The popular origin of the griffin as inspired by Protoceratops dinosaur fossils is questioned. Can we ever really know for sure if there is a connection?
Category: Spooky Geology
Listen: In Research Of… San Andreas
Musing on the 1979 episode of In Search Of episode about the San Andreas fault and earthquake movies.
Fantasy metals – not all Bolognium
Exploring fantasy metals in media highlights their ubiquitous role as story elements with qualities such as rarity, strength, and magical powers. Used in education, they exemplify impossible chemistries to contrast with real-world elements. Unobtainium, Adamantium, Vibranium, and Mithril serve as plot devices while Orichalcum, Dilithium, and Red Mercury exist as quasi-real earth materials clouded by extraordinary myths.
Uh oh, earthquakes add to these Strange Times
The earthquakes in New Jersey were unexpected and frightening. The events added to the general nervousness from the population prone to catastrophe thinking.
Eclipse Anxiety 2024
Amidst misinformation surrounding the April 8 solar eclipse, many in the US succumb to unfounded fears. While eclipses are natural, predictable phenomena, rumors of catastrophes, like earthquakes and power outages, persist. Authorities prepare for human, not celestial, issues as crowds gather to view the event. Though there isn’t a connection between such natural events and disasters, superstitions and doomsday predictions thrive, exploiting public misunderstanding and religious sentiments.
Moodus: The Place of Bad Noises
Machimoodus is historically well-known as the literal “place of bad noises” based on native legends that were subsequently both promoted and twisted by colonists in New England. Today, the Moodus noises of East Haddam, Connecticut are still a popular tale as people interested in natural anomalies hope to hear them when they visit.
The Curse of the Souvenir Rock
Popular lore warns that if you take a rock or object from a sacred land, a curse will fall upon you until you return the object. Find out the origin and purpose of the curse legends. Video presentation.
When every flash is an earthquake light, we have lost the plot
Media outlets label electrical flashes during earthquakes as “earthquake lights”.
Rapid deep freeze can lead to frost quakes
Frost quakes can occur when water saturated ground undergoes rapid deep freezing. The energy release causes noise and shaking.
Blowholes and a dragon’s nose
Blowholes are natural features created by air pressure. A popular video said to be a “dragon’s nose” is likely a blowhole.
Tiny earthquake rattles hundreds of New Yorkers
A small quake was a big surprise and caused concerns for some city residents and first responders.
Wrath of Pele
The legend of Pele is relatively well known even outside of Hawaii. Her wrath, tears, hair, curses and legends are explored here.
Islands of the Dead are eroding
Coastal erosion reveals human remains on spooky islands that served as mass graves long ago. The natural disinterment is happening in New York City and in the UK.
Media hypes questionable “mysterious” earthquake lights
The earthquake in Morocco generated exaggerated claims and subsequent news coverage of “earthquake lights” as well as faked videos and conspiracy ideas.
Earthquake lights (pseudoEQLs) video from India
Social media accounts shared video of “earthquake lights” that appeared near Delhi, India after the Hindu Kush quake on 21-March. But the lights were not what was described in the media. They were, instead, reflection of nearby commercial lights on clouds.
Anomalous claims from Turkey-Syria earthquake 2023
Many images and videos came out of the affected area in southern and central Turkey and western Syria from the February 6, 2023 series of quakes. Included were MANY inaccuracies, misattributed content, conspiracies, and pseudoscientific claims being shared and promoted by non-experts.
Viral videos of electric rocks
January 22, 2023 was the height of a wave of social media posts about what people claimed were “electric rocks” found in the DR of Congo. A video showed a close up of someone touching two rocks together and producing a strong electric spark. The clip was widely shared and accumulated millions of views. But it was not as it appeared.
Yummy Rocks
Fun images showing rock and mineral specimens that resemble yummy food, good enough to eat. Check out this forbidden food smorgasbord!
Paranormal Vortex Areas
It’s a common claim by paranormalists that there are special places on earth where “energy” whirls are responsible for strange phenomena reported at those locations. They are called paranormal or energy “vortex” areas. The crystallization of the “vortex” idea in this context began with a popular proponent of mysterious subjects who identified twelve equidistant areas around the globe with peculiar characteristics. Since then, the idea of a paranormal vortex has evolved.
Devils Hole
Many sites have been given the creepy name of “Devils Hole”. The most famous Hole is in Death Valley, Nevada where a notch in the rock reveals an oasis of ancient groundwater in the otherwise brutally dry desert landscape. The cave opening is unusual, the water level responds to seismic events around the world, the underground passageways are complex and its depth is unknown. The opening in the desert sparked strange thoughts from one of the most disturbed criminal minds of our time, claimed lives, and hosts a rare species.