Stonehenge Builders Houses Found

A village of small houses about three kilometers from Britain's mysterious Stonehenge that may have sheltered its builders has been found. The ancient houses have been excavated by a group of archaeologists studying the stone circle in England at a site known as Durrington Walls, where it is also the location of a wooden version of the stone circle, said Mike Parker Pearson of Sheffield University at the National Geographic Society. "Eight of the houses, with central hearths, have been excavated, and there may be as many as 25 of them," said Parker Pearson, "the village was carbon dated to about 2600 B.C., about the same time Stonehenge was built." Both Stonehenge and Durrington Walls have avenues connecting them to the Avon River, indicating a pattern of movement between the sites, according to researchers."Clearly, this is a place that was of enormous importance," said Julian Thomas of Manchester University. Stone tools, animal bones, arrowheads and other artifacts were uncovered in the village. Remains of pigs indicated they were about nine months old when killed, which would mark a midwinter festival. The researchers speculated that Durrington Walls was a place for the living and Stonehenge -- where cremated remains have been found -- was a cemetery and memorial, media reported. The megalithic ruin known as Stonehenge stands on the open downland of Salisbury Plain west of the town of Amesbury, Wiltshire, in Southern England. It is not a single structure but consists of a series of earth, timber, and stone structures that were revised and re-modelled over a period of more than 1400 years.

It Just Wouldn't Die

After enduring being shot, dragged by a dog and then having her presumed dead body thrown in a kitchen fridge, US wonder-fowl Perky the duck has again shown her lust for life during an operation to repair her injured wing. Perky suddenly stopped breathing during the operation, said Noni Beck, wildlife rehabilitator at the Goose Creek Wildlife Sanctuary in Tallahassee, Florida. "It was a rough day," she told reporters. She said she had taken Perky to a local veterinarian for the operation, where she was told it would be touch-and-go for the fragile bird. The vet began to operate and had just finished pinning Perky's wing when she abruptly stopped breathing, Ms Beck said."He's giving her oxygen, he's kind of tapping on her chest - he actually took a needle and kind of stuck her, because a little pain response can make you gag - and then he turned to me and said, 'She's gone, I am so sorry.' But suddenly the duck came back. "We were sitting there looking at each other and then it's been 10 seconds and somebody said: 'She just took a breath.' " Ms Beck didn't realise how affected she was by Perky's close call until she went to her car afterwards to call a friend. "I literally broke down, I was sobbing on the phone. I think the first words to come out of my mouth were: 'She's alive.' It was an emotional rollercoaster. "She's stolen all our hearts, she's such a perky little thing." Perky is now back at the sanctuary, doing well and spending much of her time on her personal heating pad, Ms Beck said.

Ghost Of The Lady In Red

Set ’em up, Joe. One for the road … but what’s that? Is it real? Or is it a ghost? “The first time I saw her, which was after the place had been long closed for the night, she was in a red dress.” Mark Polaschek, a co-owner of Hunter’s Club, is talking about phantom things that are happening at the Rock Island landmark bar that he and a partner are tearing apart to give a new look and new life. It’s claimed there are strange goings-on in the bar that has had an Illinois liquor license since 1933. After all those years, anything could be expected, but it’s the “lady in red” ghost that makes a believer out of Mark. “I’ve seen her. I will swear to God on a stack of Bibles that I have seen her,” he says. “The first time was at 6 in the morning; I came to check the safe to see how much we took in the night before. In the back stairwell I heard something. There she was. Red dress. Dark hair in a bun, an attractive woman about 55 or 60. She smiled at me. I started to say, ‘Who the hell are you?’ when she disappeared. I ran all over the place, trying to find her. She had vanished.” Mark saw her on another occasion, by the Hunter’s oil painting of a nude that is an icon in saloon art. She was still in red dress, disappearing up the stairs to the second floor that is said to have once been a brothel. Those tales are usually illusory. Every joint was said to have had naughty girls. “But I know she’s around. She’s a good ghost. I think she’s happy that some young guys are running the place again.” Mark’s partner, Ray McDevitt, says there are new TVs at Hunter’s, but the volume goes up and down without any reason. “Stuff falls off the shelves when it shouldn’t,” he says. Lights that were off at night when the place locked up have been back on in the morning. Bob Curtis, the manager, tells of being alone in the place when the long kitchen spray hose began swinging in the air like wild. “And the water wasn’t even turned on,” he says.Bob Curtis, manager of Hunter’s Club in Rock Island Mark is especially spooked by two glasses on the bar. “I have closed up the place, wiped off the bar so it’s clear, and locked the door with the only key. Next morning I can be the first one in and there will be two empty glasses on the bar. There had been drinks in them, with water at the bottom where the ice cubes had melted.” He is serious and wants to hire a poltergeist expert to check out the place. Few Quad-Citizens have spent more time at Hunter’s than Rich Johnson of Moline. Rich played there for 23 years with the Riverboaters with such great pianists as Warren Parrish. “Ghosts at Hunter’s? I wouldn’t doubt that. I wouldn’t doubt anything about that place,” says Rich. I scoped the place, looking up the stairs toward peeling wallpaper.” There were no ghosts. None in the basement, either. That was where prohibition days hooch was said to be cooked. Maybe if I return in the wee small hours of the morning, the lady in red will be there to share a drink. “One for my baby, and one more for the road.”

New Book Features The Devil's Chair of Union Cemetery

Guthrie Center is featured in a newly released book, The Iowa Road Guide to Haunted Locations. And, the book makes no reference to a fictional creature of the farmland slews west of Guthrie Center which many natives would view as the most intriguing folklore. Instead, a recognizable but unmarked monument in Union Cemetery is Guthrie Center's focal point in the book which was co-authored by Chad Lewis of Wisconsin. "What harm could come from visiting a cemetery and taking a rest in the comfortable chair that is just sitting there? Isn't that what a chair is for? Well, unless you are in need of some bad luck, you may want to re-think plopping down in the Devil Chair of Union Cemetery because many believe the chair is cursed," writes Lewis. The book provides background on the cemetery which was laid out in 1885 by a county surveyor for William and Margaret Hammond who created the graveyard as a private burial ground.The City of Guthrie Center purchased the cemetery from the Hammonds after it already had several graves in it. The original name of the cemetery is uncertain, Lewis stated, but the official name became Union Cemetery under city ownership. As for the cement cast chair which has no inscription, it is located between the Miller and Peterson gravestones and may be a memorial to either one. It is midway on the north side of the main east - west roadway through the cemetery. "We spoke with a city employee who grew up in Guthrie Center (Darin Sloss). He reported the legend of the chair has been around for at least 30 years," said Lewis. "A young man told us that if you are brave enough to sit in the chair you will experience a case of bad luck. When asked whether or not he had ever sat in the chair the man replied that even though he didn't believe in such things he wasn't going to tempt fate," Lewis added.

UFO Sighing In North Carolina

Some people in the Charlotte area called 911 dispatchers and reported seeing a weird hovering light in the sky. Emergency dispatchers answered the calls in Iredell, Lincoln, Mooresville and Huntersville Wednesday night. One Lincoln County officer reportedly saw it, and the National Weather Service in Greer, South Carolina got similar calls. Even stranger - people in between the two areas in York, Gaston and Cleveland counties had no such 911 reports.The Federal Aviation Administration had no reports of plane crashes, and law enforcement officers said they didn't see any extra-terrestrials. George lund is the state director for the mutual UFO network - a group of amateur UFO investigators. He says the area around Lake Norman - and Mcguire Nuclear Plant - is a hot spot for UFO sightings. They think that they're coming in that area maybe to feed off some of energy that that plant is producing.

Men Arrested For Murdering "Ghost" Brides

Chinese police have arrested three men for killing two young women to sell their corpses as " Ghost Brides" for dead single men, a Chinese newspaper reported, warning the dark custom might have claimed many other victims. Yang Donghai, a 35-year-old farmer in western China's Shaanxi province, confessed to killing a woman bought from a poor family for 12,000 yuan ($1,545) last year. She thought she was being sold into an arranged marriage, but Yang killed her in a gully and sold her corpse for 16,000 yuan. He and two accomplices then killed a prostitute and sold her for 8,000 yuan before police caught them. "I did it for the money; it was a quick buck," Yang said, according to the paper."If I hadn't slipped up early, I planned to do a few more." The women were victims of an old belief, still alive in the yellow-earth highlands of western China, that young men who die unmarried should go to their graves accompanied by deceased women who will be their wives in the afterlife. Often these women die natural deaths. Police in Yanan, the poor and dusty corner of Shaanxi where Chairman Mao Zedong nurtured his Communist revolution, said the dark trade went beyond these cases. "The actual number is far from just these," the paper said. Yang and two helpers sold the bodies to Li Longsheng, an undertaker who police said specialized in buying and selling the dead women for "ghost weddings." It was unclear what happened to Li.

Rare Prehistoric Shark Found In Japan

A rare frilled shark was captured live by fishermen off the coast of Japan. The toothy eel-like creature was taken to Awashima Marine Park in Shizuoka where it later died according to reporters.The 5-foot (1.6 meter) long beast was believed to be ill because it was found in shallow waters. Generally the species, known as Chlamydoselachus anguineus, lives at a depth of 488-4550 feet (150-1400 m). It is considered a primitive shark, largely unchanged since prehistoric times.
"We believe moving pictures of a live specimen are extremely rare," reporters quoted an official at the park as saying. "They live between 600 and 1000 metres under the water, which is deeper than humans can go. We think it may have come close to the surface because it was sick, or else it was weakened because it was in shallow waters."

Just Another Ghost Story??

Nestled in the hills of Western is the old Moore Building that overlooks all of campus. Once an all-female dorm, the Moore Building is now home to the Health Sciences and Nursing departments. However pleasant and majestic the building may seem on the outside, it was rumored to have once witnessed the murder of a young student who still roams the halls to this day. Located in the older section of campus, the Moore building is currently the oldest building on campus.In Western's early years, Western was an all-female teacher's campus, and the Moore Building was simply known as Moore Dorm. When the building was converted into classrooms, the third floor was left vacant until recent years. The Moore Building features grand fireplaces, an elegant common room, and architecture that is found only on the older buildings. It is the perfect setting for a ghost story. In earlier editions of the Western Carolinian, the story of the Moore building has always been that two young women were staying on campus for the holidays during the 1920's. While others were packing to leave or reuniting with loved ones, one of the girls decided to take a shower while the other got ready for bed.As the time kept passing by, the girl became concerned about her roommate's long absence. She began to hear heart-stopping scratching and groaning echoing from the other side of the door. Immediately, the girl locked the door as the scratching and groaning continued. She stayed in the locked room until she saw a passing maintenance worker and called out for help. After she called for help, an unknown voice from the other side of the door said that everything was all right. Terrified, the girl opened the door to find her roommate's throat cut while she lay bleeding to death on the floor. Though the story would make anyone look twice over their shoulder, Phillip B. Kneller, Associate Professor of Health Sciences, uses it in a different way. "I use the story as an ice-breaker for open house. I've heard at least two versions, some say there was a murder, and others say it was a hoax." Various sites like theshadowlands.net have a more detailed story.They claim that a girl in the teaching program was murdered after she refused romantic advances of a local resident. Due to the man's mental capacity, he was quickly caught and sent to Broughton Hospital in Morganton, NC. With the help of his well-respected family connections, he was released and lived out the remainder of his life at home. The girl was reportedly killed on the 3rd floor where sounds of crying, screams, and pacing have been heard. Other sites such as unexplained-mysteries.com have a different version and claim that the girl committed suicide after her fianc� was killed in World War II. Afterwards, "students had reported seeing her form wandering the hall late at night, and are often awakened by the sounds of sobbing. Some even refused to live there, saying they would drop out before setting foot on the third floor" The students were complaining so much about the problem, so Moore was converted into classrooms.Alex Esmon of the October 27th, 1999, Carolinian wrote, "the interesting fact is that this exact same story has been told for generations at Indiana University, Purdue University and The University of Kanas." All of the stories told on these campuses are almost identical with the same unknown girls.
Out of all of the stories surrounding the Moore building, only one is a known fact. During the 1920's three orphan mice died on the 3rd floor of the Moore Dorm. The Cullowhee Yodel reported that, "sorrow prevailed on the third floor of the Moore Dormitory November 7th, 1927, when solemn funeral services were held for three small orphan mice." Is the Moore Building really haunted? Was a young woman brutally murdered on the third floor? Though no names have ever been found of the supposed girl that was murdered, students walking the halls of Moore may have the feeling of being watched whether it be from a long forgotten murder or the untimely death of three orphan mice.

Bionic Cat Eyes May Help Humans

A University of Missouri-Columbia veterinary ophthalmologist has been developing a microchip implant that restores sight to blind cats and hopefully to humans as well. Preliminary results in clinical human trials have been encouraging, with 30 people implanted so far. Dr. Kristina Narfstrom is fine-tuning the technique with Abyssinian and Persian cats affected with the hereditary retinal blinding disease similar to retinitis pigmentosa, an incurable genetic disease in humans that usually leads to blindness. "About one in 3,500 people worldwide is affected with a hereditary disease, retinitis pigmentosa, that causes the death of retinal cells and, eventually, blindness," Narfstrom said. "Our current study is aimed at determining safety issues in regard to the implants and to further develop surgical techniques. We also are examining the protection the implants might provide to the retinal cells that are dying due to disease progression with the hope that natural sight can be maintained much longer than would be possible in an untreated patient."Retinitis pigmentosa affects the eye's photoreceptor cells that process light and color. The chip experiment with Narfstrom's cats will aid researchers to perfect its performance and instruct physicians on the needed surgical techniques for the devices. Manufactured by Optobionics Corp., the 2-millimeter-wide chips are surgically placed in the back of eye. Each chip is covered with 5,000 microphotodiodes that process light and sends electric signals in the eye's optic nerve to the brain. Director of research development for the Foundation Fighting Blindness, Tim Schoen, said technology that allows prosthetic sight is encouraging. "This offers great hope to individuals who have completely lost vision," said Schoen. "We can treat these patients with gene therapy, but once the photoreceptors die, we have to replace them with stem cells or one of these artificial methods."

Ghost Team Stakes Oout Spooky Pub

Ghost hunters are trying to unravel the secrets of haunted Swindon. Dave Wood and his team of paranormal investigators visited the Jolly Tar pub in Hannington try and find an explanation behind some mysterious sightings. Dave said: "Two unusual figures have been reported in the public bar, who looked out of place. One, a man, was seen walking out of the fireplace in the main bar. Another figure, a lady was seen, and then not seen a split second later. "There have also been reports of kinetic activity like flying beermats and coins flying around." Dave said the poltergeist-type reports could be down to lorries driving past on the main road or even seismic activity. were previously based in Devon. Dave said 99 per cent of the apparent hauntings he investigated turned out to be easily explained, but there were some that PSI's 800 members, some leading scientists at universities across the country, could not understand. "One time we had rocks and stones thrown at us at a location in Devon," he said. "The investigation into what happened there is still on going, but so far it is a mystery," said Dave. The Jolly Tar PubAfter being told about reports of a ghost, Dave carries out a number of tests. On one occasion he said people had heard an intermittent noise along with hauntings, but by simply recording the sound it was revealed to be a constant note that witnesses' brains had blocked out. "They only heard it in connection with other phenomenon which couldn't be explained, so all together created a very subjective picture of something that wasn't there." Dave, who is also a Liberal Democrat councillor in Eastcott ward on Swindon Council, described himself as an open-minded sceptic. "I don't go into a situation trying to disprove it, but I do try to apply rational science based on objective evidence." He and his team will spend several weeks analysing the results of their findings at the Hannington pub before they can work out exactly what is causing the mystery. The Swindon-based PSI are hoping to focus on more paranormal activity in and around the town. Anyone who has witnessed anything unusual, or who thinks their home or business may be haunted is urged to visit www.p-s-i.org.uk or call Dave on 01793 336216. Hauntings and eerie sightings have been rumoured at a number of places around Swindon. For generations there have been reports of a lone figure standing near a yew tree in the grounds of St John the Baptist and St Helen church in Wroughton. The Ship Hotel in Kingshill has been rumoured to have six ghosts and the church organ at St Sampson's has been heard playing on several occasions while the church is locked and even in the Parish Rooms where there are no musical instruments at all. Paranormal activity is supposed to centre around the road from Holy Cross church to the village of Hodson. The Red Lion pub in the centre of the 4,000-year-old stone circle in Avebury has been the centre of ghost stories for centuries.

'Radio' Tattoos Could Identify Soldiers

Somark Innovations announced biocompatible RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) ink, which can be used to tattoo cattle and laboratory rats and can be read through animal hair. It might even be used on humans eventually. This is a passive RFID technology that contains no metals; the tattoos themselves can be colored or invisible. The Somark ID System creates a "biocompatible ink tatoo with chipless RFID functionality." The RFID ink tatoo does not require line of sight to be read, as is the case with other RFID devices (making them better than a barcode for some applications). RFID ink tattoos also solve the annoying problem of ear tag retention. Conventional RFID ear tags sell for about $2.25; about 60-90 percent of them eventually fall off. Also, Somark claims that the biocompatible RFID ink system will improve readability rates as well.Somark Innovations co-founder Mark Pydynowski noted that the RFID ink is fully biocompatible and was safe for use in humans. He noted that RFID ink tattoos could be used to track and rescue soldiers. "It could help identify friends or foes, prevent friendly fire, and help save soldiers' lives," Pydynowski said. Readers should note that VeriChip tags for patients are FDA approved and VeriChip tags have been proposed for immigrants. This technology reminds me of Jack Vance's spray-on conductive wire; it also makes you think about the other possibilities that having an ink that can be used to create a functioning circuit. You don't need to tattoo it; you could print it onto flexible surfaces, like the sleeve watch from the 1981 novel Dream Park.

Duck Survives 2 Days In Refrigerator

The duck would not die. Wildlife officials said the feathered Lazarus had been shot by a hunter and put into his refrigerator for two days. That's when the hunter's wife opened the door and the duck lifted his head, giving her a scare. The man's wife "was going to check on the refrigerator because it hadn't been working right and when she opened the door, it looked up at her," said Laina Whipple, a receptionist at Killearn Animal Hospital. "She freaked out and told the daughter to take it to the hospital right then and there."The hospital's staff had the daughter take the 450-gram female ring-neck to Goose Creek Wildlife Sanctuary, where it has been treated for wounds to its wing and leg. Sanctuary veterinarian David Hale said it has about a 75-per-cent chance of survival but probably will not ever be well enough to be released back into the wild. He said the duck, which has a low metabolism, could have survived in a big enough refrigerator, especially if the door was opened and closed several times.

Mona Lisa's Grave Found

The burial site for Leonardo Da Vinci's Mona Lisa has been found in a former convent in Florence. Leonardo scholar Giuseppe Pallanti said documents indicate she was buried in the city's former Convent of St. Orsula in the heart of the city. "I've pored through thousands of archive pages and I'm convinced the remains of Leonardo's model Lisa Gherardini was buried there," Pallanti said. Pallanti said his research eliminates doubt about the identity of La Gioconda, as the Italians call the Mona Lisa because of her husband's surname, Giocondo."It was her, Lisa, the wife of the merchant," Pallanti said. It has been suggested that del Giocondo commissioned Leonardo for the painting to mark his wife's pregnancy or the recent birth of their second child in December 1502. However, others said the painting is a self-portrait or of one of his male lovers in disguise, citing the fact that Leonardo kept the painting with him until his death in France in 1519.

Animal Woman Found In Cambodian Jungle

A woman who disappeared in the jungles of northeastern Cambodia as a child has apparently been found after living in the wild for 19 years, police said. The woman - believed to be Rochom P'ngieng, now 27 years old - cannot speak any intelligible language, so details of her saga have been difficult to confirm. "She is like half-human and half-animal," said Mao San, police chief of Oyadao district in Rattanakiri province. "She's weird. She sleeps during the day and stays up at night." The father of Rochom P'ngieng, a member of the Pnong ethnic minority, said he recognized his daughter by a scar on her back and her facial features, according to Mao San. The father is a village policeman named Sal Lou. Rochom P'ngieng, then eight years old, disappeared one day in 1988 when she was herding buffalo in a remote northeastern jungle area, said Chea Bunthoeun, a deputy provincial police chief. She was discovered this month after a villager noticed that food disappeared from a lunch box he left at a site near his farm."He decided to stake out the area and then spotted a naked human being, who looked like a jungle person, sneaking in to steal his rice," said Chea Bunthoeun. The villager gathered some friends and the group managed to catch the woman. "Her parents had already lost hope of finding her since she went missing for so many years. The father cried and hugged her when he met his daughter," Chea Bunthoeun said. Since being found, the woman has had difficulty adjusting to normal life, apparently because of her long stay in the wild, said Mao San. Authorities want medical experts to take DNA samples from the parents and the woman to see if they match. The woman's parents have given verbal consent for such a test, he said.

Dracula's Castle For Sale

Bran Castle, better known as Dracula's Castle, has been put up for sale for $98.6 million and local authorities in Romania are considering buying it, officials said. "Bran Castle is very important for our province's tourism industry. We have set up a commission with five members of the council that will examine the possibility of buying it," said Aristotel Cancescu, president of Brasov province's council. The castle was returned in December 2006 to Dominic Habsburg, the grandson of Queen Mary of Romania, 58 years after it was seized by the communist regime.Mr Habsburg, 68, initially agreed with the culture ministry that the castle would remain a museum for at least three years and could only be sold to the state. But the same month, Mr Habsburg announced he was going to sell the castle anyway and he submitted a letter of intent to the Brasov council. Culture Minister Adrian Iorgulescu said Mr Habsburg's asking price was "indecent and exaggerated compared to the castle's real value". Before it was returned, the ministry estimated the estate was worth some $35 million. The castle, which was built in 1212 by the Teutonic Knights, once belonged to the cruel 15th-century prince Vlad Tepes, who notoriously impaled his victims and inspired the character of Dracula in Bram Stoker's novels. Given in 1920 by the people of Brasov to Queen Mary, who turned it into her summer residence, the castle remains a vital attraction for Brasov's tourism industry. Apart from the castle, the estate includes three smaller buildings and an art collection.

Australian Military vs. The Cane Toad Intrusion

FrogWatch has escalated the battle against the cane toad in the Northern Territory, with a collection bin set up in Darwin today where residents can take the pests for humane disposal. The organisation says the Australian military is also joining the fight and will use the bins and traps on its Northern Territory bases. FrogWatch's Graeme Sawyer says the collection bin at Shoal Bay tip is the first of its kind in Darwin city.He says the toads are treated well before disposal. "The detention centres are set up as a comfort zone for toads," he said. "They've got insulated walls, water system in it, they've got a light so they can attract insects at night to feed the toads that are in it, and then we come and clear that detention centre once a week. "The toads get taken from there and get gassed with carbon dioxide and then they get stock-piled in a freezer. "When we've got a batch we put them through the fertiliser plant at Maloko and turn 'em into toad juice."

Air Force Colonel Reports Lights 'Not Of This World'

In the wake of reports of unidentified objects flying over Chicago's O'Hare Airport, a retired Air Force pilot has his own mystery with a rash of bright, colorful lights he photographed hovering in skies over western Arkansas last week. "I believe these lights were not of this world, and I feel a duty and responsibility to come forward," Col. Brian Fields told reporters. "I have no idea what they were." Fields, 61, was cooking chicken at his Van Buren, Ark., home Jan. 9 when just before 7 p.m., he observed two intensely bright lights as he looked to the southeast close to the horizon. "At first I thought they were landing lights from an aircraft," he said. "As I continued to observe them they began to slowly disappear, then suddenly one reappeared, followed by two, then three. On at least one occasion four or five appeared. Each time they would slowly fade and eventually disappear. This occurred several times and when they would reappear they might do so in differing numbers and in different positions, sometimes in a triangular shape, sometimes stacked on top of each other, sometimes line abreast, etc. When the objects appeared they might stay illuminated 10 or more minutes."Mysterious yellow lights in triangular formation seen near Van Buren, Ark. The red lights at right are from a local radio towerFields' wife thought the lights may have been ground-based, but Fields says he's certain they were airborne. The retired colonel spent close to 32 years in the military, flying F-16s as a member of the 188th Fighter Wing of the Arkansas Air National Guard. "I'm certain it wasn't an aircraft [from Earth]," said Fields, who also ruled out the possibility of flares, saying they didn't descend like flares typically do. "It's not anything I ever had any experience with . ... They were some kind of energy or something." Fields grabbed his Canon digital camera with 6 megapixel resolution to document what he and his wife were witnessing, and snapped numerous images of the mysterious lights. He says the phenomenon lasted an hour and 15 minutes, and local news agencies have not published or broadcast any reports of what the couple witnessed. Reporters surveyed local police and sheriffs agencies, as well as Fort Chaffee, a decommissioned Army base in the region, and no one reported anything out of the ordinary. "I just can't imagine other people didn't see it," Fields said, noting they appeared at times like a yo-yo at 5 to 10 degrees above the horizon. Earlier this month, the Chicago Tribune reported workers for United Air Lines said they saw a flying saucerlike object hovering "low over O'Hare International Airport for several minutes before bolting through thick clouds with such intense energy that it left an eerie hole in overcast skies." That Nov. 7 sighting took place just before sunset about 4:30 p.m.Zoomed image of mysterious yellow lightAccording to Tribune columnist Jon Hilkevitch, "All the witnesses said the object was dark gray and well defined in the overcast skies. They said the craft, estimated by different accounts to be 6 feet to 24 feet in diameter, did not display any lights. "Some said it looked like a rotating Frisbee, while others said it did not appear to be spinning. All agreed the object made no noise and it was at a fixed position in the sky, just below the 1,900-foot cloud deck, until shooting off into the clouds." When interviewed on National Public Radio about the story, Hilkevitch indicated the event was anything but a hoax. "That's what impressed me about this. All aviation professionals, very credible sources and they are very serious," Hilkevitch said. "They are not saying what they saw was a, you know, a spaceship from another planet, but it was unidentified, it was in restricted airspace, and they were concerned from a safety standpoint. That if this was something man-made, they needed to get it out of there because they were having busy flight operations in the early evening hours." Back in Arkansas, Col. Fields, who says he's a Christian who has not been a believer in alien life forms from other planets, speculated what he saw could possibly be related to ancient texts from the Bible.Zoomed image of mysterious orange lightOne of them is Luke 21:11, where Jesus discusses signs of the End Times, stating, "And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven." Another is even more ancient, going back to the time of Noah's flood. "That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. ... There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown." (Genesis 6:2-4) These Old Testament verses have been enigmatic for centuries, but many Christians believe they refer to a time in antiquity when spirit beings, perhaps angels in rebellion against God, visited Earth and had sexual relations with human women, producing "giants," which is translated from the Hebrew word "Nephilim," which some scholars say is better translated as "fallen ones." "I believe it's prophetic, something do with what's happening in the Middle East today," said Fields. "If this is some kind of event with visitation, it's entirely possible. When the anti-Christ comes into power, it's not going to be something we expect. The deception that is going to be attached to it is going to be so powerful, you're gonna have to go against your reason to reject it." While Fields cannot be certain of what it was he saw, he wants to tell people not to be deceived. "Be awake, be mindful you can be deceived," he said. "There are things that can shake our world."

Female Chimp Turns Up Pregnant At Center Where Male Chimpanzees All Get Vasectomies

It's both a surprise and a mystery. At Caddo Parish's Chimp Haven, where retired male chimpanzees all get vasectomies, a female chimp has turned up pregnant. Chimp Haven managers knew something was up when they could not find one of their chimps last week. Teresa, who's been at Chimp Haven for the past year and a half, was missing during the morning rounds. Later, she appeared with a newborn chimpanzee in her arms. "Well, we were all just a little bit surprised when we heard the news," said Linda Brent, a spokeswoman for Chimp Haven. Teresa was in a group with 17 other chimpanzees - seven of them males.Now Chimp Haven will have to determine paternity. "We're going to be doing a paternity test, just like you would do on people," Brent said. Workers have started collecting hair samples from the chimps for testing. Once they identify the father, it's back to the operating room for him. The baby chimpanzee was named Tracy and she and her mother are doing fine, Brent said. Teresa, who is in her 40s, had 10 other offspring before retiring to Chimp Haven. This is her first in 13 years. It's also the first chimpanzee born at the sanctuary although officials there hope there will be no more accidents. Teresa and her daughter will not be separated. Chimp Haven supporter Bill Robinson is sponsoring her so she can spend her life with her mother at the sanctuary, officials said.

Six Legged Cow Probably Heralds Apocalypse

Residents of the Colombian town of Villa Vieja got a bit of a surprise when a calf was born with six legs, two sets of genitals and two udders. 'The calf has six legs, two vaginas and six nipples,' explained the animal's owner, Salvador Vanegas. Vanegas, who has been raising cattle for many years, said it was the first time he has seen a calf born with that many legs and vaginas.Dozens of residents of Villa Vieja - in Colombia's central Huila province - gathered at Vanega's ranch at the weekend to see the leggy, double-vagina'd animal. 'Some people (were) horrified while looking at the calf with the six legs, but what can we do about it? This is a thing of nature,' said Julio Hector Corrales, a relative of Vanega. Corrales attributed the abnormalities in the animal to a possible lack of calcium. 'Animals don't develop as they should,' he noted.

The Truth Is Out There, Perhaps Tucked Away In A Clarksburg Native's Personal Collection

In the 1950's, UFOs, monsters, and ghost stories were part of Americana, and Clarksburg native Gray Barker was right in the middle of it. He began exhaustive research and eventually began publishing his own UFO magazine "The Saucarian". In 1956, Barker wrote his book "They Knew Too Much About Flying Saucers", and launched what today is known as the UFO conspiracy theory.The ideas of government cover-up, Men In Black, and aliens among us, were born with Gray Barker and his research. Barker passed away in 1984, but his extensive collection of books, letters, interviews, photographs, and notes are available to the public courtesy of The Clarksburg-Harrison Public Library and its Special Collections section. Regardless of your beliefs, this collection is impressive, and is a true cultural experience for anyone. Head to Clarksburg and check out the Gray Barker Collection.

Mystical Owl With Power To Turn Its Owner Into A Millionaire Has Been Sighted In India

A bizarre rumor in Jammu and Kashmir that an owl weighing over three kilograms can turn its owner into a millionaire has spread like wild fire in the rest of northern India. The Srinagar office of IANS is receiving scores of telephone calls daily from northern India, with callers desperate to know the contact numbers of the mysterious man who has offered a fortune for such owls. And at least one Hindi newspaper that carried the original story says its phone lines are literally jammed. 'Sir, I have an owl weighing 3.1 kilo. The bird is in good health and unharmed. Please tell me where is it to be delivered so that I can collect my reward,' pleaded Naresh Kumar, who said he was calling from New Delhi.Similar calls have come to the IANS office from Ludhiana and Jalandhar in Punjab, Hissar in Haryana, New Delhi and also Jammu, the winter capital of Jammu and Kashmir. Bhupinder Singh of Ludhiana said: 'I have an owl of the right weight. I am feeding rats to the bird. Where can I claim my reward?' Those making the queries about the dream merchant who floated the rumor about the million-rupee owl are not just the ordinary citizens. Many journalists too are eager to interview either the elusive owl buyer or simply some of the locals who have been braving the winter chill in Kashmir to chase an owl in the state's northern parts. That is where the rumor began. Just how, no one seems to know. 'It is such an interesting story. I want to interview somebody who went on the wild owl chase. We also need a photograph of the person. Can you help us?' a desperate journalist from Jammu asked. The beauty is that almost all the callers seemed to believe that there must be some truth to the rumor.

Icecube Explosion with Thermite

'Virgin Mary' Seen In Texas Grocery Store Freezer

We've seen the image of "Jesus" on toast. Even the "Virgin Mary" on a tree. But folks in the small West Texas town of Morton say they've seen the "Holy Mother" made of ice inside a freezer at the local grocery store. It started as one drip from the ceiling of a freezer at the Morton Thrifty Food grocery store. Now it has become quite the sanctuary for a lot of Catholic believers. "I wanted to cry when I saw it," said Stephanie Santos, who was visiting the ice formation. "My mom has all saints in her house. But this one just got to me."Store employee Alma Avalos first spotted the formation in the back freezer of her store, noticing what had been a few drops of water from the ceiling that had frozen. "I went in there, and it started forming like some kind of ice, and then Friday I went in there, and it was shaped like that," Avalos said. As more and more people heard about the "Virgin Mary," they started coming in droves to see her, and the grocery store moved her into a freezer in the frozen foods section. Some have had their prayers answered after visiting the ice statue. "I had a lump in my breast, and yesterday, when I went home, it disappeared. I don't have it no more," Santos said.

UFO Crash In Iran

Eyewitnesses told reporters that a radiant UFO had crashed in the Barez Mounts of Kerman. Abulghassem Nasrollahi, the Deputy General of the Kerman province in Iran said that all the aircraft in the area had been accounted for, but did not rule out the possibility that the object could be a meteor.Another source also told reporters that the object was on fire with thick smoke coming from it, which identified the object as not being a meteor. Abulghassem noted that a few days earlier, in Rafsanjan, a similar incident was reported by witnesses.

Beast Dwells In Murky Waters Of Lake Merritt

I've always suspected something was lurking, just below the murky green surface. Now it's been confirmed -- Oakland's Lake Merritt has a monster. Like Scotland's Loch Ness and Lake Champlain's Champ, this creature eludes all but the most vigilant observers. Richard Bailey, the resident expert, has seen the great head of the beast -- with its glowing red eyes and spiked horns."It's got six or seven humps like you'd see on the Loch Ness," he proclaims, adding that the creature measures more than 10 feet in length. Frightening? You bet! But Bailey says it's also a tourist attraction, if you don't get too close. He's sent out a letter to the City Council asking that the creature be protected as an endangered species. Perhaps the company Monster.com would like to buy the naming rights.

Police Investigating Mystery Swordsman

Police on Tyneside are seeking a man carrying a sword who came to the aid of plain clothes officers during a burglary attempt. The officers were threatened by a man with a knife after they discovered armed men trying to break into a house in Laygate, South Shields.Another man armed with a samurai sword appeared and attacked the man with the knife, before leaving the scene. Three men have been charged with aggravated burglary. One faces an additional charge of attempted wounding with intent to resist arrest.

Kim Jong Il Seeks Monster Bunnies

North Korea has given a German pensioner a contract to supply the communist state with giant rabbits to help boost meat production and ease the country's severe food shortages. The only problem for Karl Szmolinsky, who won a prize and worldwide fame for breeding German's largest rabbit - Robert, a 10.5kg bruiser the size of a dog - is that such huge rabbits consume vast quantities of food themselves as they grow. Mr Szmolinsky, from Eberswalde, in the east of Germany, was contacted by the North Korean Embassy in Berlin in October after he attracted press coverage. “They want to boost meat production. They’ve arranged for me to go to Pyongyang in April to advise them on setting up a breeding farm,” Mr Szmolinsky, who is 68 next month, told reporters.He breeds German gray giants, which are among the world’s biggest rabbits, and sells his annual crop of 60 to 80 to other breeders in Germany for between € 200 ($330) and € 250. He said that an attaché at the embassy came to his home and asked to see his rabbits. The diplomat was so impressed that he placed an order for eight females and four males, which were shipped to North Korea a few weeks later at a price of € 80 each. Robert was among the first consignment. “I don’t know how many more they want and whether I’ll be getting any more orders,” Mr Szmolinsky said. He has also received a request for rabbits from a Chinese buyer. He said he believed that the monster bunny program -one rabbit yields 7kg of meat - was aimed at feeding the North Korean people rather than the “Dear Leader”, Kim Jong Il, who is said to favor lobster.The embassy in Berlin could not be reached for comment, but the state-run news agency reported in September that people were being encouraged to breed rabbits for food. Mr Szmolinsky’s 12 rabbits, which are awaiting his arrival at a petting zoo in Pyongyang, could produce 60 babies in a year. They are unlikely to alleviate the chronic malnutrition endemic in the country of 23 million that drew condemnation when it announced a nuclear test last year. The rabbits are also voracious eaters, which is why Mr Szmolinsky said that he would not be boosting his own annual production because feeding them would be too expensive.

Poltergeist Exorcised

A mother told how she called in an exorcist when a poltergeist in her house started targeting her three-year-old boy. Beverly Sweetman was terrified when the spooky goings-on began in her then home in Catherine Street, Belgrave. She quickly contacted clergyman Rev Jack Hanson - who himself had to turn to a senior churchman with a special interest in the supernatural. The events took place in 1983, but Beverly has told her story to the Mercury for the first time after we asked readers for their tales of ghostly goings-on. Beverly, now 63 and living in Douglas Close, Thurmaston, said: "It happened very quickly over a few days. It started on a Friday when I put my son, Daniel, to bed. "I laid his clothes for the next day on the arm of the settee, in the front sitting room, but in the morning they were gone. I thought, 'Blimey, I haven't moved them, that's strange.' "The same thing happened on Sunday morning, and I spent the day turning the house upside down, but Daniel's clothes were nowhere." The moment of terror came that night, when Beverly decided to set up a deliberate test. She said: "I left Daniel's clothes out again and the two of us went to bed. In the night, I saw the clothes were gone."The hair on the back of my neck stood on end and I immediately rang my husband. I pleaded with him to come home and told him I wasn't going to stay another second in the house." She went to Rev Hanson, of Harrison Road Methodist Church. The clergyman, now 74, decided to find out what was going on himself. Clothes were placed in the room and every exit sealed with tape. The following morning, he got the shock of his life. He said: "We walked through the porch and broke the seal, and all the clothes had been thrown around the room. "I couldn't believe it. If it had been anyone else but Beverly, I would have said they were mad. I knew I was out of my depth, so I called the Canon Ken Quine, vicar of nearby St Peter's Church, in Belgrave." Canon Quine, 85, now retired and living in Glenfield, had earned a reputation for dealing with paranormal goings-on. Beverly said: "The three of us went into the room and sat in a circle, praying. Canon Quine said he saw an old Victorian woman in the corner of the room with plaited hair and beads. "He said she was getting excited, because we knew she was there. "He told her she no longer belonged in this world and was upsetting the family. "As she left, he said she'd told us, 'look after him', referring to Daniel. Canon Quine then placed a palm cross on the floor and told us to leave it there until the morning. "It was all very scary - the next morning we noticed the cross had been moved and a bin tipped over - but that was the last of it." Today, Canon Quine said: "When I was younger, I took an interest in the paranormal. "I've always believed there is a space between this world and the next. Some souls, even the good ones, sometimes lose their way."

Giant Owl Attacks!

A Giant owl that devours foxes and small deer is terrorising shoppers and drinkers in a town centre. It launches itself off high roofs and swoops on passers-by with talons outstretched. Late-night shoppers and revellers even take taxis to avoid falling “prey” to the eagle owl, which has a 5ft wingspan. It set up home on the roof of Middlesbrough train station in September — but turned nasty over Christmas. Craig Smith told how the bird swooped on him from behind as he ran through the station car park to catch a train from the Teesside town. He recalled: “I heard a loud woo-woo noise and looked over my shoulder to see this creature with silver wings, claws stretched out. “I ran as fast as I could on to the platform and it flew away. “On Christmas Eve I saw it go for a man coming out of a pub and chase him down the street.”Another victim dad-of-four Mark Fryett, 40, had to fight the bird off. He said: “I was leaving work when I heard a hoot and a whoosh and saw this big white face coming at me. “I put my arm up and hit its wing and it fell on the floor, but got up again and flew off. “I was really shaken up. It was like something out of Harry Potter — I thought it was going to pick me up! I went home and called police, but I think they thought I was drunk.” Mark said that, eerily, he saw the owl again the next day on the Chamber of Commerce building. He recalled: “It was perched on the side of a building, watching me.” Experts say the bird is capable of killing a fox or small deer and warn pet owners to watch their animals. Rachael Stewart, of the Kirkleatham Owl Centre in Redcar, North Yorks, said: “We think it must have escaped from a travelling show. “Volunteers have tried to catch it a couple of times. It’s not dangerous to people but it will have to hunt to survive. It could easily kill a cat or small dog.”

Lalu Sends A Ghost After Nitish

Is there any connection between a ghost and the pruning of a mango tree at the Bihar Chief Minister's official residence here under which Railway Minister Lalu Prasad once luxuriated on balmy summer evenings? Prasad would have us believe so, as at the time of vacating the 1, Anne Marg residence, he had said he had tied a ghost to the tree to keep troubling new incumbent Nitish Kumar. "Now that they have cut the branches of the tree, the ghost will cut short Nitish Kumar's rule," Prasad told reporters in an informal chat at 10, Circular Road, the new residence of his wife, Leader of Opposition Rabri Devi.When it was pointed out that Kumar claimed not to believe in superstition, Prasad quipped, "Sab bekaar baat hai (it is all nonsense). Why else has the administrator of the state Religious Trust Board appointed by the chief minister organised so many recitals of Hanuman Chalisa at the Mahavir temple at the behest of Kumar every day?" When asked to comments on the matter at a press conference, Kumar was first reluctant to speak but later insisted that the branches were cut at the suggestion of the director general of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, who wanted to graft another kind of mango to create a new variety of the fruit. "Woh ab khud bhootpoorva ho gaye hain is liye bhoot ki baat karte hain (Prasad has become a thing of the past and so loves talking about ghosts)," Kumar shot back.

Unsolicited Exorcism Results In Arrest

A man accused of trying to exorcise the devil from a star of "Days of Our Lives" after bursting into his Malibu backyard pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges of battery and entering private property without permission. In addition, a judge granted a restraining order sought by actor Drake Hogestyn against Carl Raymond Cheney of Oregon, who entered his plea in Los Angeles Superior Court. Hogestyn, who plays John Black on the NBC soap, said in his request for the order that he was on a ladder when Cheney ran at his daughter screaming, "'Where is he? I will cast him out."' Cheney clutched a bible while recalling an episode of the soap about demonic possession, the documents state, adding that the intruder also grabbed Hogestyn's wife and pushed her backward.Hogestyn said he jumped from the ladder and intercepted the intruder. "I grabbed him by the hair, spun him around, delivered a right cross to the chin that sent him down the stairs," the actor said. "This sick person Carl Raymond Cheney believed that Satan was in me and that he was the Christ," he wrote. Hogestyn and his son restrained the man with duct tape until police arrived and arrested him. After entering his plea, Cheney was released on his own recognizance and ordered to stay with his father. He was also ordered to undergo psychological counseling and take his prescribed medications.

Stephen Hawking In Space

The acclaimed British physicist Professor Stephen Hawking is planning a flight into space to mark his 65th birthday. "This year I'm planning a zero-gravity flight and to go into space in 2009," the scientist, who is most famous for his 1988 international best-seller "A Brief History of Time", told reporters.A "zero-gravity flight" is one in which an aeroplane flies in such a way as to render its passengers temporarily weightless, mimicking the conditions in space. Hawking's trip outside the earth's atmosphere depends on the progress of British tycoon Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic space tourism programme, which aims to carry passengers into low-Earth orbit from next year.

The Bicycle Jetpack

A cyclist hits the road with the Thrustpac – a gas-driven propeller which enables bicycle users to hit speeds of up to 130kph (80mph). The device is controlled by a special glove which allows the rider to accelerate or slow down simply by flexing their index finger.Inventor Don Burgess said it can do 240km (150 miles) to the gallon, making it one of the most-fuel efficient modes of transport. Except, you know, actually cycling. 'This is a totally unique concept in the transportation world today,' said Burgess. 'The freedom from high fuel prices, the absolute fun of the wind in your hair while being pushed along effortlessly is amazing. Saving the environment has never been so much fun.'

Jesus Appears At Australian Railway Station

First it was an image of the Virgin Mary on a beachside fence post. Now a humble railway station on Sydney's North Shore could become the city's next religious attraction, with commuters convinced they are seeing an apparition of Jesus Christ on the side of a platform. The ghostly image appears in a patch of eroded paint on platform two at Waverton with what looks like the eyes of a bearded man staring out at travellers on city-bound trains. One commuter is convinced the image is that of Jesus Christ. Others say it looks more like playwright William Shakespeare.No matter who the image looks like, there is apparently a down-to-earth explanation. The rectangle of white appears to have been painted by railway workers years ago. Rain has eroded some of the paint, with moss adding to the optical illusion. The latest image comes four years after hundreds of Christians flocked to Coogee to see what they believed was an apparition of the Virgin Mary.The image appeared at a distance when the sun's rays hit a white fence at 3pm. It's discovery led to a wave of vandal attacks on the fence. The appearance of the face at the station comes a year before Pope Benedict XVI is due to visit Sydney for World Youth Day. About 350,000 Catholics are expected to descend on Sydney for the papal visit.

The Man Who Died 31 Times

A Norwich electrician who was brought back from the dead a staggering 31 times in less than an hour has thanked the paramedics who refused to let him die. Derek Jones, who celebrated his 55th birthday recently, astonished medics by surviving a series of potentially fatal heart attacks after being taken ill at work. The grandfather-of-two, who lives in Hellesdon, was on his way to an electrical job in Sheringham when he began to feel unwell. “I had a pain down the front of my chest and felt really hot. By the time I got to Sheringham, I felt terrible. I met my friend Martin (Baldry) at the job, he took one look at me and called the ambulance,” said Derek, who has two daughters, Katrina, 30, and Melissa, 24. “I didn't have a clue what was happening to me, I thought it was something to do with a neck problem I've got. It didn't even cross my mind that I was having a heart attack.”East of England Ambulance Service paramedics Chris Hawkins and Toby Reid arrived within six minutes of Martin's 999 call and immediately took an ECG (electrocardiogram) reading which confirmed that Derek had suffered a heart attack. Derek was transferred to an ambulance to begin the 27-mile trip to the Norwich and Norfolk University Hospital. Five miles into the journey, his heart rate slowed to a life-threatening level. He was immediately defibrillated, using a machine which administers an electric shock to the heart in order to re-establish a normal rhythm, and a third paramedic, Colin Woolacott, arrived in a rapid response vehicle to offer back-up. For the remainder of the journey to hospital, Derek had a heart attack roughly every minute and required an incredible 30 further electric shocks. “I've never encountered anything like it,” said Toby, who has been a paramedic for four years, “we would shock him and then he would come back, talk to us for a short period, and then it would happen again. “Nearly every time his heart arrested I thought we wouldn't get him back, but we did.” Unusually, Derek remembers several of the electric shocks administered to save his life. “I thought I was in the middle of a nightmare and I tried to fight the paramedics off. In my line of work I've had plenty of electric shocks, but nothing like this.”Chris, who has worked for the service for six years, added: “It was incredibly dramatic. You just couldn't believe that he kept fighting. We attend a great deal of heart attacks and if you give someone more than two or three electric shocks it's unlikely that they're going to survive.” Heart specialists at the NNUH had been alerted to Derek's arrival, and were waiting to take over from Chris, Toby and Colin when t