I recently watched a television documentary called Paranatural which brought out something that is so bizarre and mysterious, it could very well be hazardous to human existence without us actually knowing what it is or where it came from.
This documentary brought out that after meteor storms, a gelatinous substance, similar in appearance to frog eggs, has been found on the ground. When touched, the substance will disappear! However, in the tiny bit that was preserved until it could be analyzed, bacterial organisms were found inside the jell. People who have handled this have become quite ill in Oakville, Washington.
Some of it that was sent to a governmental research facility was found to have mysteriously and completely disappeared off the shelf. The answer to where this material went was, "don't ask."
Did this toxic material come from outer space or is it man-made? Analysis by an independent laboratory found bacteria, but also a cell of unknown origin with a nucleus which resembled a white blood cell. However, this, too, eventually disintegrated.
Records at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia show that this has been happening since medieval times.
It may be that alien life has always been pollinating our planet.
Showing posts with label Bizarre. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bizarre. Show all posts
Friday, June 11, 2010
Friday, June 19, 2009
The Bones of Santa Maria del Popolo Cathedral
The recent release of the movie, "Angels and Demons," based upon the novel of the same name by Dan Brown is sure to up the popularity of all the sites in Rome where the plot of this story revolves. One of these sites is the cathedral of Santa Maria del Popolo.
I'm going to be lazy today and not lay out the history of this church for you which includes such things as Nero's ghost and demons in the form of crows. A Google search will yield much information. But what I would like to share with you are a few photos I took there which add to the evidence that this place is rather bizarre. The draped skeleton pictured above is in this church.
Actually, it might be no. 1 or pretty close to the top of the list of cathedral repositories of Renaissance art in the whole city of Rome, yet I found an unusual emphasis on bones there and especially crossbones. The pictures that follow are illustrations of this point:
Even the statue of Christ at the altar is skin and bones:
I haven't seen the movie as yet but have read the book and visited most all of the places it talks about. Dan Brown certainly knows how to blend history with fiction into an entertaining tale of intrigue.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Death by Rye Bread
At first glance, the title of this entry might be mistaken for a murder mystery, but indeed, large numbers of people in history were plagued with a host of strange symptoms and died from eating rye bread.
Especially during the Middle Ages, whole populations of towns and regions began manifesting strange symptoms, such as nausea, pain in the limbs, seizures, violent retching, and hallucinations. Their bodies would become grossly deformed. Some would jerk, hop, leap and scream in a wild dance, which would not stop until they collapsed unconscious from exhaustion. Fingers, toes, hands and feet felt as though they were burning with fire, then turned black, became mummified and broke off at the joints.
At the heart of these tragedies was a parasitic fungus which commonly infests rye grain but can also be found in other grains and fodder grasses. The name of it is Claviceps purpurea or ergot (pronounced AIR-got). Ergot is a seed-like fungus which grows within the flower of a host plant. The host is affected by reduced yield and stunted growth, but the real problem arises when ergot infested grain is ingested as food. The deadly syndrome called "ergotism" can devastate and kill humans and animals.
Of course, people in early history had little knowledge of fungi. They knew these symptoms as ignis sacer, "holy fire;" ignis infernalis, "hell's fire;" or "St. Anthony's fire."
According to the Catholic Encyclopedia and MedicineNet, Anthony lived in Egypt around the middle of the third century. He began his ascetic life at age 20 after inheriting his parents property which he gave away in order to devote himself to religious exercises. Anthony completely withdrew from the world and is regarded as the father of Christian Monasticism and the technical religious life in every aspect. His hermetic style became the norm in Northern Egypt. During one period of 20 years, he shut himself up in an old fort and never saw another person. His food was thrown over the wall.
Anthony's life was one long struggle. He had recurrent visions of the devil in the form of wild beasts, women, and soldiers who sometimes beat the saint and left him near death. Those who witnessed these attacks upon him were convinced of their reality. Anthony met every vision with steadfast prayer and penitential acts and these were noteworthy enough to be included as subjects in literature and art. St. Anthony is considered to be the patron saint of lost causes. When all others have failed, he is the one people pray to.
Monks founded the Order of Hospitallers of St. Anthony near Grenoble, France, and it became a center for persons suffering from the disease of ergotism.
In "Ergotism: The Satan Loosed in Salem?," Linnda R. Caporael outlines the case against ergot as the catalyst for the Salem Witch trials. The eight girls who were thought to be victims of witchcraft exhibited the same symptoms as those suffering from ergotism.
One of the most famous derivatives of ergot is lysergic acid or LSD. Two Swiss researchers discovered its effects when one accidentally ingested a small quantity and became the first person to go on an "acid trip."
On the plus side, however, Ergot does have some medical benefits. Although it can cause abortions, in small quantities it aids in childbirth. Ergot derivatives are also used to cure migraine headaches.
These days, we know much about this fungus and how to prevent exposure to it. The last outbreak of the disease occurred in 1951 in Pont-St. Esprit, a small town in France. St. Anthony's Fire has finally been extinguished.
For further information, read Tom Volk's Fungus of the Month for October, 1999.
Especially during the Middle Ages, whole populations of towns and regions began manifesting strange symptoms, such as nausea, pain in the limbs, seizures, violent retching, and hallucinations. Their bodies would become grossly deformed. Some would jerk, hop, leap and scream in a wild dance, which would not stop until they collapsed unconscious from exhaustion. Fingers, toes, hands and feet felt as though they were burning with fire, then turned black, became mummified and broke off at the joints.
At the heart of these tragedies was a parasitic fungus which commonly infests rye grain but can also be found in other grains and fodder grasses. The name of it is Claviceps purpurea or ergot (pronounced AIR-got). Ergot is a seed-like fungus which grows within the flower of a host plant. The host is affected by reduced yield and stunted growth, but the real problem arises when ergot infested grain is ingested as food. The deadly syndrome called "ergotism" can devastate and kill humans and animals.
Of course, people in early history had little knowledge of fungi. They knew these symptoms as ignis sacer, "holy fire;" ignis infernalis, "hell's fire;" or "St. Anthony's fire."
According to the Catholic Encyclopedia and MedicineNet, Anthony lived in Egypt around the middle of the third century. He began his ascetic life at age 20 after inheriting his parents property which he gave away in order to devote himself to religious exercises. Anthony completely withdrew from the world and is regarded as the father of Christian Monasticism and the technical religious life in every aspect. His hermetic style became the norm in Northern Egypt. During one period of 20 years, he shut himself up in an old fort and never saw another person. His food was thrown over the wall.
Anthony's life was one long struggle. He had recurrent visions of the devil in the form of wild beasts, women, and soldiers who sometimes beat the saint and left him near death. Those who witnessed these attacks upon him were convinced of their reality. Anthony met every vision with steadfast prayer and penitential acts and these were noteworthy enough to be included as subjects in literature and art. St. Anthony is considered to be the patron saint of lost causes. When all others have failed, he is the one people pray to.
Monks founded the Order of Hospitallers of St. Anthony near Grenoble, France, and it became a center for persons suffering from the disease of ergotism.
In "Ergotism: The Satan Loosed in Salem?," Linnda R. Caporael outlines the case against ergot as the catalyst for the Salem Witch trials. The eight girls who were thought to be victims of witchcraft exhibited the same symptoms as those suffering from ergotism.
One of the most famous derivatives of ergot is lysergic acid or LSD. Two Swiss researchers discovered its effects when one accidentally ingested a small quantity and became the first person to go on an "acid trip."
On the plus side, however, Ergot does have some medical benefits. Although it can cause abortions, in small quantities it aids in childbirth. Ergot derivatives are also used to cure migraine headaches.
These days, we know much about this fungus and how to prevent exposure to it. The last outbreak of the disease occurred in 1951 in Pont-St. Esprit, a small town in France. St. Anthony's Fire has finally been extinguished.
For further information, read Tom Volk's Fungus of the Month for October, 1999.
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