Curious
Times No. 352
June 8, 2006
JESUS -- BIG IN JAPAN
If the Da Vinci Code marketing onslaught has got you interested
in the hidden life of Christ, you’ll love the news from a
small farming village in norther Japan where Jesus is said to
have spent most of his life. For over 2000 years locals in the
village of Shingo, Japan have passed down the legend that Jesus
spent most of his life in Japan, arriving as a young man at the
age of 21 and returning to Judea 12 years later in order to preach
about “the holy land of Japan.” The legend also claims
that Jesus’ brother was the one who was actually crucified,
leaving Jesus free to return to Japan where he married a local
woman named Miyuko and lived out his time happily to the ripe
old age of 106. And if you need proof you can travel to Shingo
to view the plot of land where Jesus is buried. (Times
Online)
THE ONLY PROBLEM IS YOU CAN NEVER FIND THE DAMN THING
The advances in the development of “invisibility cloaks”
continues with researchers claiming that we are within five years
of perfecting a cloak which will make objects disappear. Two separate
research groups have published technical blueprints for the creation
of “metamaterials” which can change how light travels
around an object in order to create the illusion that the object
simply is not there. “All light or other electromagnetic
waves are swept around the area, guided by the metamaterial to
emerge on the other side as if they had passed through an empty
volume of space,” said Professor David Smith of Duke University.
Not surprisingly, Smith’s research has received funding from
the U.S. military, which hopes to use the technology to cloak
military hardware in strategic locations. According to the science,
there would be no limit to the size of an object which could be
hidden using these materials. (The
Guardian)
THIS
IS YOUR ART ON DRUGS
Check out the cool webpage at Zipped.org/misc/stuff.php?vln=5
which has posted nine drawings made by a subject under the influence
of LSD during a U.S. government experiment carried out during
the 1950s. According to the site, “the artist was given a
dose of LSD 25 and free access to an activity box full of crayons
and pencils. His subject is the medico that jabbed him.”
IF
THEY’RE SO SMART, WHY DO THEY BOIL MEAT?
A new study of IQ scores in Europe claims that Germans are the
smartest Europeans, followed by the Dutch, Poles, Swedes and Italians.
The British newspaper which reported this news didn’t spend
too much time talking about the brainiacs in Germany however,
choosing to focus on the fact that the British, who landed in
eighth place, are way smarter than the French, who finished a
miserable 19th. The man who carried out this research, Professor
Richard Lynn of the University of Ulster, also found that people
in large cities are smarter than rural folks because intelligent
people are more likely to move to the cities. He also claimed
that countries with cold climates have more intelligent citizens,
probably because their ancestors had to develop more brain power
in order to find food in harsher conditions. Last year Professor
Lynn caused controversy by claiming that men were more intelligent
than woman, averaging about 5 extra IQ points. (The
Times)
SCOOBY
DOO, WHERE ARE YOU?
A ghost in India which had been terrorizing people in several
villages for the past month has been captured by police. The “ghost”
turned out to be a pigeon with a plastic skull necklace wrapped
around its body. (Times
of India)
YOU
CAN CALL ME WHATEVER YOU WANT... JUST CALL ME!
A psychologist in California has created a new word for us to
add to our dictionary of neurosis. Ringxiety: the false belief
that you can hear your cell phone ringing or vibrating. According
to Dr. David Laramie, people have grown “emotionally dependent”
on their cell phones for feelings of self-worth, causing us to
be so desperate not to miss a call that we “hear” our
phones ringing even when they are not... thus “ringxiety.”
Go ahead and try to crowbar that into your conversation... (News.com.au)
THAT’S HOW SHE GOT THE JOB IN THE FIRST PLACE
A female DJ on a radio show in Germany is suing her ex-boss for
unfair dismissal after she was fired for dressing too sexily on
the air. “My boss told me that my skirts were too short and
my tops too low,” said DJ Lady Ray, 25. “But I don’t
understand it, it’s not as if any of the listeners can see
me and my breasts don’t speak into the microphone.”
(Ananova)
WHO NEEDS AN ALIBI?
When 88-year-old Deo Dubbs was arrested for drug possession, he
readily admitted guilt. "I really have nothing else to do,"
he told police, "I get lonely and get tired of watching the
tube." (UPI)
I-READ-IT-ON-THE-INTERNET-SO-IT-MUST-BE-TRUE FACT OF THE WEEK
Playing Meatloaf's "Bat Out of Hell" non-stop makes
plants grow faster.
Click
here to join the Curious Times e-mail list and get all the Bizarro
News direct to your inbox each week.
