness Monster as a phenomenon without biological basis, explaining sightings as hoaxes, wishful thinking, and the mis-identification of mundane objects. The first modern discussion of a sighting of a strange creature in the Loch may have been in the 1870s, when D. Mackenzie claimed to have seen something "wriggling and churning up the water". This account was not published until 1934, however. Research indicates that several newspapers did publish items about a creature in the Loch well before 1934.

The best-known article that first attracted a great deal of attention about a creature was published on 2 May 1933, in the Inverness Courier, about a large "beast" or "whale-like fish". The article by Alex Campbell, water bailiff for Loch Ness and a part-time journalist, discussed a sighting by Aldie Mackay of an enormous creature with the body of a whale rolling in the water in the loch while she and her husband John were driving on the A82 on 15 April 1933. The word "monster" was reportedly applied for the first time in Campbell's article, although some reports claim that it was coined by editor Evan Barron.


Are you a believer or do you think that it's an elaborate hoax? It's real enough, a new study examining how much money Nessie-related tourism contributes to the Scottish economy credited the creature with a rather whopping figure, much like the whopping great monster in the Loch. But whose telling the whoppers here?

The Loch Ness Monster contributes a sizeable 40.7 million pounds to the local economy, which translates to roughly 53 million American dollars. Amazingly, research suggests that this figure is actually a conservative estimate and that the true value of Nessie to the community may be even higher. The worldwide awareness of Nessie gives the creature top global brand recognition that then helps steer tourists not only into Scotland but to come north to Loch Ness.

 

[Benny Holiday]

Good point. Speaking of John Hammond and Jurassic Park, whatever happened to the scheme to clone a Wooly Mammoth from that well preserved specimen of a baby that they found frozen in (I think) Siberia?

There was a big exhibition on mammoths (and other extinct elephant types) at the museum here in Sydney about a year and a half ago. It was pretty cool. I took the kids and they loved it. They had a preserved baby mammoth found buried in ice in, if I remember right, Siberia. There was some accompanying texts with the displays that indicated some groups were investigating the possibility of using an Asian elephant as a base for cloning a mammoth, but as yet there are still a number of issues to overcome with splicing parts of the genome into Asian elephant cells and so forth. I admit a lot of it was beyond my capacity to fully comprehend. It was a fun exhibition though!

This last pic shows my son Harry, then almost five years old, fascinated by the Columbian mammoth exhibit.

 

[Benny Holiday]

As for living pterosaurs and aquatic creatures like "Nessie", I'm skeptical but don't rule them out altogether. Dragon stories from around the world are enough to convince me that mainstream science is erroneous when it comes to the idea that people and dinosaurs are separated by supposed tens of millions of years, let alone the fact that soft tissue has been found in numerous dinosaur bones including red blood cells and collagen. There's no way that those are going to survive more than a few thousand years at best. And there's an adventurous part of me that likes to think they could still be around, but without better proof than anecdotes, blurry photos and obvious hoaxes, I remain firmly on the fence.

 

[fireman]

I think there are dinosaurs still out there. In fact I understand that a top team has been dispatched to discover them. Here are pics of them in the field.

 

[Lean'n'mean]

I think there are dinosaurs still out there. In fact I understand that a top team has been dispatched to discover them. Here are pics of them in the field.

I've been communicating with professor Challenger by carrier pteranodon & he said the only dinosaurs they have seen so far up on the plateau were bad CGI. The search continues.