WARNING: this list contains some graphic images. Every so often, we’ll come across strange and inexplicable conditions found in the human body. These are the mysteries science can’t easily debunk, the kinds that defy natural laws and how we’ve come to understand ourselves. There’s always debate concerning these supposed powers. Are they just hoaxes derived from our imagination, or are we looking at the first steps into the next evolutionary leap? So here’s what we’ve seen; you decide what to believe from these bizarre human mysteries.
Shamanistic practices were once much more prevalent in the world, and considered a profound foundation of the tribes that believed in them. These spiritually based rituals are still found today and are revered as legitimate procedures. In the Philippines, an entrancing healer, allegedly, has the ability to materialize and dematerialize matter. The shaman will enter a mild trance, where they gain the supernatural ability to perform surgeries with little to no contact with the patient. They would then be able to remove foreign objects within the body such as glass and metal and provide alleviation from similar pains.
Many of these shamans have been discovered as fraudulent, proving the use of slight of hand tricks and passing them off as legitimate procedures, but that isn’t the case for all of them. Some entrancing healers can pull out molars with their bare hands, while others can remove and replace eyeballs. There is still not enough evidence to dismiss what these shamans have been apparently able to achieve for decades.
Much like entrancing healers, psychic surgeons can perform procedures that would normally require tools and what we consider conventional medical supplies (like anesthesia). But, unlike the healers, psychic surgeons go deep into the patient’s body, and literally pull out tumors and organs from their patients.
These types of surgeons are mostly found in Brazil and the Philippines, where people strongly believe in spirits (which aid every procedure/treatment). Patients are told to recognize that negative feelings and thoughts toward disease and illnesses only serve to aggravate the condition, and that they can’t be healed if they don’t believe in the possibility of overcoming it. In other words, they must form a bond between the mind, body and spirit, to achieve the balance required for recovery; the body can’t be healed if the mind and spirit aren’t aligned. This is also the reason why psychic surgeons argue that outsiders who come to them seeking help are more difficult to work on because they lack that faith.
SHC is burning from the inside out. It certainly sounds strange but by now, most of us are familiar with this supposed phenomenon. Famous cases include Jack Angel’s account of SHC that led to his hand needing amputation, or Mary Reeser who was burned to a crisp and found with a shrunken skull. Even fiction has its examples of SHC, as seen in Charles Dicken’s novel, Bleak House (Dickens was fascinated by the topic and researched it thoroughly).
Already you can probably come up with a few facts off the top of your head that would debunk this mystery, but consider this: crematoriums pre-heat their furnaces to about 1837.4 degrees Fahrenheit, because the human body is relatively difficult to burn. It takes between one and two hours for tissue and major bones to become ashes. SHC victims are usually found in a liquid form, meaning their bodies had to burn at a temperature exceeding 2998 degrees Fahrenheit. And in some cases, not the entire body is burned and we’d expect to see burn marks all over the body in a traditional house fire scenario.
On the subject of fire, we come to the Leidenfrost effect. The effect actually creates an insulating, protective barrier of vapor that forms over a liquid exposed to extreme heat. This same effect protects you when you pinch out candles with wet fingers. It’s a phenomenon we’re all capable of doing given the right circumstances (like in firewalking), but it’s only a fraction of what people with fire immunity experience.
Nathan Coker was a blacksmith in Maryland who could stand on white hot metal, swill molten lead shot in his mouth until it solidified, and hold red-hot coals. His skin was so dexterous, he never even showed signs of burn marks. Is it a practice of mind over matter or did his skin, over years of handling fire, get tough enough to keep him from feeling the burn?
On the opposite spectrum, pyrokinetics can attract or project fire. A.W. Underwood was able to cause a handkerchief to burst in to flames by blowing on it. Starting a fire with the mind, or a wave of the hand, is rejected much quicker than those that have fire immunity but it remains the favorite in fiction.
Dowsing has existed as early as the 15th century. Using a divining rod, a dowser may find water, metals and other substances in the ground without the use of scientific tools. The thought is that divining rods amplify invisible movements of the hand coming from the dowser who has some ability to sense magnetic fields or may possess a form of ESP.
One way to explain the phenomenon is by exploring the environment. If a dowser can detect hints about their surroundings, then they make subconscious movements with their hands, forcing the rods to shake and dip, indicating they’ve found something of value. Most dowsers can’t offer a plain explanation how the process works but the practice has been used to locate substances successfully throughout the centuries.
You have probably seen Youtube videos of people showing signs of bioelectricity. As early as the 19th century, there have been cases of people being electrically charged or magnetized, resulting in an odd electromagnetic effect on the objects around them. Some people even show allergic reactions to technology, finding it difficult to live around devices that emit too much magnetic and electrical charge.
There have been cases of people being so charged that they are able to light a bulb simply by holding it. Others cause fuses to blow out, without any means of controlling the effect. It’s even been recorded that people with this strong force can give a static electricity shock continuously, and be powerful enough to actually hurt someone.
Surprisingly, most cases on bioluminescence in humans comes from ill patients. Anna Monaro had asthma and for several weeks, a blue glow would emit from her chest while she slept. In his book ‘Death: Its Causes and Phenomena’, Hereward Carrington reported the body of a boy radiating a blue glow after his death of acute indigestion.
This glow-worm effect still doesn’t have many cases, but recently Japanese researchers discovered that the human body glimmers. The light we emit is about 1000 times lower than the naked eye can see. This light fluctuates during the day, in cycles, leaving us brightest in the afternoon (the skin around your mouth lightens most around this time of day too) and dimmest in the evening.
D.D. Home was a famous medium who had many witnesses claim he could indeed levitate. Homes most incredible feat happened in 1868, when he floated out one window and into another during a séance. His abilities were never proven to be fraudulent, even by Harry Houdini, who attempted to duplicate many of Homes “tricks.”
Today, levitation is common during magical performances, but they all came from reports of people actually floating. It was considered a normal occurrence in séance, not just by the people in attendance, but of the objects around them. And if you ever want to experience levitation for yourself, try the Light as a Feather, Stiff as a Board game. It’s been scaring kids for years now.
ESP is an extrasensory perception, able to gain information through use of a sense unknown by science. Before getting into ESP, first you should realize you do in fact have more than five senses. You can sense temperature variations, proprioception (position of your muscles), and the force of gravity (you do this by knowing at what angle your head is in while your eyes are shut). ESP covers the senses that are left.
There’s plenty of anecdotal evidence of ESP, but what about legitimate science? In the 30s, the Ganzfeld experiments took place. People claiming to have ESP were told to lie down, and then forced to listen to white noise to clear their minds. Someone observing from another room would then attempt to mentally send him/her an image. Afterward, that person would pick which image it is they saw in their mind from four. Critics predicted a 25% accuracy but were surprised to learn it was 35%. That isn’t statistically a lot more but this experiment was used to show that perhaps there was something to ESP after all.
The Delphic oracle did it. Nostradamus did it. Hell, you can call fortunetellers over the phone nowadays to hear about the future. History is riddled with people claiming to know the future. Some have visions that come and go, others have foretelling dreams. There are those who seek the future by means of ritual, and then there are people who are struck with precognition randomly. You might have experienced it yourself. Ever thought of a friend and they called you (or in this modern age – they Facebooked you) seconds later? Is that an example of precognition or just coincidence?
Nostradamus had a number of prophecies that, when interpreted in a certain manner, predicted the Great Fire of London and the rise of Adolf Hitler (among others). However, Nostradamus was purposefully vague and cryptic in each of his predictions, leaving them open for interpretation. To say that he unmistakably foresaw those events in history would be a bit of a stretch. Still, among all the items on this list, the ability to see the future is the most abundant bizarre trait people believe they possess.
Name
Id love to see a video of fire immunity. sounds like it would be an impressive trait to have
this is some cool ***** . This stuff fascinates me . I wish i could witness some of this craziness , although i think Nostradamus is bull***** , those healers who put their hands inside you, I've seen that on TV it was insane!
hang on a minute… you think Nostradamus is B.S. even though his writings have stood the test of time, have been studied by scholars, have predominantly come true (please, before anyone decides to give me the thumbs down, read Nostra's writings , and i mean all the quatrains in Centuries) and YET, you think that the sleight-of-hand 'psychic healers' are amazing because you saw it on TV????
Seriously dude, i saw a skeptic recreate these 'operations' on stage (in 1982 !) to show people how not to get fooled and save their money for real medicine.
As with most prophecies, Nostradamus's writings are vague and open to various interpretations. It's not the writing that seems timeless; it's people's ability to interpret it in a way that fits any situation. Take a look at what the man actually wrote — it could fit just about anything.
http://www.interonline.com.au
some old dude with dirty fingernails in a hut in the jungle charging people for his services is a far cry from professional magicians on stage performing for an audience , granted he might not heal them but he sticks his hand inside their bodies and pulls stuff out , i dunno it seems pretty in credible to me . It could be fake but it really really looked pretty real , i think it was on Natgeo .
Nostradamus on the other hand- his writings are ambiguous , give it another couple of hundred years and im sure you could find plenty more examples of his prophecies come true for the second time round. It would be cool if he was genuine but i cant see it.
Hey maybe it is real because that is the one thing on this list that will be really really hard to prove fake .
Do u think it is humanly possible to have someone stick their hand inside you and u not feel any pain? Its all fake. Watch that movie with jim carey playing andy kaufman and u’ll see.
There's a good reason that young people tend to believe in things like Nostradmus' prediction whereas adults blow them off as crap, it's because they are crap. It's the Santa Clause effect, you will believe if you want to, but look at it with an objective eye and you will see the truth.
Those healers on TV are 100% fake. I lived in the Philippines and we did a little segment on one of those people (the same one that 'treated' Andy Kaufman, see Man on the Moon where they also show it was fake). I was the editor and you can clearly see if you go frame by frame that he pulls something out of a bucket (when pretending to wash his hands) and you can especially really clearly hear the sound of a little plastic bag snapping (like a ketchup packet) where the blood comes out. Although I will say it looks pretty good. Most of the crew that shot is were convinced after coming back and if you just see if once or twice without expecting anything it will at least makes you wonder how the hell he does it.
Nostadamus is fake. His "prophecies" are like the supposed Bible Codes (words that are found in the Bible that, when put together to form a sentence, are supposed to predict events like Armageddon). They are so vague that they can be interpreted in any way you want. His writings will predict an event if you want to them to. That, my friend, is the magic of bias.
I have an open mind and I believe that psychics do exist. I don’t believe everyone who claims to be psychic is psychic. I do think, though, that too many of Nostradamus’ predictions came true to not believe he was psychic.
I remember in Man on the Moon they showed Andy getting one of those fake surgeries performed on him in an attempt to cure his cancer. I don’t believe in that at all. If it did work at all it would be psychosomatic, and the mind can’t cure cancer.
I would love to see all these in action to prove it
*haveasolutiion*
This list is not well researched at all. All these things have either been debunked or explanations found. Poor form listverse, poor form.
although i agree with you in the lack of research on the part of the composer of the list, i think it's pretty harsh to blame Listverse !!
the topic is such that these theories can't have explanations. i guess that'd explain the word mysteries in title. i for one don't know where my stand on all this is. i guess i want to believe in a few of them but am just too skeptic.
FYI friend, all the listed "mysteries" can currently be explained at least in part, or can't even be confirmed to have ever actually occurred……
still, a fun list to talk about. investigating "mysteries" is always fun and makes us think a bit.
Please don't include SHC…as it has been proven to exist, although no one knows what causes it.
Actually, we have this crazy thing called "science" that is used to gather knowledge about things we don't understand.
whoa!! u mean the worldclass scientists who couldnt come up with explainations to that are just dumb losers…??
My thoughts exactly. Poor list. Maybe it should’ve been titled something else. I was hoping for actual mysteries.
i concur
Anyone call James Randi. Last time I checked he was offering 1 million dollars to anyone who could prove under circumstances agreed to by both parties that they had supernatural powers, or were otherwise able to prove paranormal activity. That offer has been on the table for a couple of decades now and so far, nothing. So all of this is fakedy fake. Jesus loves you all by the way.
ya i'd totally burn myself to death trying to fool the general public into believing in spontaneous human combustion . then again i know some people who do it all the time! the trick is to use beans and hide the lighter in your underpants!
Look up the 'wick effect.'
"Look up the 'wick effect.'"
The wick effect is consistent with most cases of SHC — but that doesn't necessarily prove causation. And it's a bit implausible on its face, given that it would require an odd combination of circumstances to get it going. A burning cigarette will only burn a smoldering hole in typical clothing. It would be rare for this to create a lesion in the skin through which human fat could pour into the clothing (the wick). And it would be hard for a smoldering hole to heat human flesh hot enough to get the fat to liquefy. The proponent of the wick-effect theory had to soak part of the fabric with which he wrapped his demo-object (a pig carcass) in gasoline and then ignite it with a match. Perhaps, one time in 100, a smoldering cigarette might have done the trick without assistance. But that remains to be shown.
In addition, in some cases the victims were not smokers and there was no apparent source of heat nearby. And there have been a half-dozen cases, described in the article linked to below, in which an eyewitness observed the outbreak of the flames "spontaneously," or in which he/she found the victim consumed only minutes after previously seeing the victim, which rules out a multi-hour wick-effect explanation.
http://www.sott.net/articles/show/133945-Spontane…
(I remember seeing a TV show in which this was pointed out to the originator of the wick-effect theory, and he waved the witness aside as impossible, because his theory said that more time was needed. ("Don't confuse me with facts …"))
PS: See also this critique of the 1999 BBC show on this topic, which endorsed the wick effect: http://www.sott.net/articles/show/134028
Fool 1-2-300 ..Remember Lincoln when he said – You cant fool everyone all the time…What do you guys think people who are atleast scientifically a bit more advanced then we are (eg people working in labs and forensics) are utter idiots..??
We have a list of him on this site debunking various "psychic" abilities. But – just because someone is offering a prize and no one has tried to take him up on it doesn't prove these things false – it just adds more doubt about their veracity. I think they are all faked – but the lack of proof for or against them puts them in the "possible" category. It is the lack of evidence in either direction that makes the subject such a fascinating one.
It is interesting, I agree but not supernatural. Also, there is a list on James Randi's site of people who HAVE taken him up on the challenge. Thousands of names, pages and pages. All subjected to controlled testing under reasonable conditions and these things have been studied in depth. I'd say that does prove them false. The abundance of damning evidence that shows nothing but failure and chance outcomes compared to not a single shred of evidence for. Not once, being proved and consistently being disproved.
Agrees, If a scientist can't disprove something then that would make it a possibility, however, I think Its Bobby Henderson who came up with the satire of the 'flying spaghetti monster'. Why bother believing in something, or having faith in something, or god forbid, investing in something. Only to find out its false. I understand truth is subjective, and everyone is different, either through environmental factors or individual genotype. However, the one thing we all have in common is the ability to see and understand and USE science. From the scientific method we have advanced to unbelievable heights. Through peer reviewing and constant revision we can start to understand the universe. It is just saddening that progress is slowed down when people hear the word 'possibility'. That's all I meant.
Russell's Teapot is all I have to add.
jfrater, as you are a regular contributor to this site, i do respect your opinion and outlook (and any positive outlook is always welcome!!) but i just find it a tad hard to swallow the 'but the lack of proof for or against them puts them in the "possible" category" comment.
this is the basis of most religions. Cant prove OR disprove God but He exists for alot of people.
Science however, is based on fact and proof through recorded data. The amount of people that have taken on James Randi's test and failed numbers in the thousands versus not one winner.
The idea that 'absence of evidence isn't evidence of absence' is a basic principle of both science and logic.
I get your point but I do think that we shouldn't just say nothing is real until we prove it. This is dangerous territory especially when we consider science which is based on observations and predictions but in most cases does not give us a perfect knowledge of something – just excellent knowledge of the thing which was observed.
Also, thanks for the correction about James Randi – I wasn't aware that people had tried to take him up on the offer. I love his debunkings on youtube – he is a very clever man.
jfrater, the problem with saying something is not real until we PROVE it is that you can also put the Tooth Fairy and the Boogieman as possible candidates in the same list as The Loch Ness Monster and The Yeti…
Jaime, that was my entire argument with this maggot dude (on a previous list) dissing me for saying it MAY be just a tad bit possible because there is concrete evidence either way. But no he says, science can prove it's not according to amazing randi!
I meant NO concrete evidence
But no he says, science can prove it's not according to amazing randi!
I would never say science (or Randi) can prove paranormal abilities are NOT possible. You can’t prove a negative. On the contrary, my position is that using scientific methods is a good way to prove it IS possible. I’m not just some blind disciple of Randi; I want to see something proven as much as anyone. It just seems to me that passing his test would be a good way to accomplish that. But he’s not the be all to end all. Prove it some other acceptable way then. We can speculate all day as to something being “a tad bit possible”, but it gets us nowhere. I want to see proof, that’s all.
This is actually a reply to another comment but im using a cell phone si its tricky.
You said “Why can’t people just put their faith in science”. Well thats bs. If you decide to be a scientist you have to alwaq question yourself and your method. You cant put faith in it. You have to question it, its called being a skeptic. Plus always challenging your superiors is quite a good thing.
In science they also use models and simplify everything. So even lets say we’ve got a theory of eerything, you would still not know what numbers will be on tomorrow lottery cuz so many chaotic events occur. And sometimes humans have faith. Its not a bad thing. Its not a good thing. Its a human thing.
Science isnt the answer to all questions. Like oppenheimer. He developed the a bomb, great scientifical achievement, but was is an achievement for humanity?
You must be religious or some *****. You see, science can PROVE things where your faith explains and proves nothing. If you don't believe it, that just makes you stupid.
Actually, science doesn't always PROVE things at all. Ever hear of theories? There are tons of them in the scientific community, none of which PROVE anything. You must be quite stupid yourself.
You do understand gravity is still a theory right? Just because something is a theory doesn't mean science doesn't understand it. We may not understand exactly how gravity works on the quantum level (higgs boson, ect..), but we understand gravity enough to send robots millions of miles away from earth and have them land safely on the surface of mars. We can also predict the paths of planets and asteroids for hundreds of years in the future, I would say we have a pretty good understanding of this so called "gravity theory".
Also I was pretty disappointed with this list. Most of the items on the list are completely understood and have been thoroughly debunked. The mysterious part is why humans are so compelled to believe in these type of things, it's part the human condition I guess. For me, reality is far more interesting and compelling as I find myself getting amazed nearly every day by the things revealed to humanity through science.
Actually theories prove explain and most importantly predict things. You are most likely one of those retards who doesn’t know what the definition of a theory is. Einsteins theories predict the motion of the planets and how gravity works. Also your probably a creationist u people and ur ignorance drives me crazy u should probably at least try to graduate highschool before commenting on anything
this forum has been overrun by stupid atheists
He already gave me my million i can move things with my mind
"Anyone call James Randi. Last time I checked he was offering 1 million dollars to anyone who could prove under circumstances agreed to by both parties that they had supernatural powers, or were otherwise able to prove paranormal activity."
Randi won't accept statistical evidence for ESP, such as a telephone telepathy test, or a Ganzfield test, in which the proof is supplied by an above-chance "hit" percentage over many trials. He wants one-hit wonders against fantastic odds; e.g., he wants people to guess the serial number on a dollar bill in an envelope.
He wants one-hit wonders against fantastic odds; e.g., he wants people to guess the serial number on a dollar bill in an envelope.
This is where people’s excuses and attacks on Randi’s rules and test methods fail. If a person is truly clairvoyant, then what is preventing them from knowing (not guessing) the serial number of a hidden bill or some other test approach under controlled conditions that are mutually agreed upon? There are so many con artists and charlatans out there that you can’t blame Randi for wanting to ensure that any chance of fakery is eliminated. It really boils down to putting up or shutting up, and any supposed “difficulty” that Randi puts in the way should not pose any threat whatsoever to a true paranormal claim.
There are many things in life for which there is no scientific proof..Science itself is based on so many assumptions…I thoroughly believe in all the above phenomenon occuring…If not, why does the whole world believe in them and not any specific region or country….
Science is based on years of peer review, experimentation and a developing of a process that provides as little room for bias and error s possible. Yes, one experiment can be bias, fraudulent or an anomaly but when the process is repeated you find consistencies. These 'assumptions' are the only reason you are still alive i.e. anti-biotics, sanitation, vaccinations, heating, electricity and all modern medicine. No doubt you would have died long ago should we not have modern science. You arguement that 'If it's not true then why do people believe it' is a logical fallacy. Do some research.
Agreed. Most people are happy to sponge off sciences achievements once they've been converted by engineers for the public to use. Computers, TV, automobiles, electricity, the list goes on and on. Why can't people just put their faith in science. Everything else is false hope, lies and scams. Nice list though, interesting read. Though this stuff isn't any kind of mystery.
Dear Mr Sid, please be kind enough to read my reply to F-O-R…
You are right in a sense – but you should clarify what you mean by science. Modern science is based on probabilities and observations which can never draw an absolutely certain conclusion. Science in the traditional (Aristotelean) sense can be certain, in which rational investigation (with or without empirical evidence) can give us indisputable conclusions. Modern science has rejected rationality and based itself solely on observation which is problematic.
I disagree, observation is merely the first step, I'm sure you know as well as anyone that next comes experimentation, then reporting, more experimentation, more reporting, peer reviewing etc. Goes on for years and years for some things i.e. quantum mechanics, relativity. New data collected sheds more light on mysteries. And if modern science has rejected rationality, then what is rational? Religion, Cults, Levitation? If observation is problematic then it starts a debate about the nature of consciousness I think. Which leads where it always leads….absolutely nowhere.
Rationality is what science was traditionally based on – the arguing from two facts to the discovery of a third. Traditional science did also include empiricism – Aristotle wrote some great stuff on biology through his observations of the natural world. Modern science on the other hand has removed virtually all of the rationality aspects of science and relies fundamentally on what you describe above – observation and experimentation. The only absolutely true thing you can say after observation is "this thing I observed has these properties…" It would be logically false to attribute it to all other members of the same type – here is an example (where using traditional science we can see the error of thinking).
Imagine a society in which there exist only black men. Now a scientist in that community using only observation and experimentation would say that all men are black:
All men I have seen are black
Therefore all men are black.
The conclusion doesn't logically follow from the premise. But this is what modern science does in virtually everything. There is definitely some room for modern science to re-incorporate rational argument into the system.
The best modern science can do is come as close as possible to a definite truth based on more and more observations and experiments – but it is wrong to say that those two things alone can always lead to absolute knowledge.
You could argue nothing is absolute but then you fall into the paradox of claiming an absolute but that's a whole other ball game.
Yes, if one scientist was in that society, doing that experiment, he would draw that conclusion but not entirely in those words, perhaps. It would be bad science, if he knew there was more to the world and he would be a victim of ignorance if he didn't. However, should ONE other scientist do an experiment and conclude that it was not true it would be review; or should he prove that all men are not in fact black that would change the first scientists theory and debunk it.
Modern science knows the fallacy that you put forward and that is why it has peer review and various other fail-safes.
Science is a constant arguement in which the wanted outcome is truth, we don't always get it on the first go but given enough time and study we do.
You also fall into your own trap of:
A = B therefore all B = A. By stating that it never leads to absolute truth. Would you not say that the heart pushes blood around the body which carries oxygen to the organs, is a absolute truth?
You're arguement can be viewed as:
The topics we discuss here concerns experimentation that can't ever be stated as absolute truth.
Therefore all experimentation does not lead to absolute truth.
I disagree that there are no absolute truths though.
Modern Science is based on observations as all science is and ever was but to say it is based solely on probability and observation trivializes it. What about mathematics being used to aid in experimentation? And as I said before, peer review? Modern Science has changed from the old way because science is all about change and shifting ideas; learning. Scientific theories are always being disproved or tweaked and changed. Science as it stands is working toward greater knowledge, ever shifting, for greater understanding. When it comes upon something that changes a theory or disproves it, by further study they come across things that don't fit with a theory they must change their thinking and do more study. That IS reason and rationality.
MATHEMATICS IS A BLOODY HOAX… YOU CAN NEVER MAKE A COMPUTER SCREEN LIGHT UP IF ONLY MATHEMATICS WAS CONCERNED…..
Your hot hormones do no good in proving your point though…. Renee…..
math is a bloody hoax? listen up, you wouldnt be able to enjoy your computer without the countless math manipulations of zero and one. without knowing how conic sections work and how to compute them your bridges would almost hold cars, without knowing how to calculate related rates a city would be almost safe for repopulating after an abomb was dropped on it or frriggin contraception would almost work.
Really you honestly think aristitealean science could make indisputable claims you are missing the entire reason science has made any progress. The only reason science has been as successful as it has is that claims can always be disputed. Dogma and science don’t go together the best part of science is it’s self correcting nature without that we would still believe in a flat earth and be treating illnesses by addressing the four humors
At a point in time the whole world believed that the earth was the center of the universe. At another point we believed the earth was flat. just because many people believe something doesn't make it true.
It takes time to change people's beliefs..At one time Sulphur drugs were used to treat diseases now they are banned..Why?? It took 60 yrs to observe the sideeffetcs on individuals…Based on ''probablity'' the drugs were started long ago… Their use ended after a long wait of 60 yrs..if people start waiting for 100% results for every calcutation they make in life, then i wonder how many of them will evne see a change happen in their lifetime…
Sulfides are not banned. You are getting more retarded by the post.
Ok ther i shall correct myself… Some chemical sulphides are replaced by other chemicals…Most of which dont have sulphur compounded in them…
again, sulfides are not banned.
…… I love to see you reply to that…;)
actually people believing the earth was flat is a total myth. They just didn't know what was beyond that which had already been mapped so it could have been the end of the earth for all they know.
Check out all those statues of the greek Atlas, he's holding a round earth.
lol get a life guys… 22 thumbs down really do no harm…
funny how the one person who seems to go out of his way to troll every reply is telling others to get a life
Gandalf blathered"…. I thoroughly believe in all the above phenomenon occuring…If not, why does the whole world believe in them and not any specific region or country…."
****
Oh, my dear! The whole world does NOT believe in the above phenomenon occurring. It is only in the countries where education is lacking that the populace believe these things to be factual.
Give these people an education, teach them science, and they'll drop their faith in these "mysteries" like they would a hot poker.
Really, then how do you explain people(i feel they are idiots, but thats just me) who after years and years of debunking, and absolutely no proof of it's existence, people still believe in some magical "god"? Hmmm?
Interesting List.
One problem I've always had with prophecy is that you cannot see something that does not exist. The future does not exist yet, then how can someone see it.
I guess, assuming it's true, it'd be something like meteorology. You look at the way the wind blows, you look at the clouds currently in the sky, you feel the humidity and you know it will rain in the next few hours.
Yes absolutely..But someone explain that to the people who will wait for the rain to come before taking the umbrella…..Most of such individuals are sure to miss the train in the long run…
That is not prophecy, its common sense. Prophecy is saying for a fact that something will happen in the future without any facts today.
But that's exactly my point. People's definitions of 'prophesy' tend towards the vague. To me, prophesy is telling the future, which is exactly what reading the weather is. It doesn't matter that it's common sense, it's still knowing what's going to happen before it happens. I don't know for sure whether psychics exist, but if they do, I think it would be something like meteorology. Look at what affects the future, and judge from that.
brings up the age old question – if phsychics and the like could see the future wouldn't they all win the lotteries – which they do not – which prooves they cannot
Quick! Someone save those two little girls from the man in photo 10. He looks like he has bad intentions.
haha I thought the same thing. I still picked the picture though
alas its late. and the kids that resulted are the ones that comment 'first. yay' everyday here.
Well at least that's one mystery solved! I always wondered where those gumbies came from.
This entire list seemed to be filled with nothing but bias summaries of each account. Nothing on here is referenced to any proof at all aside from authors opinion. An interesting topic like this could of been done so much better.
Occasionally we have to let "believers" submit lists. Mostly our lists debunk these topics but many people do believe in them and they have as much right to talk about it as we non-believers. Hopefully the comments will point out the errors or proof against the theories
Prepare for a skeptical *****storm then
Beliefs aside, Chris has a valid point. It's an interesting topic and this list was like reading a dictionary entry on each topic. Too broad a subject for much good info, and far too much opinion. It should have been done much better.
Ah, so Graphic Images as in, not graphic at all? Pussies.
Keep in mind that I have to put warnings on lists that have pictures of clowns or the backlash is immense. After three years I have found that it is better to put a warning on a list that probably doesn't need one, than to put nothing on a list that will cause me to spend hours explaining why I didn't or adding one later
yeah seriously , rather avoid hassle and put the warnings , but when i see the warnings i get exited cause i know im gna see some F'd up ***** . ( except the clown and spider warnings, those lists were still cool though)
Oh I remember someone abusing EVEN AFTER the warning. that was in the spiders list if i'm not wrong. don't we have just about every kind here?
proof of how jaded we are to violence when a picture of a person's legs unattached but obviously burnt IN PLACE is not graphic. pity.
Nothing unreal exists. The inability to reproduce a phenomena under controlled conditions means the event is not real. Is it that our literature, which I enjoy everyday, is filled with myths, mutants, superheros, science fiction and fantasy to the point where our minds are conditioned to suspend belief even in the real world? Or is it that our everyday lives are so routine, so lacking in wonder, that we stretch our beliefs to include nonsense?
Think about our ancestors only a couple of hundred years ago. No scientific method. No reliable means to determin truth. They lived in a world filled with wonders like lightening, changing season, shooting stars, illness and the rising sun, but lacked even the basic understanding of what any of those phenomena are. Myths were created to explain these things. I understand why they did it. The question is: why do we still do it?
Because we haven't explained everything yet.
"nothing unreal exist", wow, thats maybe the most idiotic statement ever….. so everything is "real", you clearly are an ignorant on philosophy, quantom physics, psycology…
i dont buy every mystery as real, but i checker with an open mind, and i dont refuse it just becuause is not what i learn in school, in this age with a computer you have a unique oportunity to acces a LOT of knowledge of cientific studies, (and not exactly about crazy people)l blow your mind about the universe:
bertrand russell, buckminster fuller, robert anton wilson, carl young's consciusness studies, alchemy, DMT studies, etc.
open your mind
My mind is open to reproducable evidence. ESP, tarot cards, palm reading, talking to the "dead" are the pseudo-scientific equiva of a perpetual motion machine. One does not need a complete working knowledeg of vector Bosons or Fermions to reject those explanations of phenomena that rely on "magic" as an explanation. While I do not have the mathematical background to fully understand why some models of string theory predict 10 dimensions or 26 I am certain that none of the current theories allow for unreality.
One should have an open mind when learning about new ideas and enough mental fortitude to reject patent nonsense. Psychic surgery is nonsense. I submit that while you may believe in "psychic surgery" I bet you would pay to have "real surgery" performed by a "real doctor" in a "real hospital".
"The inability to reproduce a phenomena under controlled conditions means the event is not real."
So meteorites are unreal? (Episodic phenomenon like meteorites and spontaneous human combustion (SHC) can't be commanded to appear in a lab.)
With all due respect the meteorite example is a very bad *****ogy (we could simulate tiny rocks burning up in our atmosphere perfectly fine on earth). Although saying "The inability to reproduce a phenomena under controlled conditions means the event is not real." is also incorrect for the reason that science does not prove negatives.
What we can say is since evidence of ESP or psychics has never been observed, then it has a lot in common with something that is imaginary. We can only prove if a phenomenon actually exists. And because there has been so much study on these types of phenomenon and there has not been any evidence as of yet, my interpretation of the lack of evidence is these types of phenomenon are not real. But, because I have a completely open mind, if there were reproducible evidence I would have no problem believing in these types of things.
“nothing unreal exists”
i’m a bio electric and very strong i blow out fuses and get constant hums
everything on this list is either fully debunked or lacks any verified supporting evidence that it ever occurred even once…..
but i will say that many lauded cases of spontaneous human combustion can be explained by the victims being drinkers who were smokers and were not thin…fall asleep with an ignition source, it can lead to "the wick effect" where-in the body fat melts and produces a burn pattern not unlike "SHC victims". this has been experimentally confirmed.
people like the lady said to be dancing when her hands ignited? i can't really say (and the author never mentioned her anyway despite her fame)- could it be related to a build-up of static electricity? (i give this some credence and much thought.) alcohol spilled at the dance and then ignited? something other? how can we know?
but that one idea/incidents record of SHC aside (some fully explained, a few still questionable), literally all on this list have been sufficiently debunked, or never ever verified by any evidence to have even occurred……. this is a list of myths and folk-beliefs.
i still like it!
this stuff is fun to think on, talk about, and try to *****yze/prove/debunk, so still i vote good list!
i'm just giving my informed opinion on the actual content, and yes, i have more details on/"against"/explaining many entries, but will post details/intros and links only if anyone asks.
more on the "lady at the dance" it appears to be a folk-lore staple tale with real roots:
http://www.skepsis.nl/newcombe.html
lo, there are a lot of "cases" of SHC in the Charles Fort books.
Fort was a lunatic, no doubt about it, but an extremely organized and interesting one. If there was a strange phenomena anywhere in the world, he would uncover it and and tie it to similar occurrences everywhere else. The man must have had nothing else to do.
If you ever want to know anything about the number of cases of SHC, go to Fort.
Rains of fish? Fort.
The Leaping Devil of London? Fort.
He's a laff riot.
If the wick-effect conjecture were true, there should be many non-fatal victims of the effect. I.e., persons who awoke or were rescued part-way through the event. The lesion through which the fat exited, as well as fat-saturated fabric around them would have been physical evidence, and the testimony of the victim and/or rescuer of a low-level, spread-out, smoky/smoldering flame would have been eyewitness evidence.
So where is that evidence?
Wow there is a lot of bollocks in this list. I mean DOUSING?! Of all the nonsense out there.
i agree that is lame , i thought that was left to Saturday morning cartoons , not real grown up people in the real world .
i haven't "doused" but i have used divining rods before. and believe me i was a skeptic but i used them to identify unmarked graves in an old cemetery. it was really spooky to see them move.
I have a friend who uses dousing rods when he cannot find water lines…he is a plumber and uses them quite frequently…I was skeptical about them, but I have seen it work.
I don't understand all the nasty comments about people like me who have seen many unexplainable things, and LOVE it. The world is a wonderful magical place if you open your mind to all the possibilities. That doesn't mean I believe in everything(I don't believe in "god" because I have never experienced anything to do with "god"…I do believe in ghosts/spirits because I have had innumerable experiences with them. You can call me crazy, or stupid, or gullible, whatever insult you wish, but I believe in what I see, and what I have had experiences with.
That being said, I do NOT believe in that psychic surgery nonsense. PA leeze.
Ouch – wish there was something here that was mysterious or unexplained in some way. Surgery and healing have been ascribed to the placebo effect (which is why it is harder to cure westerners), coupled with slight of hand techniques and trickery. SHC has a scientific explaination known as the wick effect, and most victims have mobility problems. The person ascribed as losing his had to SHC also happened to file a court case suing for damages because he was sprayed with scalding water when messing whith his trailer's water pressure.
Heat immunity can be acquired through time and anybody can firewalk with the right technique and circumstances (please don't try at home). I personally witnessed bioelectricity in a science class at school with the help of some plastic matting and a van der graff generator. Levitation is a magician's act. ESP is a mentalist's act, and Prophecy is a scattergun psychological technique.
This is my view anyway, I'm sure true believers will think differently. All I ask is that nobody gives any "psychics" money to tell them the future. A true psychic would obviously provide their services for free as their psychic powers would enable them to make money in any aspect of industry or business.
i can't add much more to this comment as i feel it sums up my thoughts exactly.
The only one , prophecy, is a little harder to explain. There is the 'daily newspaper horoscope' type of prophecy and then there is the ' in a deep trance talking in a language like Aramaic' type of prophecy.
I think you know what i mean by that…i hope…
for example, the writings of Nostradamus, Mother Shipton, Edgar Cayce et al have been studied and documented and obviously also come true ( not all, i know) and this has happened in great detail according to the relevant prophecies. This is the type of Prohecy that i believe in.
On the flip side, i read out the daily horoscope to a friend of mine and after i finished, she said " Oh my God, that is so my life right now" to which i replied " Oh sorry, I read you Virgo's reading not Aries".
This is the generalistic psychological technique you refer to.
As for Psychics and Mediums, i can think of a joke where a man goes to a psychics house and knocks on the door and says "i'm here for my 3:30 reading" and the psychic says "what 3:30 reading, i dont have a booking for that time" and the man says "well, if you didn't see me coming, then you can't be that good"…
Prophecy is just a vague set of sentences thats left for the audience to apply a meaning to. Here is my prophecy.
"Sometime in the future a great man will take the world by storm with charisma and intelligence. His works will divide the world and there shall be a great gnashing and grinding of teeth."
This could apply to a great dictator, but I actually modelled the prophecy on Simon Cowell.
Spontaneous human combustion has been thoroughly researched and I’ve read so many tomes on it that I’ve lost count of all the books that detailed this peculiar phenomena. Other notable cases involved Dr. John Bentley, who incinerated on December 3, 1966 and a math teacher (can’t recall his name) who had an odd flame spout out of his upper leg. Although he survived, the burn took over a month to heal. One common denominator involving SHC is that the earth’s magnetic field was reportedly extremely high during the majority of these documented cases.
Some of the other cases presented on this list do strike me as being far fetched.
This is such a stupid list.
One way to explain all of these. They are not real. Made up by those who want to believe them and sold by those who want to make money from the weak and desperate. Surely this list would have been better if you gave the 'mysterious' account and the 'rational' account. As it is it reads like the musings of a child.
How depressingly close minded
The date of Dr Bentley’s death was December 5, not the 3rd. Mea culpa.
Yes, the list is written a bit biased but so what? It's still your choice if you believe any of it or not, I for one don't but so what? Another cool list Valentinedragon, thanks.
This ***** be trippin' dude
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but everyone is not entitled to their own facts.
p.s. these kind of claims NEED sources cited! want to claim:
uhhm, okay that sounds AWESOME -and very interesting and new!
where did you learn about this? was it in a scientific journal? was it even in the popular press? i'd just like the source info……..
Totally agree. It would be good with lists that use other sources of info if we could see what those sources are. Perhaps a little footnote at the end of each list item showing where the contributer got their info from. Maybe not for every list, but definitely for a list that quotes studies, people, newspapers etc.
or a link to the source of the claim. particularly in lists like this where the claims are far outside of "confirmed data." hell the "human luminosity" idea is way cool!
but i won't accept it as "fact" until i get some sources…..that's kinda how we define "facts".
I am assuming though that there is no other way to find out what these sources are besides asking the list contributer, but doing it that way doesn't guarantee you will get a reply.
no dear, i know about google.
i just wanted proof that the list author had thought about this point and wasn't just copying us some new-age/fringe site with zero proof. if you write the list, you ought to know a bit about its content!
and by-the-by i haven't googled the quote yet, did you find it at a credible source?
and i just googled "Japanese researchers discovered that the human body glimmers." got nothing other than this list. wouldn't such a finding be in some journal/blog/something somewhere on the interwebs? this is why i ask for a citation, to know that such a claim isn't pure invented BS.
and it's fully possible the author never thought about citing this claim…….
Try Googling japanese researchers bioluminescence body. That will take you to the Epoch Times which has a nice story on the discovery.
Well when we cool off we do emit light. Just not visible light
bahhh, i found it, it's real:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/blog/2009/jul/1…
"The light is a thousand times weaker than the human eye can perceive. At such a low level, it is unlikely to serve any evolutionary purpose in humans."
okay, but i would have liked that citation [and explanation] or another about the topic in the list! and it's not like humans are like glow-worms/fireflies……
this info has nothing to do with confirming "Anna Monaro had asthma and for several weeks, a blue glow would emit from her chest while she slept."
humans don't glow like insects, sea creatures, or any other "bioluminescent life-forms" asthma or no!
"The light is a thousand times weaker than the human eye can perceive" so it can't cause "asthma glow"…..
It also states that "it has been known for many years that all living creatures produce a small amount of light as a result of chemical reactions within their cells".
So, human bioluminescence shouldnt be such a surprise, so it confuses me further the addition to the list.
Im sure that when creating a list you dont just read the first paragraph? If it's been known for many years that ALL living creatures give off light, it isn't much of a "Bizarre Human Mystery" that we do aswell.
also, in biology, the term "bioluminescence" pretty much only applies to visible light emitted from living things (be they fish, fungi, insects, invertebrates, etc.) and is always generated by way of chemical reactions.
and as no confirmed cases of "visibly glowing living humans" exist anywhere, the list entry misuses the term.
asthma doesn't make people glow, the story in the list is not supported by any evidence……
always remember: "the plural of 'anecdote' is not 'data'."
Yup. I would LOVE to read that report. That would a fascinating read.
All of the researchers test subjects lived near Chernobyl
I knew a Dowser once. He was convincing enough to overtake the work of a drilling team that was searching for water in Uganda.
They let him try his way. big mistake.
They lost something like 45.000 bucks worth of time and machinery and water was never found.
Liked the list though!
I was a dowser as a 15 y.o. kid, but have since lost the ability. I discovered it after reading about dowsing. I showed it to my dad and it turned out that he also had it, but no one else.
I realize that there’s plenty to be skeptical of out there, but I can’t deny that I could clearly detect a strange force on the wooden fork just by walking around in circles. It also pulled toward hydrants, but not exclusively. It felt really weird, just like another person pushing or pulling on the dowsing rod. No, it wasn’t just mental. I’m not that gullible, and so I did conduct some experiments. I didn’t do it to scam or impress anyone, but simply for fun.
I’m 43 now and as of a few years ago, I no longer have the ability. There may be many scammers and hoaxers out there, but I can vouch that in some cases dowsing is a real phenomenon. Whether it’s a good thing is a whole different discussion.
About 9 and 10. I live here in the Philippines, and I have watched that psychosurgery stuff in a documentary. This is called ”faith healing”. That practice was debunked, when a former ”healer” confessed in national tv how they did that modus operandi.
Basically, it is just ‘magic’. Using sleight of hand and a little preparation, they can perform surgery by supposedly removing ‘bad organ’ on the patient body without surgery. How?
1. Preparing the ‘bad organ’ using fish entrails/animal blood etc. by wrapping it in a small cellophane easily covered by hand.
2. Then they hide it in their fingers, and start the surgery by telling the patients they must have faith in God.
3. They ***** the patient on the affected part of their body, and tried to distract them. Then they tore the cellophane secretly, and voila, there is blood and the ‘bad organ’ without using knife and wounds.
4. Then, they would pray and the supposedly ‘cured’ patients would pay them.
It’s really fascinating stuff and ever since that exposè, the practice lose its popularity and stopped altogether. Remember, Philippines is such a pious country that Filipinos would cling in their faith no matter what. Even though, some people would extort them for the money using these false practices..
I replied somewhere earlier on this subject and you are of course right.
Like I put somewhere up there we did a little segment on one of those guys, Jun Labo in Bagiuo.
The really interesting thing is that he seemed to be now mainly 'operating' on westerners (this was about a year ago). Mainly Germans, actually. And I believe it was mainly the scam of some German guy who would find terminally ill people and give them a shimmer of hope. Then have them pay lots of money to see this guy in the Philippines. Quite sad if you ask me, these people were utterly convinced and paid a lot of money for it.
I used to have a cat named Pee
"used to have a cat named pee"???
what happened to him—–
did he get a urinary tract infection and spontaneously combust?
wouldn't the uric acid act as a flame retardant?
I won't bother scolding the poorly done research – it's been pointed out many times all ready. What irks me are the people who defend this crap by saying it's up to everyone to decide wether they believe or not – belief does not make it any more truthful. It's extremely sad for people to cling on to beliefs even when the proof is clearly pointing to another direction – they either pretend the evidence doesn't exist (or in some cases that it does), ignore it or just don't want to hear because actually studying it might *gasp* prove them wrong.
It works for either side, naturally, but the point is that beliefs don't account to anything without something to back them up. Irrational beliefs should never be defended and protected.
I'd love if all the freaky ***** would be real – I really do – it lead me to read tons of material and even do some tests myself but it never resulted into anything but disappointment. I'm waiting for someone to present solid evidence but until then I'm not going to claim I know either way for things that lack the proper examination – drop the bias people.
Also, thanks for the commenters who so clear-wordedly (is that a word? lol) defended peer review and scientific method. This is coming sincerely from a soon-to-be scientist
“It’s extremely sad for people to cling on to beliefs even when the proof is clearly pointing to another direction”
Ramanujan believed his theories came from namagirl (a god of his), cauchy was a radical catholic, abdul salam was a devoted muslim. These people believed in something but it didnt affect their science. Ive noticed that scientist are usually very humble, modest people. They dont make inflamatory remarks. Kinda like yours.
*abdus salam.
I can turn invisible when nobody is looking.
You can turn invisible ay? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9C7XjLRQ18I
Jamie Frater, you may have seen this too.
The idea that people "glow" more during the day then they do at night makes about as much sense as me be becoming invisible when nobody is looking.
i thought esp is when you hear ghosts
It's when you 'sense' something weird. That sounds really lame but the name is self explanatory: Extra Sensory Perception. When you notice something without using the accepted 5 senses of taste, touch, hearing, sight and smell.
exestential skateboard punks
(short form of) espn
emulating the sounds of peacocks
*evil sock puppets*
estimated street price…..
…
.
….
–extra ***** please?
"There are more things in Heaven and Earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy, Horatio."
interesting list
Nostradamus is 100 PERCENT real. He predicted Napoleon, Hitler, the Industrial Revolution, the rise and fall of communism, everything. He said, that someone called, "Hister," will take control of Germany. And "Hister," well, it`s obvious what he meant. He said he`ll be "A Second Nero." And on that programme, "The Nostradamus Effect," it showed other psychics. How do they do it? He also said they`ll be 3 Antichrists. The first was Napoleon, the second Hitler, who`ll will the 3rd be?? On the programme, it said that Saddam Hussein, Osama Bin Laden, George W Bush and er, OBAMA is the 3rd. I doubt it`s him though!
on the program? which channel? sci-fi? or fox?
It`s on the History Channel. Or "The Hitler Channel." as it`s better known.
very sadly "history".
owned by the same people as A&E: http://www.aetn.com/about.html
"A&E Television Networks (AETN) a joint venture of The Hearst Corporation, Disney-ABC Television Group and NBC Universal, is an award-winning, international media company offering consumers a diverse communications environment ranging from television programming, to home videos/DVDs and music CDs, to Web sites, as well as supporting nationwide educational initiatives.
AETN is comprised of A&E Network®, History™, History International™, Bio™, History en español™, Military History™,Crime & Investigation Network™, A&E HD™, THC HD™, AETN International, A&E IndieFilms™ and AETN Consumer Products."
Nostradamus predicted nothing. He just made some wild guesses and if you want to believe it, they may have some similarities to later events.
How was Napoleon the antichrist? Hister looks like Hitler, yes. But why so vague? If you can predict the future, just do it. Like these mediums who see a letter of a name. Why can't they just see a name and be done with it???
Here's how prophecy works. I could say "In the middle of the 21st century, a benevolent dictator named will die and his successor, a man named Husayin, while charismatic, will prove to be a brutal leader."
Let's say this prophecy comes true. Does that make me some kind of sorceror? No, I'm making a prediction based on patterns. World leaders die all of the time. Many dictators are charismatic "bad guys", and by using the word "brutal", I could mean he's a total ***** or he's a mass murderer. And Husayin is just a derivative of "Hussein", one of the most common names in the world and extremely common in the Middle East, which is an area particularly susceptible to rule under a dictatorship due to fundamentalist religious beliefs. It's almost a certainty that this prediction *will* come true in some shape or form.
He never said someone named Hister would take control of Germany. It is true he mentions the name Hister but he was referring to the Danube (i think) River. Please check your "sources" more thoroughly
In fact this is total bull*****. As with all prophets/seers/psychics throughout history, Nostradamus' *extremely* vague noodlings, open to VERY wide interpretation, have been applied to specific situations *after the fact* by followers and by the gullible. Only someone who has *read* Nostradamus knows just how utterly non-specific and vague his quatrains were, and how a great many of them could be used to apply to damn near anything.
The "Hister" reference is an oldie, but it merely shows the total lack of historical wisdom that most prophecy nuts display. "Hister" is in fact a name that applied, in the middle ages, to either the upper or lower Danube (I can't remember which at this moment) which renders the quatrain in question quite different (I love alliteration).
Nostradamus was a vague scribbler and bad poet, a full-time physician of sorts, and not worth a nickel when it comes to prophecy. As is always the case with these figures, later folks have taken historical events after the fact and then dug into his "prophecies" to find something that might loosely look like it applies, and then they've pushed that interpretation—facts and accuracy be damned.
Thanks, Randall, I was going to point out the Hister river , which no one seems to remember from either geography or history.
Nostradamus was absolute ca-ca. His quatrains so vague they could have been predicting Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream.
example –
here is what nastradamus wrote:
Bêtes farouches de faim fleuves tranner;
Plus part du champ encore Hister sera,
En caige de fer le grand sera treisner,
Quand rien enfant de Germain observa. (II.24)
modern translation from French:
Beasts mad with hunger will swim across rivers,
Most of the army will be against the Lower Danube.
The great one shall be dragged in an iron cage
When the child brother will observe nothing.
person who earns money off Notradamus books:
Beasts wild with hunger will cross the rivers,
The greater part of the battle will be against Hitler.
He will cause great men to be dragged in a cage of iron,
When the son of Germany obeys no law.
If nostradamous is 100 percent real then why are all his prophecies only related to things after they have happened. We should be able to predict future events by reading his bull ***** prophecies but we can’t we have look at things that have already happened and relate them to his prophecies.
and in the philippines we call the entrancing healers "albularyo" and they are badss people.
I agree with #5
A simply explanation for 8 (SHC) is the Wick Effect: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wick_effect
Fat in the body acts as the candle whilst burning – There have been incidents such as the 1990's Murder mentioned in the article where people have remained burning for hours because of the wax-like effect the is produced as a result of burning. Needless to say, consistant localised temperature burning for hours keeps the burn damage to the human alone, most of the time.
Anyone who believes in any of this hokum needs to visit the James Randi Educational Foundation (randi.org). A noted skeptic and debunker of pseudoscience and all things that smack of magical thinking, Randi will disabuse you of all this bs. Not convinced? Pick up a copy of Skeptic magazine or watch Penn and Teller's show, "Bull*****." The universe is a wonderful place already without having to cloud it up with this type of stuff.
Big fan fo The Amazing Randi and Bull*****
Look! Bedtime stories for adults!
Got a good kick out of this list. Made me smile. Don't believe any of it, but it's worth a chuckle or two on what the human mind is capable of believing in. I've had some weird stuff happen to me that I can't explain, but I don't automatically think it's supernatural.
It would be nice if these things were real as some would be beneficial…or fun at parties.
Interesting list.
Most things on this list are complete and utter baloney. These stories keep popping up as genuine, like the psychic surgeons. They just have chickenlivers and a sponge with blood hidden in their hand.
the dousing doesnt' have anything to do with magic……it's real and can be used to find water….at least in urban areas anyways….i don't know anything about using it in a desert area to find an underground water cistern…..but if you take two sticks of silver solder and bend them (one side long enough to grasp in the hand and leave the rest long, about 12")…..hold them lightly in your fists straight in front of you pointing straight out and walk slowly across the yard of a house and the solder sticks will cross "magically" when you are standing above the house's main water line…….has nothing to do with magic, it's electromagnetic waves reacting with the silver and causes the silver to move into line with the flow of water…pretty cool….but no magic…..and don't tell me it's not true – i'm a plumber and i use it on an almost day-to-day basis with work, and it's accurate to within a foot……i've used it to detect water lines up to about 5' deep……
That's cool. Thanks. Have you seen people try to find ghosts and such with them? I don't know what those people are thinking honestly.
and don't tell me it's not true – i'm a plumber and i use it on an almost day-to-day basis with work
If you are so convinced that your dowsing ability is true, then why don’t you go prove it to Randi and win his million dollars so you could retire from working as a plumber?
money aint everything! i like what i do and provide a comfortable existence for my family…..what others believe is of no consequence to me….their minds is not for me to change! i'll just put my information out there and people will use it as they may, or may not….
I was really excited when i read the title and the intro of d list. but after i read the content all i can say is….blah!
I loved Dawkins experiment with christian dowsing, or whatever its called, when he had ten buckets, nine had bottles of sand and one had a bottle of water. I think they found it once, out of many attempts.
Also, Nostradamus is complete crap. His predictions are ridiculous four-line poems that contain a bunch of metaphors that could relate to anything. He said ‘Hister’ would take control of Germany? I don’t remember anyone named Hister taking control of Germany? Oh, he meant Hitler? Well why didn’t he say Hitler then? Why say Hister?
Yeah that Dawkins experiment was great. Dumbasses.
To quote a great mind:
"I created a device that detects human stupidity. All I need to do is point it at people' – 'Then what does it do?' – 'Why would it need to do anything else?"
@springs: ""Oh, he meant Hitler? Well why didn't he say Hitler then? Why say Hister? ""
you already answered your own question
he was full to the brim with cat*****
can someone please explain spontaneous combustion to me. it has always been something that has interested me and i just dont understand how it could be faked
because it's not spontaneous – it just appears to be. Upon careful inspection there is always some exterior source of heat. A cigarette, a space heater, oil lamp etc. Doesn't take a huge fire to start fat rendering; try it yourself with a frying pan and a bit of roast beef fat. Once the process has begun, you're just a big ol' candle.
mom424 – i was typing this when you posted:
There is no such thing as spontaneous human combustion, period.
There is such a thing as spontaneous combustion – it happens in nature frequently. It is the result of a rather energetic chemical reaction.
Human flesh burning? Why not. Candles were made out of animal fat in old times. The New England whaling fleets existing for one reason – profit from the rendering of fat from whales which was commonly burned in lamps. Ever throw meat on the charcoal and have it start a grease fire on the coals? Same principle.
Fuel (fat), combustion source (such as falling asleep while smoking), and some sort of “wick” like cloth or any combustible could result in a slow burning, near smoldering, combustion – BUT IT IS NOT SPONTANEOUS.
In these cases the person was ALWAYS dead prior to the “fire”.
A mystery would be how BP still expects us to forgive it after what it has done to our lives and the environment.
Unbelievable.
A mystery would be how America still expects Vietnam to forgive it after what it has done to their lives and their environment.
Unbelievable.
Agent Orange was a hundred fold worse than the oil spill, most Americans don't give a ***** about that.
Not a bad point Oatler. "Hello Kettle, I'm Pot and goodness gracious me you are black" sort of thing.
@ TOP KILL: We are outraged by an oil spill yet we still guzzle oil based products. Our hunger and demand of low cost products results in this sort of thing. Should BP be held responsible? Yes. But we all contributed to this so stop acting like YOU didn't.
i could not agree more with you
Carl Sagan is turning over in his grave cos of this list.
Silliest list ever!
This list makes me sad its such a shame that this kind of garbage is still given credit.
My ex-wife would often corrupt (or just make unreadable) floppy disks, thumb drives or any sort of flash card. I don't know if it was bioelectricity or not, but it was damn annoying.
let me guess , thats why she's now your ex-wife ?
Yeah, my ex wife would interfer with the microphone on my camera. I could never get her to say anything that wasn't corrupted, and yet when I used the camera mic it was always fine. I know another guy who, whenever he's around, my computer will suddenly start crashing and breaking down. As soon as he goes it's fine again. Damn weird.
That is weird.
You're friend must be a hacker!!!! DON'T TRUST HIM!!!!
I think Jfrater needs to start asking a little more from list writers. Such as providing a few sources when they make claims about people gargling molten metal and creating electricity. The internet is already enough of a problem when it comes to people believing rediculous things.
Well evidently Listverse is getting to be a little too much work for JF, so he'll accept any terrible and disproven drivel from a painfully-ignorant "author" who believes some of these ridiculous things are true. Pitiful.
I'm through number four and before I continue, I must say… This is one of the dumbest *****ing lists I've ever read. Most of these can be or have been explained by science and the rest are dismissed because of the sheer ridiculousness of it.
Jesus, how *****ing dumb do you have to be to believe this *****?
You seem to be the type who just throws out the word "science" as a blanket explanation for things. It's annoying. If you hate the list so much, stop reading it.
And if you hate his comment, don't comment on it.
Science IS an explanation for things.
I agree with all these..Scientists are not dumb enough to believe in them as ''unprovable situations'' if they really had any answr even with the best 21st century equipments..
How about the fact that all of these have been PROVEN false. These have been proven false for years. A lot of them don't even need modern equipment. Do some research.
Mysteries? I think you mean bull*****.
You'll clear them because you can't stand to have someone criticize your incorrect views. Just about everything you have said is untrue. These are just things that you have read and believe, similar to people who have read the Bible and believe in those happenings. There are people that actually believe that Noah built an arc and put two of every species of animal on it. You need to do more research about the things you claim to know about. Also, give some examples of things that are inexplicable.
Lol ok…Why dont u practise your own preaching and just google out things for yourself that throws some light inside your mental darkness…..
Get a life Pussyboy….
I am unable to wear a wris*****ch because the batteries die very quickly. Something about my skin causes the batteries to die withing a week or two of replacement. I do wear the watch that I received for graduation, but it doesn't work.
~sigh~
You are an idiot
i was just about to say the same thing to Rohan Kapoor above.
Yes, you clearly are a superhero. "Oh my skin is electrically-charged and kills watches. Yeah, I'm pretty special". No, you're just a retard who buys cheap watches. Was it your intention to announce yourself as a dumbass? If so, good work.
Are you the type of person that pretends to know everything? I bet the world is a mighty lonely and boring place to you. Maybe you should explain to hawking how black holes work. Them go tell ed witten everything he needs to know about m theory. Find a biologist and tell he how the brain works then help the world find a logical way to make math complete.
You cant do any of these? Then stop being a jerk. If you are a real scientist and go test the guy. Dont make assumptions if you dont want to show your ignorance.
Ps: also stop using the r-word.
wow. Awesome list. I would have liked to see more specific cases for each of these. I can certainly look them up myself though. great job, valentinedragon.
If you think this is a good list, I'd like to know what your idea of a terrible list is.
WOW – where did my most eloquent post that I spent 15 minutes typing disappear to? Must have been the statement about what LV does on days when they don’t really have a list.
Dowsing? Nostradamus? Come on these aren't mysteries, they're bull*****. Debunked long ago.
Hello. Perhaps we might consentrate on what IS on the list rather than what ISN’T? I was in a great mood today – before I read the comments – so I have a slight ‘beef’ as I write this.
Alright. Being a ‘believer’ and all, lets take a run down of the list and see where I get with it…
#10 – Yep, I work for a Shaman. Big deal. Shamanism has been around for 40,000 years according to some sources, and yes it still goes on today. I happen to believe it does more good than harm, and we get perhaps 10 clients a day who feel the same way. As for charging a fortune for ‘magic’ – we don’t do ‘tricks’ and we don’t charge either – we offer a free service. You get it, you benefit. No hard feelings.
#9 – Surgery. There is nothing in quantum physics that says this is impossable, given the idea that we exist in a holographic universe which only looks solid because of our (rather pathetic compared to some animals) human eyes. In practice, however, this practice has been a fraudulent slight-of-hand trick way too often for any reasonable minded person to take it seriously anymore. So yeah, it’s a trick.
#8 – Human Combustion – I hear it said “How can a body burn when it’s 70% water – wouldn’t the water put out the fire?”. When you consider water is one part hydrogen and two parts oxygen (two of the most combustable substances known to man), it seems that water could do exactly the opposite. Some cases of SHC are clearly drunkards, some are accidents, some are deliberate manslaughter offences – and all take advantage of the ‘wick effect’ to keep the body burning by using our own body fat as fuel. Regardless of how ‘spontanious’ it might be, Human Combustion happens for real – and it burns hot!
#7 – I worked in a kitchen for three years, and by the end of it they said I had ‘asbestos fingers’. Skin does build up a resiliance to heat, just as the skin hardens for many other reasons. There is also a small window of time after direct contact before actual skin burning happens. So, with pyrotechnics, if the flame is constantly moving it shouldn’t be of much danger to the wielder. Similarly, if you wet the feet and keep them moving over hot coals, there is no reason why they would get burnt. The fire waking thing is more a mind game (like jumping off a bridge with a bungie cord) – it’s relatively safe but rather fearsome.
#6 – Thanks TexasPlumber. I guess it works in one of two ways. Either the rods are affected by electromagnetism (as the list item suggests) or it is affected by changes in gravity. Everything in nature is affected by the nuclear strong and weak forces, electromagnetism and gravity, and everything in nature (including human beings) show signs of having all four properties. When water flows it does carry a very small electrical charge (caused by molecular friction as the water rolles over rocks) and water is an excellent conductor of electricity. This electrical charge would then create a local electromegnetic field (by it’s very nature) and this would affect free-floating or metallic objects.
The second theory, as noted by Einstein, is that objects also have a weak local gravity, and flowing water (especially if it is flowing downwards) will very slightly affect local gravity (water flowing down + gravity = more gravity i.e. pulls rods down). So I guess the rods cross over with a small cross-polar electrical current, or dip due to the gravity effect. These are just my gueses.
#5 – Bioelectric – Some geek has figured out that we are not only nuclear strong/weak forced, gravity bending beings, but that we are actually bio-electro-chemical organisms which generate our own power. Wow.
#4 – Luminance – …at the same time, some other kid is saying that the energy that pours out of our very bodies is actually glowing with a light we cannot see with our eyes because our eyes only tend to see semi-solid things. On the other side of the world, some people who believe in angels who say we are creatures of hard-light energy have just caughed up a lung. Science? Spirituality? Two sides to one coin??
#3 – Levitation – See my description for #9.
#2 – ESP – yes we have many more senses than you can shake a stick at – many more than five. How about the senses of: time, balance, spacial awareness, temperature, pain, love, truth, consciousness, understanding, humour(!), justice, friendship, gratitude, sleepiness, the sense of memory recall, the sense of fatal attraction, the sense of emotional tumult. We all have these things.
If, by ESP, you are limiting it to a sense of telepathy or intuition then sure – fewer folks have this on-tap to readily and exhaustively demonstrate it for the sake of science. On the other hand, have you ever had a dream where you saw something and then days or years later you saw the same thing in real life – deja vu? Perhaps time is not linear and all time is happenening simultaniously? But in our fourth dimention it isn’t like that at all! Beyond that – I think it definitely is!
#1 – Prophesy. “The Delphic oracle did it. Nostradamus did it. Hell, even educated flees did it. Let’s do it! Let’s prophesize!”
Prophesy comes from the same non-linear time thing as I mentioned above. However, we are actively living our lives everyday and so we are actively changing our own future (and the futures of those around us) everyday. What was prophesized on the Monday could be completely and totally different by the Friday due to our free will and active intention. For this reason, even though I do the Tarot myself, I’d advise caution when dealing with some long-term predictions. We make our own fate everyday. Destiny, on the other hand, is not something I could ever hope to convinse you of… even though I believe I’ve seen it in action.
Joke: ‘I predict!, that tomorrow will known to the world as ‘Friday’, and on that day a list will be published on the LV which will delight some, annoy some, and ***** others off.’
Robert bunsen (bunsen burner) actually did so much work with tubes (glass material) that exploded in his hands that the shrapnel actually cut his nerv endings so he was able to manipulated really hot stuff.
Thanks, now thay song is stuck in my head.
Well, #5 explains Uncle Fester.
Wow another joke of a list, the list is not very well researched and biased tbh because a majority of the stuff in the list has either been debunked as mere tricks and some are inconsistent (i,e prophecy and the healers), this doesn't make them mysterious at all, just plain batcrap. This string of uninteresting, boring and poorly written articles seem to go on day by day.
Wow too much trolling goin on here..some of you guys should also get a life you know…
Complaining about a stupid list where the author hesitantly believes ridiculous things like dowsing and spiritual healing isn't being a troll. Making a lameass post where you do nothing but whine about people giving their opinions…now THAT'S being a troll. I trust you are new to the internet and don't know the definition of the 'troll' meme?
I will sit on the sidelines for todays list, for obvious reasons and read the comments section.
Gee, there's a whole lot of bull***** in this list.
Valentinedragon, excellent job again, but you make me nervous! The only item on this list I'm awfully interested in is number 8 – SHC. That has me puzzled and I believe maybe it's possible…