Which of the following would most interest you? - Page 2

**Rain Man** · 06-03-2006, 08:10 AM

Great mysteries explained.

Note that I am intentionally excluding any religious discoveries. Let's keep this secular, unless of course one of the above impacts religion.

Poll coming...or maybe not. How can you really know for sure?

patteeu · 06-03-2006, 09:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KC Jones

I'm still torn - but leaning towards UFOs. That's what would probably hold the greatest promise of advancements in our society/technology - unless of course we were just a novel delicacy for the aliens.

I almost didn't pick UFOs precisely because that thought would be far more frightening than interesting.

milkman · 06-03-2006, 09:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KC Jones

I'm still torn - but leaning towards UFOs. That's what would probably hold the greatest promise of advancements in our society/technology - unless of course we were just a novel delicacy for the aliens.

Twilight Zone.

"To Serve Mankind"

**banyon** · 06-03-2006, 10:12 AM

I voted for UFO's/Aliens and...I get it?

Is It Raining Aliens?
Nearly 50 tons of mysterious red particles showered India in 2001. Now the race is on to figure out what the heck they are

By Jebediah Reed | June 2006

Courtesy Dr. Godfrey Louis

E.T. Under the Microscope: Scientists have yet to identify the unusual particles [above, magnified 500 times] isolated from India’s mysterious red rainwater.

As bizarre as it may seem, the sample jars brimming with cloudy, reddish rainwater in Godfrey Louis’s laboratory in southern India may hold, well, aliens. In April, Louis, a solid-state physicist at Mahatma Gandhi University, published a paper in the prestigious peer-reviewed journal Astrophysics and Space Science in which he hypothesizes that the samples—water taken from the mysterious blood-colored showers that fell sporadically across Louis’s home state of Kerala in the summer of 2001—contain microbes from outer space.
Specifically, Louis has isolated strange, thick-walled, red-tinted cell-like structures about 10 microns in size. Stranger still, dozens of his experiments suggest that the particles may lack DNA yet still reproduce plentifully, even in water superheated to nearly 600˚F. (The known upper limit for life in water is about 250˚F.) So how to explain them? Louis speculates that the particles could be extraterrestrial bacteria adapted to the harsh conditions of space and that the microbes hitched a ride on a comet or meteorite that later broke apart in the upper atmosphere and mixed with rain clouds above India. If his theory proves correct, the cells would be the first confirmed evidence of alien life and, as such, could yield tantalizing new clues to the origins of life on Earth.

Last winter, Louis sent some of his samples to astronomer Chandra Wickramasinghe and his colleagues at Cardiff University in Wales, who are now attempting to replicate his experiments; Wickramasinghe expects to publish his initial findings later this year.

Meanwhile, more down-to-earth theories abound. One Indian government investigation conducted in 2001 lays blame for what some have called the “blood rains” on algae. Other theories have implicated fungal spores, red dust swept up from the Arabian peninsula, even a fine mist of blood cells produced by a meteor striking a high-flying flock of bats.

Louis and his colleagues dismiss all these theories, pointing to the fact that both algae and fungus possess DNA and that blood cells have thin walls and die quickly when exposed to water and air. More important, they argue, blood cells don’t replicate. “We’ve already got some stunning pictures—transmission electron micrographs—of these cells sliced in the middle,” Wickramasinghe says. “We see them budding, with little daughter cells inside the big cells.”

Louis’s theory holds special appeal for Wickramasinghe. A quarter of a century ago, he co-authored the modern theory of panspermia, which posits that bacteria-riddled space rocks seeded life on Earth. “If it’s true that life was introduced by comets four billion years ago,” the astronomer says, “one would expect that microorganisms are still injected into our environment from time to time. This could be one of those events.”

The next significant step, explains University of Sheffield microbiologist Milton Wainwright, who is part of another British team now studying Louis’s samples, is to confirm whether the cells truly lack DNA. So far, one preliminary DNA test has come back positive.“Life as we know it must contain DNA, or it’s not life,” he says. “But even if this organism proves to be an anomaly, the absence of DNA wouldn’t necessarily mean it’s extraterrestrial.”

Louis and Wickramasinghe are planning further experiments to test the cells for specific carbon isotopes. If the results fall outside the norms for life on Earth, it would be powerful new evidence for Louis’s idea, of which even Louis himself remains skeptical. “I would be most happy to accept a simpler explanation,” he says, “but I cannot find any."

Popular Science

06-03-2006, 10:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adam

Gotta say dinosaurs. That could make for some rivetting reality TV. Just turn that crazy Australian guy (can't remember his name) loose and broadcast live to the world.

That would be the best ****ing show ever!

This is the best pole ever, rep to Rain Man!

06-03-2006, 10:31 AM

[QUOTE=banyon]I voted for UFO's/Aliens and...I get it?

Is It Raining Aliens?
Nearly 50 tons of mysterious red particles showered India in 2001. Now the race is on to figure out what the heck they are

That rules!

patteeu · 06-03-2006, 11:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by banyon

I voted for UFO's/Aliens and...I get it?

That's pretty interesting, but I have to admit that if I'd interpreted Rain Man's UFO option to mean the discovery of alien bacteria, as opposed to little green men with extraordinarily big heads like Gazoo on the Flintstones, I'd have probably picked something else.

**banyon** · 06-03-2006, 11:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by patteeu

That's pretty interesting, but I have to admit that if I'd interpreted Rain Man's UFO option to mean the discovery of alien bacteria, as opposed to little green men with extraordinarily big heads like Gazoo on the Flintstones, I'd have probably picked something else.

Hey, that's The Great Gazoo to you!

**Bowser** · 06-03-2006, 11:17 AM

I was torn between the Pyramids/Atlantis/UFO's.

The only problem with finding out that the conspiracies are true about any of these, including some of the other choices, is that religion would take a major shot to the groin. A lot of people's beliefs will be challenged, especially if it was ever found out that these secrets had been discovered some time ago, and kept under wraps.

Adept Havelock · 06-03-2006, 11:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Demonpenz

chiefs defense is found off the cost of nova scotia

Damn Templar's!!!

BucEyedPea · 06-03-2006, 11:20 AM

Under "other non-religious mystery" we have Chiefs defense coming up?
How 'bout we get your offense and you get our defense for one new team?*

* my football talk qualifications being invoked here.

jlscorpio · 06-03-2006, 12:52 PM

I'm all over the 55 year plan...

**CosmicPal** · 06-03-2006, 01:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by milkman

Yeah, and so does Santa Claus.

And the Easter Bunny.

And The Great Pumpkin.

Yeah, and so does the milkman.

Lurch · 06-03-2006, 01:07 PM

UFOs. I gotta say, if you buy the we are here by chance argument.....the idea we are alone becomes silly in my opinion.

**Rain Man** · 06-03-2006, 02:37 PM

While I would find the pyramids and Hitler's diary to be quite fascinating, and my first reaction was to go with the UFOs, I decided to vote for ghosts.

If ghosts really exist, I think it would provide evidence that would completely change our worldview. Humans would no longer be chained to bodies, there would be at least some potential for eternal earthly life, and of course the whole question of an afterlife would become much more focused and informed. Whereas the other options would profoundly change our views of the universe, the existence of ghosts would be the discovery of a whole new universe.

And that's not even considering the possibility that, if we could communicate with ghosts, we could develop an enormous understanding of human history.

BucEyedPea · 06-03-2006, 02:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rain Man

If ghosts really exist, I think it would provide evidence that would completely change our worldview. Humans would no longer be chained to bodies, there would be at least some potential for eternal life, and of course the whole question of an afterlife would become much more focused and informed.

I like your thinking on this point and I agree.
But we need not just rely on ghosts alone for this since more of the earth's population accept this idea that we are not chained to bodies eternally or even believe we come back. It's mainly not accepted by the Judeo-Christian and secularist west.

View Poll Results: Which of the following would most interest you?
A lost valley containing live, large dinosaurs is found in remote central Africa.	8	11.94%
Amelia Earhart is still alive and living in Tahiti.	0	0%
An augment is found to the Mayan calendar that mentions a giant meteor strike in a couple of decades	1	1.49%
Atlantis is found under the ocean.	7	10.45%
Bigfoot and/or yetis are real.	1	1.49%
Bill Gates is really paying people $241 for forwarding a special e-mail message.	3	4.48%
Disney’s head exists and is alive, and he still runs the company from his vault.	1	1.49%
ESP is a real phenomenon.	4	5.97%
Ghosts really exist.	6	8.96%
Hitler's detailed diary is found, describing all of his major decisions and thought processes	2	2.99%
Scientists discover that there are indeed forces in the Bermuda triangle that occasionally sink ships.	1	1.49%
Scientists learn that the pyramids really were built with the help of a lost advanced civilization.	2	2.99%
The Loch Ness monster is real.	3	4.48%
They really do find a rat in a coke bottle.	0	0%
UFOs exist, and they’re aliens from outer space.	22	32.84%
Undeniable records are found showing a second Kennedy shooter and a Cuban/Russian/mafia connection.	1	1.49%
It turns out that Carl had a bad typo in his five-year plan that completely changed it, and now he's fixed it.	5	7.46%
Other non-religious mystery (Please specify...if you dare.)	0	0%
None. This whole knowledge thing is overrated.	0	0%
Voters: 67. You may not vote on this poll

06-03-2006, 08:10 AM
Rain Man NFL's #1 Ermines Fan Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: My house Casino cash: $2758491 VARSITY	Which of the following would most interest you? Great mysteries explained. Note that I am intentionally excluding any religious discoveries. Let's keep this secular, unless of course one of the above impacts religion. Poll coming...or maybe not. How can you really know for sure?
Posts: 141,873

06-03-2006, 10:12 AM	#18
banyon Supporter Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Hermosa, SD Casino cash: $10176551	I voted for UFO's/Aliens and...I get it? Is It Raining Aliens? Nearly 50 tons of mysterious red particles showered India in 2001. Now the race is on to figure out what the heck they are By Jebediah Reed \| June 2006 Courtesy Dr. Godfrey Louis E.T. Under the Microscope: Scientists have yet to identify the unusual particles [above, magnified 500 times] isolated from India’s mysterious red rainwater. As bizarre as it may seem, the sample jars brimming with cloudy, reddish rainwater in Godfrey Louis’s laboratory in southern India may hold, well, aliens. In April, Louis, a solid-state physicist at Mahatma Gandhi University, published a paper in the prestigious peer-reviewed journal Astrophysics and Space Science in which he hypothesizes that the samples—water taken from the mysterious blood-colored showers that fell sporadically across Louis’s home state of Kerala in the summer of 2001—contain microbes from outer space. Specifically, Louis has isolated strange, thick-walled, red-tinted cell-like structures about 10 microns in size. Stranger still, dozens of his experiments suggest that the particles may lack DNA yet still reproduce plentifully, even in water superheated to nearly 600˚F. (The known upper limit for life in water is about 250˚F.) So how to explain them? Louis speculates that the particles could be extraterrestrial bacteria adapted to the harsh conditions of space and that the microbes hitched a ride on a comet or meteorite that later broke apart in the upper atmosphere and mixed with rain clouds above India. If his theory proves correct, the cells would be the first confirmed evidence of alien life and, as such, could yield tantalizing new clues to the origins of life on Earth. Last winter, Louis sent some of his samples to astronomer Chandra Wickramasinghe and his colleagues at Cardiff University in Wales, who are now attempting to replicate his experiments; Wickramasinghe expects to publish his initial findings later this year. Meanwhile, more down-to-earth theories abound. One Indian government investigation conducted in 2001 lays blame for what some have called the “blood rains” on algae. Other theories have implicated fungal spores, red dust swept up from the Arabian peninsula, even a fine mist of blood cells produced by a meteor striking a high-flying flock of bats. Louis and his colleagues dismiss all these theories, pointing to the fact that both algae and fungus possess DNA and that blood cells have thin walls and die quickly when exposed to water and air. More important, they argue, blood cells don’t replicate. “We’ve already got some stunning pictures—transmission electron micrographs—of these cells sliced in the middle,” Wickramasinghe says. “We see them budding, with little daughter cells inside the big cells.” Louis’s theory holds special appeal for Wickramasinghe. A quarter of a century ago, he co-authored the modern theory of panspermia, which posits that bacteria-riddled space rocks seeded life on Earth. “If it’s true that life was introduced by comets four billion years ago,” the astronomer says, “one would expect that microorganisms are still injected into our environment from time to time. This could be one of those events.” The next significant step, explains University of Sheffield microbiologist Milton Wainwright, who is part of another British team now studying Louis’s samples, is to confirm whether the cells truly lack DNA. So far, one preliminary DNA test has come back positive.“Life as we know it must contain DNA, or it’s not life,” he says. “But even if this organism proves to be an anomaly, the absence of DNA wouldn’t necessarily mean it’s extraterrestrial.” Louis and Wickramasinghe are planning further experiments to test the cells for specific carbon isotopes. If the results fall outside the norms for life on Earth, it would be powerful new evidence for Louis’s idea, of which even Louis himself remains skeptical. “I would be most happy to accept a simpler explanation,” he says, “but I cannot find any." Popular Science __________________ “When war breaks out people say: 'It won't last, it's too stupid.' And war is certainly too stupid, but that doesn't prevent It from lasting.” ~Albert Camus, The Plague.
Posts: 44,355

06-03-2006, 10:31 AM	#20
pak1983 Guest Casino cash: $	[QUOTE=banyon]I voted for UFO's/Aliens and...I get it? Is It Raining Aliens? Nearly 50 tons of mysterious red particles showered India in 2001. Now the race is on to figure out what the heck they are That rules!
Posts: n/a

06-03-2006, 11:17 AM	#23
Bowser sorta mod-ish Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: KC North Casino cash: $2961616	I was torn between the Pyramids/Atlantis/UFO's. The only problem with finding out that the conspiracies are true about any of these, including some of the other choices, is that religion would take a major shot to the groin. A lot of people's beliefs will be challenged, especially if it was ever found out that these secrets had been discovered some time ago, and kept under wraps.
Posts: 101,413

06-03-2006, 11:20 AM	#25
BucEyedPea Gimme My Berries Back! Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: None of your business Casino cash: $2909963	Under "other non-religious mystery" we have Chiefs defense coming up? How 'bout we get your offense and you get our defense for one new team?* * my football talk qualifications being invoked here.
Posts: 161,936

06-03-2006, 12:52 PM	#26
jlscorpio Veteran Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Rapid City, SD Casino cash: $10004900	I'm all over the 55 year plan... __________________ For those who believe, no explanation is necessary; for those who don't believe, no explanation will do.
Posts: 1,089

06-03-2006, 01:07 PM	#28
Lurch You rang? Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Greenbriar, USA Casino cash: $10004957	UFOs. I gotta say, if you buy the we are here by chance argument.....the idea we are alone becomes silly in my opinion. __________________ Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy. -- Benjamin Franklin
Posts: 1,538

06-03-2006, 02:37 PM	#29
Rain Man NFL's #1 Ermines Fan Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: My house Casino cash: $2758491 VARSITY	While I would find the pyramids and Hitler's diary to be quite fascinating, and my first reaction was to go with the UFOs, I decided to vote for ghosts. If ghosts really exist, I think it would provide evidence that would completely change our worldview. Humans would no longer be chained to bodies, there would be at least some potential for eternal earthly life, and of course the whole question of an afterlife would become much more focused and informed. Whereas the other options would profoundly change our views of the universe, the existence of ghosts would be the discovery of a whole new universe. And that's not even considering the possibility that, if we could communicate with ghosts, we could develop an enormous understanding of human history. __________________ I'm putting random letters here as a celebration of free speech: xigrakgrah misorojeq rkemeseit. Last edited by Rain Man; 06-03-2006 at 02:52 PM..
Posts: 141,873