Category: Mysteries
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Psychical Research
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from Chambers Dictionary of the Unexplained The scientific investigation of claims of psychic powers and paranormal events. Interest in psychic phenomena was stimulated during the 19th century, particularly by the rise of the spiritualism movement. This coincided with the development of ‘scientism’ and a growing belief that science could provide the answers to questions about…
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PARANORMAL PHENOMENA / THEORY
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from Elsevier’s Dictionary of Psychological Theories = extra-sensory perception = parapsychology = psi phenomena. The paranormal class of effects refers to supernatural events/results (“beyond the normal”) that are inexplicable by the usual laws of science and/or reason. The related terms extra-sensory perception (ESP) (including clairvoyance, precogni-tion, and telepathy) and psychokinesis (PK) are generic terms for various hypothetical…
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If UFOs are alien spaceships, how did they get here?
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The truth is out there. Key Takeaways Space is really, really big, and aliens are not magic. These are the two critical points to consider if you really want to think about UFOs as spacecraft from distant star systems. They are also the most important points to consider if you want…
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Wormholes Could be Portals to Other Universes—Here’s What One Might Look Like
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Representative image of a black hole. iStock Wormholes are theoretical objects that could serve as portals between two points in space and time. Some believe they could even act as passageways to other universes. But if one did exist, what would it look like? Roman Konoplya, a theoretical physicist with the…
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What Were the Mysterious “Foo Fighters” Sighted by WWII Night Flyers?
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Something strange was following the Beaufighter crews of the 415th Night Fighter Squadron. Toward the end of World War 2, mission updates from the 415th Night Fighter Squadron took a mysterious turn. Along with details of dogfights over the German-occupied Rhine Valley, pilots began reporting inexplicable lights following their aircraft. One night…
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Messages to and from Outer Space
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As the 20th century began, interest in the potential of life on Mars and the possible civilizations there lead to a search for signals. Could we communicate with another planet? How might we look for signals and messages from other worlds? An 1896 newspaper article titled “A Signal from Mars” offered one example of…
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Seeing and Interpreting Martian Oceans and Canals
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Did you know that in the 19th century it was widely believed that the other planets in our solar system were likely inhabited? At the same time, the quality of telescopes was rapidly increasing, making it possible for astronomers to see and sketch the incredible details of the geography of…
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Peoples & Creatures of the Moon
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Humans have long imagined the kinds of creatures or peoples that might live on Earth’s moon. This section briefly describes ideas about lunar life in the 17th, 19th the 20th centuries through a series of items from the Library of Congress’ collections. By examining ideas about life on the moon,…
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UFOs and Aliens Among Us
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In the 1940s and 50s reports of “flying saucers” became an American cultural phenomena. Sightings of strange objects in the sky became the raw materials for Hollywood to present visions of potential threats. Posters for films, like Earth vs. the Flying Saucers from 1956 illustrate these fears. Connected to ongoing ideas about life on the…
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The Wow! Signal Might Not Have Been Aliens—But a Weird Cosmic Outburst
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A new explanation for the Wow! signal suggests it was a chance detection of a furious flare crashing into a hydrogen cloud. But some researchers doubt that this idea has truly cracked the case. Picked up by the Big Ear radio telescope at Ohio State University on August 15, 1977,…
