Happy Halloween! The Mystery of Dyatlov Pass...

In happened in 1959 when a group of experienced Ski Hikers in Russia left on a hike and, except for the one hiker who got ill and turned back, did not return. Investigators were skeptical that entire team of experienced explorers could be lost completely, but when they finally launched an investigation they were horrified at what they found.



The campsite was a disaster and bodies were found all over the place. (It took months to find them all even after the campsite was found.) The tents showed evidence that the some of the campers had exited their tents by tearing a hole in the back of the tent, instead of going out the front flap. Some of the hikers were found nearly naked, as if they felt the need to exit the tent into the unforgiving cold as quickly as possible. Whatever frightened them was scarier than being exposed to the Russian winter and gave them the impression that they needed to tear their tents apart to escape.

The bodies were strange in themselves. There were no obvious signs of trauma on their dead bodies but some of them had head wounds and other internal damage that would seem to be a cause of death. Authorities said that it would take an impact similar to getting hit by a car to cause the internal injuries that were discovered. Oh, and the bodies had a peculiar orange glow about them. The bodies showed a high level of radiation when they were tested. (I should add that UFO's were sighted in the area that evening, but I almost hate to include that. Gotta' be thorough.) It doesn't help that many of these details were suppressed by the Russian government.

To make things worse, the official cause of death is an 'unknown compelling force'. Creepy.

Here's more information:

Skeptoid Article
Neatorama Article

Did Obama Screw Up the National Anthem?

You can see the video, here, Obama doesn't cover his heart for any moment of the Anthem. (WARNING: The person singing the pledge really butchers it and you might go deaf listening.)

When I was a kid I would always cover my heart, even when the other kids didn't. (Cool kids don't salute their country in high school.) Sometimes they picked on me, but I have never been ashamed. That story might sound silly to you, but I still love my country.

Does anyone know if Obama has mentioned this? Was he tired and not thinking, did he forget because he had a lot on his mind?

Some find this distressing while others say it is not a big deal, what do you think?

This Makes Me Appreciate OUR Economy

Yeah, yeah, the dollar is dropping and houses are cheaper and the world is coming to an end through a recession. However, it's peanuts compared to Zimbabwe's problems.

Apparently, you have to fork over this huge wad of cash just to buy four tomatoes.

And that's before the recent problems started. Now, here's a guy holding half a billion dollars. Unfortunately, it won't buy him much.

This all comes from a very fascinating photo essay over at this blog that gives the whole picture, you should check it out.

I keep finding out that economics is more complicated than I think. (via Neatorama.)

Rare Art Work from Bill Watterson

I think Bill Watterson's Calvin and Hobbes was a great contribution to contemporary art. Hardly any filmmakers or musicians have added so much joy and understanding to my life as watching Calvin play games with his stuffed animal that came to life in his imagination. (Or was it real? I choose magic.)

I was happy to stumble upon an online collection of Watterson's other work; I had seen a few of these here and there but never found them all together. It includes strips he contributed to his college newspaper (which include characters that look strikingly like Calvin's parents) and bits of work from other parts of his life, such as artwork he made for his brother's band. You can check it all out here.

But They Said it was Made by a Schoolteacher...

A moron walks into a pharmacy. The following conversation ensues:

Moron: Do you have any natural non-'sciency' things that can help me overcome my own personal feelings of inadequacy...er, I mean, make me healthier?

Pharmacist: No, this is a pharmacy, try the witch doctor, uh, I mean, yes, yes, we have this thing called Airborne. It boosts your immune system and cures the common cold.

Moron: Hmm, I don't know, it sounds a little technical, got any of those pads that pull toxins out of your feet?

Pharmacist (hitting rock bottom): Listen, this was made by a schoolteacher!

Moron: I'll take eight!

I was told about Airborne on a plane. Someone said that by taking it you would become invincible to the common cold and would be immune to other germs while flying on a plane. (A plane that was cleaned and sanitized a few hours before I boarded, unlike my office or my car.)

Oh, yeah, and it was made by a schoolteacher. And it was on Oprah. Oh, brother, no wonder Obama is doing so well in the polls.

Um, maybe you had better teachers than I did, but I didn't have any schoolteachers that could invent things. Certainly none of them that could cure the common cold. I knew at the time that science had yet to find a way to combat the cold virus but the person I was speaking to was taken in by the narrative of the teacher and didn't think about it objectively. As it turns out, Airborne is a laughable placebo and has been taken to court over its claims to actually do anything.

The drugs I take tend to work and are made in laboratories that look like this:


However, Americans seem to prefer medicine made by someone who looks like this: