My last attempt at keeping away from religion and politics failed so I am going with my last remaining obsession: Fortean phenomena.
Reports are coming in of a shower of frogs in Serbia.
This is perhaps the archetypal Fortean motif and it hs been a while since it has manifested. Good to see it back - clearly Fortean events such as this are 'Biblical' in nature and real occurrences of these phenomena may even have provided the impetus for the ancient myths.
Good also to see the archetypal 'scientist' explaining it all away with wave of his scientific (not magic) wand. ,The antidote to this type of non-thinking is simply to read Chrales Fort's own writings on the subject.
I remember when I was young a fall of walnuts which was localised in a neighbour's garden and twice we awoke to find the exterior of the house, lawn and balconies covered with red dust from the Sahara (or so they say - those were whirlwinds too allegedly).
Fort has other accounts which would seem to preclude this whirlwind theory - which is shaky at best - antique Chinese seals (Ming) falling over Ireland, all in pristine condition.
Something's going on up there.
Reports are coming in of a shower of frogs in Serbia.
Quote:
Belgrade - Thousands of tiny frogs rained on a town in northwestern Serbia, Belgrade daily Blic reported on Tuesday.
Strong winds brought storm clouds over Odzaci, 120km north-west of Belgrade, on Sunday afternoon, but instead of rain, down came the tiny amphibians, witnesses said.
"I saw countless frogs fall from the sky," said Odzaci resident Aleksandar Ciric.
The frogs, different from those usually seen in the area, survived the fall and hopped around in search of water.
Belgrade climatologist Slavisa Ignjatovic described the phenomenon as "not very unusual".
"A wind resembling a tornado can suck in anything light enough from the surface or shallow water. Usually it is just dust, but sometimes also larger objects," Ignjatovic told Blic. - Sapa-dpa
Strong winds brought storm clouds over Odzaci, 120km north-west of Belgrade, on Sunday afternoon, but instead of rain, down came the tiny amphibians, witnesses said.
"I saw countless frogs fall from the sky," said Odzaci resident Aleksandar Ciric.
The frogs, different from those usually seen in the area, survived the fall and hopped around in search of water.
Belgrade climatologist Slavisa Ignjatovic described the phenomenon as "not very unusual".
"A wind resembling a tornado can suck in anything light enough from the surface or shallow water. Usually it is just dust, but sometimes also larger objects," Ignjatovic told Blic. - Sapa-dpa
This is perhaps the archetypal Fortean motif and it hs been a while since it has manifested. Good to see it back - clearly Fortean events such as this are 'Biblical' in nature and real occurrences of these phenomena may even have provided the impetus for the ancient myths.
Good also to see the archetypal 'scientist' explaining it all away with wave of his scientific (not magic) wand. ,The antidote to this type of non-thinking is simply to read Chrales Fort's own writings on the subject.
Quote:
Of all the incredibilities that we have to choose from, I give first place to a notion of a whirlwind pouncing upon a region and scrupulously selecting a turtle and a piece of alabaster. This time, the other mechanical thing `there in the first place' can not rise in response to its stimulus: it is resisted in that these objects were [86/87] coated with ice--month of May in a southern state. If a whirlwind at all, there must have been very limited selection: there is no record of the fall of other objects. But there is no attempt in the Review to specify a whirlwind.
Even arguing that a whirlwind may stand still axially, it discharges tangentially. Wherever the fishes came from it does not seem thinkable that some could have fallen and that others could have whirled even a tenth of a minute, then falling directly after the first to fall. Because of these evil circumstances the best adaptation was to laugh the whole thing off and say that some one had soused some one else with a pailful of water, in which a few "very young minnows" had been caught up.
Even arguing that a whirlwind may stand still axially, it discharges tangentially. Wherever the fishes came from it does not seem thinkable that some could have fallen and that others could have whirled even a tenth of a minute, then falling directly after the first to fall. Because of these evil circumstances the best adaptation was to laugh the whole thing off and say that some one had soused some one else with a pailful of water, in which a few "very young minnows" had been caught up.
I remember when I was young a fall of walnuts which was localised in a neighbour's garden and twice we awoke to find the exterior of the house, lawn and balconies covered with red dust from the Sahara (or so they say - those were whirlwinds too allegedly).
Fort has other accounts which would seem to preclude this whirlwind theory - which is shaky at best - antique Chinese seals (Ming) falling over Ireland, all in pristine condition.
Something's going on up there.
What is Faith? When your good deed pleases you and your evil deed grieves you, you are a believer. What is Sin? When a thing disturbs the peace of your heart, give it up - Prophet Muhammad
What is Faith? When your good deed pleases you and your evil deed grieves you, you are a believer. What is Sin? When a thing disturbs the peace of your heart, give it up - Prophet Muhammad
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