Click here to support the Daily Grail for as little as $US1 per month on Patreon

News Briefs 21-04-2005

Here is today’s news.

  • Hundreds of people have now streamed through a home in northern Manitoba to view a 2-minute 49-second video that has folks believing: Bigfoot lives.
  • A scientist has come up with a novel method to achieve spontaneous combustion at room temperature.
  • The latest edition of New Scientist is now available online. Check it out here. This weeks lead is “Whatever happened to machines that would think?”
  • A wolverine could be responsible for a recent spate of savage attacks on lambs in the North of England…but then read this from 100 years ago and wonder.
  • German archeologists have found what could be the earliest 3D depiction of a copulating human couple, dating to 5,200 AD.
  • A US student found a barbed tooth on the shores of Loch Ness and had it confiscated by authorities – now he is offering a reward to get it back.
  • Five of the people who have come in close contact with a perfectly preserved Stone Age warrier have died, leading to the inevitable question: is the mummy cursed?
  • There have been sightings of a ghostly little girl at the University of Texas campus at Arlington.
  • The end of oil is closer than you think. Oil production could peak next year – just kiss your lifestyle goodbye.
  • Super-volcano, robotic rebellion or terrorism? 10 scientists name the biggest dangers to Earth and assess the chances of them happening.
  • A Canadian sculptor is being held on Easter Island after authorities accused him of moving stones to create “land art” figures.
  • The US Navy’s new stealthy destroyer is so expensive the Navy can only afford five out of the 24 it wanted…if that.
  • A self-styled prophet, a legion of followers, and a ‘Promised Land’ in Florida – how the “End Time Ministry” took over a small town.
  • Archaeologists say they have found the largest funerary complex yet dating from the pre-dynastic era of ancient Egypt, more than 5,000 years ago.
  • An interview with a real Fox Mulder – the man who used to field UFO enquiries for the British Ministry of Defence.
  • NASA has pushed back next month’s launch of Discovery by a full week, saying Wednesday it needs more time to complete testing and engineering work for the first space shuttle flight since the Columbia disaster.
  • British science fiction author and seriously clever guy Charles Stross muses on why the the Hugo novel shortlist is entirely British this year.
  • A bicoastal couple finds a way to be in constant contact — even sleeping together — despite the great divide. It’s a 21st-century love affair, courtesy of mobile technology.
  • More big cat news from the UK: something is eating the foxes of London.
  • The U.S. Supreme Court said on Monday it would decide whether the federal government must allow the U.S. branch of a Brazilian-based religion to import a hallucinogenic tea for use as a sacrament.
  • The Future: An Owner’s Manual. The website of the World Future Society – worth a look.

Quote of the Day:

It may help to understand human affairs to be clear that most of the great triumphs and tragedies of history are caused, not by people being fundamentally good or fundamentally evil, but by people being fundamentally people.

Terry Pratchett

  1. I had a quick skim through
    but I couldn’t find a parrot story so I am going back to bed, it is 1am.
    I’ll read the news tomorrow.
    Looks interesting though parrot-less.

    shadows

    1. Abject Apologies
      Hi shadows,

      I was up half the night with a teething toddler and did the news in a hazy blur of sleeplessness and coffee…so I forgot a parrot story. You have my apologies.

      Regards, C

      1. I know about teething toddlers
        Poor old “Cernig”.

        I know all about teething toddlers.I hope everything is better now.

        There is plenty going on here now The Parrot has his new keyboard.I believe he is writing his memoirs, which I don’t doubt will give me an unfavourable mention.
        He has already complained to his union about only getting 16 hours a day on my shoulder,and coffee without sugar for breakfast.
        He is starting to remind me of Winston Churchill,fat and opiniated, that’s why I cut out his sugar.

        regards,

        shadows

  2. Peak oil production
    >>the business of estimating oil reserves is contentious and political
    +
    >>companies seldom report their true findings for commercial reasons
    +
    >>governments – which own 90% of the reserves – often lie.
    +
    >>Most official figures are grossly unreliable
    =
    I suspect what this recent spate of peak-oil stories really means is that we’ve already reached peak oil production, and this is their way of breaking it to the financial markets – oh, and us (as if we matter) – gently.

    Kat

    1. oil reserves
      Many statistics presented in the past have been based on the cost of production, relative to the price. Of course this is not the physical reality, there is a finite amount of oil in the ground. But what that amount is, nobody knows. And as you say, honest estimates are hard to find.

      The kinds of comments you get when you say there is a “finite amount” depend on the people I talk to. When talking to environmentalist-leaning people, they argue (often vehemently) that there is less, even though I have not said how much there is. The other side argues that we will never run out.

    2. The less total oil available,
      The less total oil available, or perceived to be, the more power accrues to those holding what is thought to remain. Peak oil means peak power for them. 🙂 And they will be sure to play it that way.

      tronicus

  3. “German archeologists have fo
    “German archeologists have found what could be the earliest 3D depiction of a copulating human couple, dating to 5,200 AD.”

    That date can’t be right. It’s either AC or DC.

  4. The Real Fox Mulder
    Chris Carter based his character Fox Mulder on Robert Ressler, who pioneered serial killer profiling for the FBI and who was a real UFO enthusiast.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Mobile menu - fractal