Unexplained Aerial Phenomena

Unexplained Atmospheric and Aerial Phenomena

YouTuber "SheilaAliens" made this video a few years back, which shows numerous clips of atmospheric phenomena that are difficult to explain. In 2016, she made a follow-up video which explains some, but not all, of the videos and images. Some people believe the sky, and many of the things in it, is actually holographic imagery termed "The Sky Matrix," or "Moon Matrix."

Some commenters suggest it may connect, in some way, to the Hollow Earth Theory, which was part of a US military co-intel operation (MISO) involving The Space Race.

© The Weirding, 2017

Ancient Whale Found Beneath San Diego Zoo

Construction workers uncovered the bones of a 24'-long whale while constructing a new storm-water runoff tank. Workers came across the skull of the 3-million-year-old baleen whale during the initial dig, which was unusual enough, but continue to discover even more bones, including the vertebrate and flippers. Whale fossils have been discovered in San Diego before, but rarely intact. The bones will be moved to Balboa Museum for further study and may eventually be displayed there.

© C Harris Lynn, 2010

Turtle Missing Link Discovered

The earliest turtles known to live in the water have been discovered on the Scottish isle of Skye.

Fossils of the 164-million year-old Eileanchelys waldmani were discovered embedded in rock on the Scottish isle of Skye in the bay of Cladach a'Ghlinne. The discovery included four complete turtles, as well as remains from at least two others. These are the most complete specimens from the Middle Jurassic period to-date.

The Eileanchelys waldmani is believed to be the "missing link" between ancient and modern turtles. The remains are being housed at the National Museums Scotland at Edinburgh.

© C Harris Lynn, 2008

Rock-Solid Proof of Bigfoot?

A man in Nashville, TN claims to have found a fossilized footprint in his front yard which may be that of a Bigfoot.

Harold Jackson is an amateur archaeologist who stepped on an unusual rock while searching for arrowheads. When he got it home and cleaned it up, it turned out to be a fossil of an 11"-wide footprint, some 15" long. Jackson noted, if it belonged to a Native American, "then he was a big Indian."

Claiming to be a skeptic, Jackson says he now believes in Bigfoot. Scientists, including Bigfoot experts and researchers, are interested in the find and have been trying to contact Mr. Jackson. Harold Jackson says there is another rock similar to the first one on his property, but he has not had a chance to dig it up and clean it yet.

© C Harris Lynn, 2008

Bear Bones Discovered

Spelunkers have uncovered about 80% of the remains of a bear that may have died as many as 11,000 years ago in a complex cave system in the Scottish Highlands.

The Grampian Speleological Group worked for years to uncover the remains within the cave chamber, Uamh. DNA testing on a skull found in 1995 have been ongoing, as well as have tests on a bear skull found in the same system in the 1920s. But the recent uncovering is very exciting.

Researchers are trying to determine the type of bear, as well as when it died.

© C Harris Lynn, 2008

Fossils Returned to Argentina

Four tons of dinosaur bones and other fossils were returned to Argentina after being recovered in the US by Interpol agents who had been tipped-off.

Two years ago, agents were tipped-off about someone selling relics at an Arizona mineral fair. Upon investigation, the agents discovered many of the fossils were still wrapped in Argentinian newspaper. While they seized the relics, transporting them proved industrious, which is what took until now for the cargo to be returned.

Argentina is rich with dinosaur bones, with new discoveries made regularly - some from previously unknown species. It is known that many fossils, rocks, and minerals from the country exist to be sold on the lucrative black market worldwide, "and we'll keep looking for [them]," said US ambassador, Earl Anthony Wayne, from Buenos Aires, where the fossils were delivered to a formal ceremony, attended by top Argentinian military officials, diplomats, and Wayne - himself an ardent mineral and fossil enthusiast.

The exchange is thought to be the largest of its kind in history.

© C Harris Lynn, 2008

North America's Oldest Primate

Fossils recently uncovered in Mississippi revealed North America's oldest primate.

the Teilhardina magnoliana was a tree-dwelling primate that weighed about an ounce. It flourished about 56 million years ago and suggests that primates crossed the Bering land bridge from Asia, as some believe humans did about 55 million years later.

The fossils were discovered by K. Christopher Beard of the Carnegie Museum of National History in Pittsburgh.

© C Harris Lynn, 2008

American History Goes to Shit

Fossilized human feces found in a cave near an Oregonian lake may tell researchers when and how humans first came to the Americas.

The coprolites - fossilized fecal matter - apparently pre-date the Clovis culture, which dominated the American continents just over 10,000 years ago. They were discovered in the Paisley Caves in 2002-2003, amongst other artifacts, including baskets, animal hides, wooden pegs, and the bones of what may have been pack animals.

The coprolites became the center of controversy when human DNA was found in them. It strongly suggests that there were people on the continent prior to the Clovis culture. Some initial studies suggest the DNA is closely related to groups indigenous to Siberia and East Asia. This bolsters the notion that the first American settlers came from Siberia.

"[They] either had to walk or sail along the American west coast to get around the ice cap... unless they arrived so long before the last ice age that the land passage wasn't yet blocked by ice," noted Eske Willerslev, director of the Centre for Ancient Genetics at Copenhagen University.

© C Harris Lynn, 2008

Michigan Teen Finds Megalodon Tooth in St. Clair River

Megalodon

16-year old David Wentz was snorkeling in Michigan's St. Clair River last August when he spied an unusual rock on the bed.

While he wasn't sure what he had discovered, thanks to the Discovery Channel, his father was: It was a fossilized shark tooth! Researchers say the tooth is most likely that of a Carcharodon megalodon, a species now extinct for some 2 million years. 

Most likely, the tooth was brought in and dropped by human settlers, as the shark was obviously not indigenous to the region. However, there have been reports of sightings in freshwaters. In fact, there was a series of freshwater shark attacks in the early 20^th-Century that, while believed to be related (at least two sharks somehow made their way into a river from the sea), prove that sharks can survive in freshwater for some time. The Carcharodon megalodon was most likely a saltwater-based species, but whether or not it could survive (and thus may have hunted) in freshwater is unknown.

But, as researchers are quick to point-out, there are no sharks with 3" teeth in the St. Clair River today... hopefully.

© C Harris Lynn, 2008

Frog From Hell

Last month, scientists unearthed the fossilized remains of Beelzebufo, or "the frog from hell."

The 9-lb., 16" toad was among the largest of its kind ever discovered to-date.  Related to today's horned toads, this one had short legs and a giant mouth.  It most likely preyed on small animals using the ambush techniques of its modern-day relatives.

Researchers added the the discovery bolstered the notion that the Madagascar island and South American landmasses could have been joined at some point in history, as the frog is strikingly different from those indigenous to the island, but closely-related to those found in South America.

© C Harris Lynn, 2008

Gigantic Fossil Rat Discovered

The largest known rodent to-date has been described by researchers for the first time. Discovered in Uruguay three years ago by an amateur paleontologist, the skull measures about 1/2-meter and laid in a museum since it was found until recently. Scientists believe the animal to be a new species (Josephoartigasia monesi) based on the size of its incisors, which they theorize may have been used as a beaver's (to cut wood) and/or for fighting off predators.

The rodent was as large as a bull, or around 3 meters in length, and populated the forests. It was 15x heavier than the largest living rodent today, approximately one ton. Its closest relative is believed to be the pakarana, similar to a guinea pig.

Other finds in South America include car-sized armadillos, giant ground sloths, and hook-beaked terror birds - the latter of which would most certainly have been one of the predators this rodent would have fought for survival.

Ancient Reptilian Evidence Changes History

Researchers believe the oldest evidence for reptiles was found this past October in Canada. The 315 million-year-old tracks were found in the sea cliffs at New Brunswick by UK scientist, Dr. Howard Falcon-Lang, who called the discovery "pure luck."

The fossils suggest that reptiles first left the water and walked on land at least one to three million years earlier than previously thought. If this is true, the implications are staggering across all fields of science and philosophy.

While they cannot be sure, there were only a handful of reptiles around the time that could have left the footprints, and they think it was the Hylonomus lyelli.

Before the discovery, the oldest evidence for reptiles was thought to be skeletal fossils of the Hylonomus lyelli, found in the 19^th-Century.

This One Time, the World Had Huge Crabs

Now this is what The OddBlog is all about... kinda.

European scientists claim to have found the claw of a prehistoric 8' sea crab!  The claw is nearly 400 million years old and was found in a Prum, German quarry.  It has been named Jaekelopterus rhenaniae.  The size tells scientists arachnids and insects (and similar creatures) were larger than even they once thought.  The largest modern scorpion is only 30cm.; the claw measures 46 cm!

Researchers theorize higher oxygen levels in the atmosphere may have led to the gigantic size of these and similar invertebrates, such as cockroaches.  The larger specimen would likely have been killed-off first by predators, as they are easier to spot.  While many would have lived entirely on land, others, like this one, would have led an aquatic or semi-aquatic life.

Scientists think Jaekelopterus rhenaniae lived in swamps, ponds, and similar environs.

New Great Ape Discovered?

Scientists say nine fossilized teeth, thought to be at least 10 million years old or older, that were found in Ethiopia are from a previously unknown species of great ape which could be a direct ancestor of living African great apes. Most think the new species could have belonged to the gorilla family. The findings have brought the theory of human evolution into question amongst the scientific community.

The scientific community generally holds that humans and apes split from a common ancestor many millions of years ago, but the new find may mean this split - if it occurred - happened earlier than once thought. The team - a combination of Japanese and African scientists and researchers - put the teeth through cutting-edge technological testing and found them very similar to modern gorillas'.

Of course, not all scientists agree with the team's findings.

Go figure.

Oldest Egyptian Footprint?

Until very recently, the oldest recorded evidence of human life in Egypt dated back to about 200,000 years ago. That was before they discovered a footprint at the Siwa Oasis which some experts have been quoted as saying could be as much as 2 million years old or older. They are now carbon dating the plants in the mud around the find to try and determine exactly how old the footprint is.

Of course, carbon dating is not 100% and mistakes have been made - some of which are very famous. Unfortunately, it is the best indicator available to researchers at this time. Regardless of initial results, if they are impressive enough, you can bet the data will be re-tested and eventually, a consensus reached.

The footprint could possibly predate the oldest living human fossil, that of Lucy, found in Ethiopia in 1974 - or so at least one hopeful scientist says. "It could be the most important discovery in Egypt," he said.

- Source: BBC

© C Harris Lynn, 2007-08

Ancient Rainforest Discovered Underground

Coal miners in Danville, IL, are used to seeing a stray plant fossil here and there on the ceilings of their mines, but what they uncovered this time was far more than that.  Once the discovery's importance became obvious, they called in a revered paleobotanist from the UK and a curator of fossils from the Smithsonian.

All were astonished to find miles of ancient, fossilized rainforest, perfectly preserved in the coal mine.  Something they describe as "an artist's canvas painted in flat gray."  The rainforest existed about 300 million years ago and its remains cover approximately 4 square miles.   It's like looking at a snapshot of one of the world's first rainforests.

Scientists believe an earthquake about 300 million years ago dropped the rainforest under sea level and buried it with mud, preserving it forever, probably in a matter of months.  One of the scientists said some of the tree trunks were buried "in a flash."