Category Archives: Anomalies

Fake tiger tales and other plush hoaxes

By | July 28, 2020

Police in the Steyning area of West Sussex, England, were called to a public park on the evening of July 23, 2020 to respond to a report of a big cat on the loose. The Horsham police were likely familiar with the popular idea that large, non-native, “alien big cats” are roaming the UK. Hundreds… Read More »

Faces in Places: Mimetoliths

By | May 17, 2020

Rock formations that look like faces are called “mimetoliths”. Faces in rock can accrue great cultural significance as land marks. Societies place spiritual meaning into features that appear meaningful because they resemble a human form.

Devil’s Corkscrews

By | December 14, 2019

In the late 19th century, settlers came across bizarre, giant “stone screws” vertically embedded in the ground. Flummoxed as to what could cause such structures, the locals named them the “devil’s corkscrews”. Paleontologists would argue for over nearly a century about what they really were.

Dead bulls generate media BS

By | October 9, 2019

News outlets have picked up and run with the story of five bulls (Hereford bovines) that have died under mysterious circumstances near Salem, Oregon last July. I’m not sure why this is getting attention again now except for the obvious – that ideas about aliens are back in the public consciousness thanks to a whole… Read More »

Doubt and About: Revisiting Fort and more short book opinions

By | December 1, 2018

It’s been a long while since I did a “doubt and about” post detailing what’s going on. I’m in a weird space right now. I don’t really feel like talking about anything but I also want to share some things. Going by that last sentence, I am admitting that I am inconsistent. I have internal… Read More »

The Doubtful Witness: You don’t really know what you saw

By | September 14, 2018

How often have you heard someone say “I know what I saw”. Observations and remembrances of events are deeply flawed but we still rely on our memory to give us a true account and we believe reports of eyewitnesses. These accounts are the primary evidence put forward in support of paranormal reality. Those who believe… Read More »

The Doubtful Witness: Masefield’s Montrose ghost story

By | September 14, 2018

The primary evidence put forward in support of paranormal reality are accounts of witnesses. Those who believe in the reality of UFOs, Bigfoot, or ghosts are heavily influenced by seemingly legitimate and truthful tellings of strange events people say happened to them. They also contend that there are so many accounts that “there must be… Read More »

UFO reports declining: Several social factors involved

By | July 2, 2018

An article in Gizmodo today focused on the question of why UFO sightings (reported to NUFORC and MUFON – the major U.S. organizations who record these claims) are in decline since 2012 – a 30 to 40 percent drop from 2012 to 2017. When Jennings Brown, the journalist, contacted me Friday to talk about it,… Read More »

Sometimes, an alien artifact is just a rock

By | January 3, 2018

Paranormal investigators often lament the lack of scientific interest in anomalous or paranormal claims. Many have stated they want to contribute to a shift in thinking about these anomalies, to “prove to science” (or scientists) that “the paranormal” exists. Some want to “change the science”. None of this makes any sense, though, since science is… Read More »

Cryptozoology “expert” called in to look for Maine serpent (UPDATED: Snakeskin found)

By | August 22, 2016

Back in June, locals of Westbrook, Maine said they saw a large snake slithering around. After no sign of the beast a week later, a Westbrook police officer witnessed it eating something near Riverbank Park on the Presumpscot River. A second officer called in also saw it. From their Facebook page: On 6-29-16 at about 0330… Read More »

The 1988 US Army commissioned report on Enhancing Human Performance

By | February 6, 2015

It was news to me that back in 1985, the US Army commissioned an analysis of certain techniques that were proposed to enhance human performance. The Army Research Institute asked the National Academies to form a committee to examine these questionable strategies. The report is available here where you can read it for free. Enhancing… Read More »

Sykes paper is a clarion call for higher standards for cryptozoology

By | July 2, 2014

The highly anticipated paper from B. Skyes regarding DNA testing of anomalous primates has been published and is, thankfully, freely accessible. In 2012, the team from University of Oxford and the Museum of Zoology, Lausanne, put out a call for samples of suspected anomalous primates – Yeti, Bigfoot/Sasquatch, Almasty, orang pendek. The samples, if accepted,… Read More »

The Mystery of the Sky Noises

By | August 31, 2013

The world is a noisy place these days. Strange sounds abound. The paranormal/Fortean media outlets were abuzz about the strange sounds from the sky starting in the summer of 2011. These “sky noises” are anomalous sounds that appear to be emanating from above, and do not sound like your everyday planes, trains or automobiles (so people say).… Read More »

Did zoo animals predict the Virginia earthquake? Look closer.

By | August 26, 2011

A day after the east coast earthquake (now forever to be remembered by me as “the best birthday present ever!”), the Smithsonian issued a press release about the behavior of animals at the National Zoo, more than 80 miles from the epicenter of the quake. Some media outlets reported on the news as “animals go… Read More »

Stunning findings about origin of mountain lion killed in Connecticut

By | July 27, 2011

In a followup to the news that a mountain lion was found, Connecticut officials have reported some “amazing” news. They said that the Connecticut Cougar had made its way east from the Black Hills of South Dakota and that genetic testing matched samples of an animal confirmed as having been in Wisconsin and Minnesota. That means… Read More »