Monthly Archives: December 2006

AmericanMonsters.Com

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AmericanMonsters.Com is a site on cryptozoology (i.e., people who believe in Bigfoot, etc.) The site doesn’t post news as frequently as similar sites, but seems to go for higher quality news, such as the search for more specimens of a recently discovered species of leech in New Jersey,

It’s been about three years since an Alloway, Salem County, woman contacted Shain with a question about the weird leech her husband collected from their back yard. It ate earthworms, opening its tiny mouth wide enough to swallow them whole.

Shain is one of the very few leech experts in the country, a guy who goes around the world on expeditions to collect specimens in the wild. But he had never seen anything like the 10-inch-long creature hand-delivered to his door.

The site also has fairly comprehensive resources on various cryptozoological stuff, such as Lake Monsters (which are, elsewhere, deliciously referred to as “aquatic anomoalies.”)

WikiDumper

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WikiDumper is a blog that collects the best Wikipedia entries that are on the verge of being deleted from Wikipedia, typically because the topics are obscure or pointless (such as a list of animal sounds).

The blog is worth following if only for highlighting the bizarre corners of human thought. For example, if I hadn’t been reading WikiDumper, I’d have probably never heard about 9/11 uber-conspiracy theory, the Hologram Theory.

The Hologram Theory claims,

…that south tower (WTC2) was not hit by a large Boeing 767-200 (flight UA175) but by a USAF cruise missile or drone with a large holographic cloak around it that made it look like a flight UA175, i.e. a flying deception.

The proponents of the theory go to great lengths to imagine some secret, as-yet-unknown holographic technology that could accomplish this, though if it really were a missile camouflaged by holography, I’m betting its the fault of our reptilian alien overlords.

The amusing thing is that more “respectable” conspiracy theorists are upset that “fringe” conspiracy theories like the Hologram Theory make the run-of-the-mill Bush/The Jews/Trilateral Commission/Fill-In-The-Blank conspiracies look even nuttier than normal.

McSweeney’s Indiana Jones Rejection Letter

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McSweeney’s asks (and answers) what would happen if Indiana Jones applied for a university position in anthropology,

Demonstrates suitable experience and expertise in chosen field:

The committee concurred that Dr. Jones does seem to possess a nearly superhuman breadth of linguistic knowledge and an uncanny familiarity with the history and material culture of the occult. However, his understanding and practice of archaeology gave the committee the greatest cause for alarm. Criticisms of Dr. Jones ranged from “possessing a perceptible methodological deficiency” to “practicing archaeology with a complete lack of, disregard for, and colossal ignorance of current methodology, theory, and ethics” to “unabashed grave-robbing.” Given such appraisals, perhaps it isn’t surprising to learn that several Central and South American countries recently assembled to enact legislation aimed at permanently prohibiting his entry.

Moreover, no one on the committee can identify who or what instilled Dr. Jones with the belief that an archaeologist’s tool kit should consist solely of a bullwhip and a revolver.