The first reported attempted extraterrestrial abduction of a human being occurred in Stockton, United States of America in 1896. On November 27, 1896, it was reported within the Stockton version of the Daily Mail news publication that while driving within the Californian countryside through Lodi, United States of America, Colonel Henry Gould Shaw stumbled upon a landed extraterrestrial spacecraft with intelligent life. Shaw claims he was approached by 3 slender humanoid creatures, each nearly 7′ tall, with “large lustrious” eyes, small and slender hands with no nails, narrow ape like feet which could grasp objects, who emitted a strange “warbling noise” like a “guttural, monotonous chant”, and who wore no discernible clothing, instead covered in a fine, downy like fuzz which was neither hair nor feather and had a soft feel. Shaw attempted to pick one of the individuals up by the elbow when directly interacting and accounts that the being weighed less than 1 gram. Peculiarly, these individuals possessed small mouths with no teeth as it appeared the mouths of these beings were not used for eating and/or drinking due to the fact that Shaw states they sustained themselves with gas ported within a satchel with a hose to extract the gas from. Shaw describes these creatures as having a “strange and indescribable beauty” and accounts that they emitted a bright light, not so bright that it could not be directly viewed, but rather a comfortable, warm light. The beings migrated back to their craft in a strange, swaying motion, not at all alike to walking, with their feet only touching the ground in intervals of 15′. Prior to departure, Shaw attempted to throw a rock at the craft but reports it made no sound upon impact. Shaw accounts that these beings initially attempted to force him aboard the craft but gave up once they had realized the strength and resistance of Shaw due to the fear he experienced. Shaw describes the craft as completely without features aside from a rudder and pointed edges and estimates this craft to be 20′ in diameter and 150′ in total length
Tag: rock
Tudor Period Mining and Metal Smelting
During the Tudor period, lead was utilized to build roofs and windows because it was easily mailable and resistive to corrosion. Farmers would mine for lead during the summer months when their crops did not need tending to in order to generate additional income. Mining during the summer months could earn an extra £5.00 which equates to £25,000 as of 2012 when accounting for inflation. Entire families often worked within the mines because 50 barrels worth of ore and soil would be extracted per day to meet the quota of what was required to be profitable. Smelting involved the use of white coal which is effectively dried wood from a kiln and was always setup upon windy hilltops or mountains because the wind would cause the fire blaze with more intensity therefore reaching higher overall temperatures. The best wood to make white coal is oak. Kilns must be airtight, so gaps were filled with clay. Knowing a kiln to be airtight was easily verifiable by searching for smoke as if smoke only came out of only the front entrance, the kiln was considered airtight. Ore was smashed into small pieces to help it smelt more rapidly which yielded approximately an 80% return upon investment. Metals were then refined using a secondary kiln, and smelted to remove any ash or impurities. The first burn removes ore from the rock, and the second burn removes impurities with the main impurity being sulphur. Molds were constructed using sand and wood to create divots which allowed the ore to be molded into blocks much the same as a modern day bar of gold. The sand gives the mold an indentation which archeologists use to identify Medieval bars of smelted ore
Civilizations Mastery of Metal By Manipulating Fire
The more carbon rich a fuel is, the more heat it produces. Typical wood fires burn at 700 degrees Celsius, however 6000 years ago, ancient people discovered the adaptation of burning wood in a low oxygen environment, only partially burning, but in doing so creating a much purer carbon rich fuel; charcoal. Charcoal can burn at temperatures upwards of 1100 degrees Celsius, hot enough to melt ore out of rock. The mastering of metal produced tools, finance, and weaponry, forever changing the evolutionary story of human beings. By the Middle Ages, the production of charcoal for metal smelting and metal work was a major industry
The Oldest Artwork in Human History
Near the Ardeche River (pronounced “arr-desh”) in southern France, less than 0.5 kilometers away, 3 explorers set out a few days before Christmas in 1994. While seeking drafts of air emanating from the ground which would point to the presence of caves, these explorers found a subtle airflow which was blockaded by rocks. The explorers found a narrow shaft which was cut into the cliffside, so narrow in fact that their bodies could just barely squeeze through it. Deep inside the cave the explorers stumbled upon the oldest known cave paintings in human history, twice as old as any other artistic depiction made by human hands. The cave itself had been perfectly sealed for tens of thousands of years which is why this 32,000 year old artwork was found in pristine condition. In honor of the lead discover Jean-Marie Chauvet (pronounced “zhan mah-ree sho-vee”), the cave was named “Chauvet Cave”. The French Ministry of Culture controls all access to the cave, an intervention which was rapidly implemented as this discovery was immediately understood as an enormous scientific find, perhaps one of the greatest anthropological and artistic discoveries ever made. Scientists and art historians are typically the only members of the public permitted access to Chauvet Cave, with archeologists, paleontologists, and geologists being the most common interdisciplinary teams provided entry
European Neolithic Mining Practices
During the Neolithic period, flint was as prized as gold was to the Hindus, Christians, and Buddhists. 4500 years ago, flint miners dug shafts up to 12 meters deep in search of more flint. Ladders and wooden platforms made extracting the ore easier. This task was Herculean as the only picks available were reindeer antler. When a mine was exhausted, a new hole would be dug and the rubble from that hole would be used to back fill the previous mine. Most flint can be found above ground and most of the flint found at Neolithic sites is indeed surface flint so it is unclear why such a massive undertaking was performed as much more readily available sources were freely available. Flint is black in color with a shiny, glass like appearance similar to obsidian. Flint chips easily and is fairly simple to make incredibly sharp by simply cracking off a piece with a harder rock. It’s possible that mine shafts were dug as a ceremonial coming of age tradition in that a prepubescent adolescent would enter into the mine, dig into the depths of the Earth, and then emerge back out as an adult. This theory is backed up by the fact that the majority of miners left their picks in the mine, possibly signifying that they had reached adulthood. It is unclear if these picks were left because they were considered to be spiritually polluted or if they offered their pick as an offering to the Earth itself in exchange for what has been brought to the surface. There is a site in Britain at which over 400 of these mines were dug a few meters from eachother giving the landscape a cratered appearance
The Evolution of Primitive and Sophisticated Neural Networks
The human brain has 100,000,000,000,000 (100 trillion) connections and 86,000,000,000 (86 billion) neurons, which is more connections and neurons than there are stars in the Milky Way Galaxy. Ironically, the majority of the most successful creatures on Earth do not have a brain; organisms like plants, coral, and jellyfish. The sea squirt is a primary example as it has just 200 neurons, allowing it only to perceive and display simple interaction with the environment by sensing light and moving its flagellum. The sea squirt moves around until it finds a rock, then it dumps its tail and uses those once dedicated neurons for different applications, staying anchored to this spot for the rest of its life. Neurons were originally designed to allow for simple motion and movement, but as evolution progressed steadily, neural networks began to build and design intelligent life which is capable of consciousness and a sense of self but also more abstract concepts like art, mathematics, and science
The Reason Underground Caves Naturally Form
Cave systems form when acidic water etches its way through rock. Rainwater becomes acidic as it takes in carbon dioxide and groundwater can become acidic due to the acids found in nearby soil. Water causes existing cracks within the rock to widen into passages which the water flows through to create even wider channels. Over time caverns begin to form as the rock weakens and falls
The Revolutionary Iron Age Technology of the Rotary Quern
During the Iron Age, grain was milled by rubbing a smaller rock against a larger rock with the grain in between the discs. This was back breaking labor which is evidenced by the injuries found upon skeletal remains of ancient people. A quantum leap forward however emerged as the rotary quern, a composite tool comprised of a stone base with a wooden pole or dowel in the center, and a movable rotating top donut shaped piece which was also made of stone, but with a handle so that it could be turned. Grain was placed into the middle of the tool and because the tool was slanted upon a 45 degree angle, gravity would pull grain down. This allowed for a single person to mill much more grain than what would have traditionally been possible using antiquated Stone Age technology. This new design freed up both time spent working as well as the amount of people required to meet a specific quota (e.g. 150 – 200 grams per person per day). Because more people could be better fed, with less effort and resources, the population of those with access to the technology in Britain expanded quickly which occurred around 400 B.C.
The Importance of the Diatom to the Earth
4x thinner than a human hair, the diatom is the secret to the Earth’s oxygen supply. Diatoms utilize silica from ground up rock to create new shells which allow them to reproduce. The population of the diatom doubles every single day during their reproduction cycle. Each diatom can perform the process of photosynthesis and provide the world with oxygen as a byproduct, enough oxygen in fact that 1 out of every 2 breaths taken in by every living human being has been created entirely by diatoms. Diatoms aren’t only vital when they are alive, they’re also incredibly important after their deaths because their carcasses slowly fall to the ocean floor and then carpet the ocean floor in a layer 800 meter thick. This phenomenon is often referred to as “marine snow”
The Early Formation of Earth
During the early days of the solar system, dozens of planets orbited the sun. It is thought that these planets collided and with this collision came intense heat which melted and welded rocks and minerals together. It is theorized that Mercury was only hit once hence it’s small size, Mars not at all, Venus 8x, and Earth 10x primarily because Earth it is the largest of the rocky planets. The last impact towards Earth is thought to have occurred 4,500,000,000 (4.5 billion) years ago which gave Earth its iron core; the lighter debris floated back above Earth and rotated around it which gave Earth rings similar to Saturn. Scientists now know that Earth was hit by rocks which came from Mars. It is thought that primitive microbial life would be able to withstand the journey from Mars to Earth. Earth had enough gravity to hold its oceans which allowed for constant changes in weather. It is thought that life began on Earth 4,300,000,000 (4.3 billion) years ago and that life became sophisticated 2,800,000,000 (2.8 billion) years ago. Despite the Earth being hit 6x catastrophically which was once thought to have sterilized all life, primitive life forms lay dormant in suspended animation within the salt rock which was produced from the immense heat during each catastrophic event. The microbes lay waiting until conditions became more favorable at which time they started reproducing and thriving. Scientists tested this first hand by drilling into salt rock which was created during a catastrophic event to release 200,000,000 (200 million) year old sea water which held tiny microbes called asilospermians which were reanimated when left within a nutrient rich solution for 4 months