Interesting Wikipedia articles for killing time and expanding your mind!! - Page 6 - Other Topics Forum - Discuss Pop Culture, Arts and Entertainment

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sokushinbutsu

Sokushinbutsu were Buddhist monks or priests who caused their own deaths in a way that resulted in their mummification.

This has to be the most excruciating kind of suicide humans ever invented.

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02-27-2010 , 10:14 PM

#128

Disturbance

banned

Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 3,681

Quote:

Originally Posted by Resistance

Thanks to this thread I've spent about 2 hours today reading about number stations and other related stuff. There's something about the mix of technology, secrecy and radio that makes me feel all tingly

The broadcasts are just plain creepy to listen to but it seems like a highly effective system for secret communications 'out in the open'.

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02-27-2010 , 10:51 PM

#129

Wrane

Carpal \'Tunnel

Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 12,086

5 stars btw. Despite not posting anything articles worthy I'm actively reading this thread. Keep er' going.

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02-27-2010 , 10:51 PM

#130

Jasonfp

grinder

Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 619

Quote:

Originally Posted by LonesomeFugitive

Supposedly this tree is praised in the Bible and according to legend its fruit had healing powers. I did some searching and the tree was brought back and supposedly this year (the tree will be 4 years old if not mistaken) scientists will be able to find out if the tree is male/female. If it ain't female then it won't bear fruit. Keep your fingers crossed.

one time!

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02-28-2010 , 12:53 AM

#131

Rip_AA

veteran

Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 2,917

Quote:

Originally Posted by peachy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thylacine

was the largest known carnivorous marsupial of modern times. It is commonly known as the Tasmanian tiger

rawrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

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02-28-2010 , 03:06 AM

#132

mikekelley

veteran

Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 2,192

These massive lists are killing the point of the thread. I like the little brief rundowns that we get from the members...bah.

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02-28-2010 , 05:13 AM

#133

zugzwang83

banned

Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 3,588

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikekelley

These massive lists are killing the point of the thread. I like the little brief rundowns that we get from the members...bah.

youll be happy to know that some wicked insomnia means that ive started my way through that huge thing disturbance posted and summarizing the good links with short blurbs in order to post it properly.

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02-28-2010 , 05:19 AM

#134

Wrane

Carpal \'Tunnel

Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 12,086

Quote:

Originally Posted by zugzwang83

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02-28-2010 , 05:24 AM

#135

skillsaw777

grinder

Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 523

Quote:

Edward Arnold 'Eddie' Chapman (16 November 1914 Burnopfield, County Durham - 11 December 1997) was a pre-war criminal and wartime spy. During the Second World War he was recruited by Nazi Germany as a spy but turned and became a British double agent code named 'Zigzag'. He had a number of aliases known by the British police, amongst them Edward Edwards, Arnold Thompson, and Edward Simpson. His German codename was Fritz or later its diminutive Fritzchen.

2 things...

Why is it common for a spy to use part of their real name in an alias? Is it because they have a familarity with saying it...and thus it comes across as legit when they introduce themselves? You would think a great spy would never have any inclination in an alias to use part of their real name.

And..

Howard Hughes should be on the list of Eccentric people.

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02-28-2010 , 05:29 AM

#136

ALuckyDuck

banned

Join Date: Jan 2010 Posts: 155

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmakinmecrzy

fractals

After reading this, now I'm fascinated with fractals

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02-28-2010 , 05:34 AM

#137

CommanderCorm

adept

Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 1,126

Quote:

Originally Posted by skillsaw777

Not sure why i feel the need to point this out now, but your post brought to my mind that i most certainly would make a terrible spy.

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02-28-2010 , 06:46 AM

#138

kurosh

using god mode

Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 8,109

proof of aliens
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgian_UFO_wave

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02-28-2010 , 07:13 AM

#139

shermanash

adept

Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 1,079

Quote:

Originally Posted by kurosh

proof of aliens
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgian_UFO_wave

whoa. most UFO stories have a strong element of "that's probably BS". this one has almost none. nh

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02-28-2010 , 07:45 AM

#140

O.A.F.K.1.1

Ted Patrick

Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 27,952

Quote:

Originally Posted by skillsaw777

Read the wiki before he became a spy he was a safe cracker and womaniser of socialites. Those aliases belong to his time as a criminal not a spy.

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02-28-2010 , 09:27 AM

#141

27offsuit

actions have consequences!

Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 38,516

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikekelley

These massive lists are killing the point of the thread. I like the little brief rundowns that we get from the members...bah.

I refer to this as 'Wamy Einhousing' the **** out of a thread.

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02-28-2010 , 09:28 AM

#142

jimb0

journeyman

Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 287

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tollund_Man

A body is found in a bog in Denmark. The police first think it's a recent murder victim, but after a closer examination the body is found to be 2400 years old. The face is so well preserved because of the conditions in the bog, that you can still see what he looked like.

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02-28-2010 , 11:58 AM

#143

dotbum

in ur facebook

Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 1,351

Quote:

Originally Posted by skillsaw777

I think people always try to use the same first name so that they will react naturally to it at all times.

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02-28-2010 , 12:02 PM

#144

dotbum

in ur facebook

Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 1,351

Dancing Plague of 1518

Quote:

The Dancing Plague (or Dance Epidemic) of 1518 was a case of dancing mania that occurred in Strasbourg, France (then part of the Holy Roman Empire) in July 1518. Numerous people took to dancing for days without rest, and over the period of about one month, most of the people died from heart attack, stroke, or exhaustion.

Linked off that laughing epidemic from earlier in the thread.

Last edited by dotbum; 02-28-2010 at 12:04 PM. Reason: time travelling drug dealer imo

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02-28-2010 , 12:57 PM

#145

Avalanche333

veteran

Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 2,341

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor_Norton

Quote:

Emperor Norton I, was a celebrated citizen of San Francisco, California, who in 1859 proclaimed himself "Emperor of these United States" and subsequently "Protector of Mexico."

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02-28-2010 , 03:00 PM

#146

cookieb

veteran

Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 3,268

Quote:

Henry "Box" Brown (1815-1879?) was a 19th century Virginia slave who escaped to freedom by arranging to have himself mailed to Philadelphia abolitionists in a dry goods container.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Box_Brown

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02-28-2010 , 04:11 PM

#147

Anacardo

Carpal \'Tunnel

Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 20,543

miajag,

Why does the Voynich Manuscript creep you out so much? Can you elaborate?

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02-28-2010 , 05:32 PM

#148

Disturbance

banned

Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 3,681

Quote:

Originally Posted by 27offsuit

I refer to this as 'Wamy Einhousing' the **** out of a thread.

I would agree with you if I was repeatedly posting lists across multiple pages. Why not read some of the links and post some discussion points?

This one is pretty bizarre:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lead_Masks_Case

The bodies were next to each other, slightly covered by grass. They were wearing suits, lead masks and impermeable coats. There was no sign of violence to the bodies or to the surrounding area. Next to the bodies, the police found an empty bottle of water and a packet containing two towels. They were masks typically used for protection from radiation, and it is these masks that have given the case its name. Police found a small notebook stating: "16:30 estar no local determinado. 18:30 ingerir cápsulas, após efeito proteger metais aguardar sinal máscara" (16:30 be at the agreed place. 18:30 swallow capsules, after effect protect metals wait for the mask sign).

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02-28-2010 , 06:41 PM

#149

farmslicer7

veteran

Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 2,066

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Db_cooper

Man hijacks a plane demanding a ransom, once receiving the ransom money he jumps out the back of the plane (over Washington), never to be seen again