Showing posts with label "Strange Phenomena". Show all posts
Showing posts with label "Strange Phenomena". Show all posts
Wednesday, July 1, 2015
municipal utility markers vs. light wheels
Here are two things I've been research and collecting - they don't necessarily go together, but I find that it is sometimes productive to let things overlap in order to create new meaning(s). I am interested in both at the same time anyway.
Thursday, June 18, 2015
ball lightning dance
GLB-064 BALL LIGHTNING AT ALPENA, MICHIGAN
Anonymous; Nature, 126:153, July 26, 1930.
August 1, 1907. Ball Lightning of Alpena, Michigan.---On August 1, 1907 during a heavy shower with thunder and lightning, a ball of lightning about six to eight inches in diameter entered a house. It dropped lightly to the floor, moved round the room in circles, then entering the wall, moved up inside it and came out a few feet above the window. A four-inch brace was splintered and much plaster was forced into the room. The ball then travelled across the room again and out the other wall, making a ragged hole. It struck into the earth about 30 feet from the house, leaving a hole about 6 inches wide an a few inches deep.
-from Strange Phenomena: A Sourcebook of Unusual Natural Phenomena, compiled by William R. Corliss, 1973
Anonymous; Nature, 126:153, July 26, 1930.
August 1, 1907. Ball Lightning of Alpena, Michigan.---On August 1, 1907 during a heavy shower with thunder and lightning, a ball of lightning about six to eight inches in diameter entered a house. It dropped lightly to the floor, moved round the room in circles, then entering the wall, moved up inside it and came out a few feet above the window. A four-inch brace was splintered and much plaster was forced into the room. The ball then travelled across the room again and out the other wall, making a ragged hole. It struck into the earth about 30 feet from the house, leaving a hole about 6 inches wide an a few inches deep.
-from Strange Phenomena: A Sourcebook of Unusual Natural Phenomena, compiled by William R. Corliss, 1973
Sunday, November 3, 2013
Dark Days: Three Cases
GWD-005 DARKNESS AT MID-DAY
G. ; Notes and Queries, 2:3:366, May 9, 1857.
"A phenomenon of this extraordinary nature occurred at Bolton-le-Moors and the neighbourhood, about noon on Monday, March 23, 1857. The wind during the morning had been north-east, with a little snow; at twelve o'clock the air became quite still, and a deep gloom overspread the heavens, increasing so rapidly, that in ten minutes it was not possible to read, or distinguish the features of any person a few yards off. This was the more singular from there being no fog at the time, though snow in very minute particles was falling. The extreme darkness continued about eight minutes, when the horizon at two or three points assumed a lurid yellow appearance, as though from conflagrations a few miles distant; within a quarter of an hour from this time the darkness was dispelled; but such was the alarm caused by the phenomenon, that many persons supposed the world at an end, not a few were made ill by intense nervous excitement, and all were more or less impressed with a feeling of awe. Poultry went to roost, instinct being stronger than habit. Can any of your correspondents explain the cause of this phenomenon, or record any similar occurrences?"
If darknesses, such as that described above, are due to great fires, where are the reports of the fires and why does no one smell the smoke?
GWD-006 EXTRAORDINARY PHENOMENON
Murray, Charles A. ; Annual Register, 99:132-133, 1857.
"The following letter from the Hon. Charles Augustus Murray, Her Majesty's Envoy to Persia, to Sir Charles Lyell, was made public:- "Bagdad, May 23, 1857. My dear Sir Charles,—We have lately witnessed here a phenomenon so strange that a brief description of it may not be uninteresting to you. On the 20th instant, a few minutes before 6 p. m. (which is here about an hour before sunset), I was sitting with my Mirza reading some Persian letters, when on a sudden I became sensible of an unusual obscuration of the light on the paper. I jumped up, and going to the window, saw a huge black cloud approaching from the north-west, exactly as if a pall were being drawn over the face of the heavens. It must have travelled with considerable rapidity, for in less than three minutes we were enveloped in total darkness—a darkness more intense than an ordinary midnight when neither stars nor moon are visible. Groping my way amid chairs and tables, I succeeded in striking a light, and then, feeling assured that a simoom of some kind was coming on, I called to my servants to come up and shut the windows, which were all open, the weather having been previously very sultry. While they were doing so the wind increased, and bore with it such a dense volume of dust or sand, that, before they could succeed in closing the windows the room was entirely filled, so that the tables and furniture were speedily covered. Meanwhile a panic seized the whole city; the Armenians and other Christian sects rushed through the gloom to confess and pray in the churches; women shrieked and beat their breasts in the streets and the men of all classes prostrated themselves in prayer, believing that the end of the world had arrived. After a short time the black darkness was succeeded by a red, lurid gloom, such as I never saw in any part of the world, and which I can only liken in imagination to the effect that might be produced if all London were in conflagration in a heavy November fog; to me it was more striking (I may almost say fearful) than the previous utter darkness, and reminded me of that 'darkness visible' in which the poetic genius of Milton placed the demons and horrid shapes of the infernal regions. This lurid fog was doubtless occasioned by the rays of the western sun shining obliquely on the dense mass of red sand or dust which had been raised from some distant desert, and was borne along upon the blast. I enclose you a specimen of the dust. The Arabs here think that it came from the Nejd. The storm seems to have travelled in a circular direction, having appeared first from the south, then south-west, then west, then north-west. After about two hours, it had so far passed away that we were able to open the windows again and breathe the outer air. It cannot have been a simoom, for during those which I have experienced in Arabia and Egypt the wind is hot and stifling. On the 20th the wind was high, but only oppressive from the dense mass of dust that it carried with it. " Professor J. Quekett, having examined a specimen of red dust from Bagdad, which accompanied Mr. Murray's letter, detected under the microscope only inorganic particles, such as quartz, sand, and, though a small portion of calcareous matter was present in the sand, yet he could observe no microscopic shells or other organic matter."
GWD-007 A DARK DAY IN WASHINGTON
Eells, M. ; Monthly Weather Review, 30:440, September 1902.
"Friday, September 12, 1902, was the darkest day that the oldest inhabitant of Hood Canal, in western Washington, ever knew here, owing largely to the smoke from heavy fires in western Washington and western Oregon. At Twana, in Mason County, it appeared as follows: The evening before was somewhat smoky, though not peculiarly so, with a few ashes occasionally falling. About 3 o'clock on the morning of the 12th the whole heavens were a very bright red, according to the statement of a young lady who waked up, as she supposed, about that time, the light being similar in appearance to a certain kind of northern lights only it covered the whole heavens. By 5-30 a. m. , when the writer first looked out, it had faded to a dull red. By 7 a. m. the reddish appearance had disappeared, it having turned to a gray color. At 9 a. m., it was possible to read in the house only by getting near a window, and even then it was quite trying to the eyes. By 11:30 a. m. the dull reddish color appeared all around, soon growing very bright in the north, but by 12-30 p. m. the brightest red was in the south. Between 12 noon and 1 p. m. was the darkest part of the day, it being utterly impossible to read out of doors. After 1 p. m. it began to lighten a little, the chickens, which had gone to roost, began to crow; 1:15 p.m. it was again possible to read out doors; at 2 p. m. there was considerable dull red in the sky, but it then disappeared to be seen no more, the heavens becoming again of grayish color. After 3 p. m. was the brightest part of the day.
What caused the reddish appearance has not been satisfactorily explained. Some attributed it to the light from the fires, but this does not seem possible. The writer attributes it to the sun's rays working through the darkness, until he learned that the brightest red was seen about 3 a. m. There certainly seems to have been a very peculiar state of the atmosphere that day, which can only be explained by wiser meteorologists than the writer, but the day will be remembered as one in a lifetime."
-from Corliss, William R. Strange Phenomena: A Sourcebook of Unusual Natural Phenomena. Volume G-2. Compiled by Glen Arm, Maryland: The Sourcebook Project, 1974.
G. ; Notes and Queries, 2:3:366, May 9, 1857.
"A phenomenon of this extraordinary nature occurred at Bolton-le-Moors and the neighbourhood, about noon on Monday, March 23, 1857. The wind during the morning had been north-east, with a little snow; at twelve o'clock the air became quite still, and a deep gloom overspread the heavens, increasing so rapidly, that in ten minutes it was not possible to read, or distinguish the features of any person a few yards off. This was the more singular from there being no fog at the time, though snow in very minute particles was falling. The extreme darkness continued about eight minutes, when the horizon at two or three points assumed a lurid yellow appearance, as though from conflagrations a few miles distant; within a quarter of an hour from this time the darkness was dispelled; but such was the alarm caused by the phenomenon, that many persons supposed the world at an end, not a few were made ill by intense nervous excitement, and all were more or less impressed with a feeling of awe. Poultry went to roost, instinct being stronger than habit. Can any of your correspondents explain the cause of this phenomenon, or record any similar occurrences?"
If darknesses, such as that described above, are due to great fires, where are the reports of the fires and why does no one smell the smoke?
GWD-006 EXTRAORDINARY PHENOMENON
Murray, Charles A. ; Annual Register, 99:132-133, 1857.
"The following letter from the Hon. Charles Augustus Murray, Her Majesty's Envoy to Persia, to Sir Charles Lyell, was made public:- "Bagdad, May 23, 1857. My dear Sir Charles,—We have lately witnessed here a phenomenon so strange that a brief description of it may not be uninteresting to you. On the 20th instant, a few minutes before 6 p. m. (which is here about an hour before sunset), I was sitting with my Mirza reading some Persian letters, when on a sudden I became sensible of an unusual obscuration of the light on the paper. I jumped up, and going to the window, saw a huge black cloud approaching from the north-west, exactly as if a pall were being drawn over the face of the heavens. It must have travelled with considerable rapidity, for in less than three minutes we were enveloped in total darkness—a darkness more intense than an ordinary midnight when neither stars nor moon are visible. Groping my way amid chairs and tables, I succeeded in striking a light, and then, feeling assured that a simoom of some kind was coming on, I called to my servants to come up and shut the windows, which were all open, the weather having been previously very sultry. While they were doing so the wind increased, and bore with it such a dense volume of dust or sand, that, before they could succeed in closing the windows the room was entirely filled, so that the tables and furniture were speedily covered. Meanwhile a panic seized the whole city; the Armenians and other Christian sects rushed through the gloom to confess and pray in the churches; women shrieked and beat their breasts in the streets and the men of all classes prostrated themselves in prayer, believing that the end of the world had arrived. After a short time the black darkness was succeeded by a red, lurid gloom, such as I never saw in any part of the world, and which I can only liken in imagination to the effect that might be produced if all London were in conflagration in a heavy November fog; to me it was more striking (I may almost say fearful) than the previous utter darkness, and reminded me of that 'darkness visible' in which the poetic genius of Milton placed the demons and horrid shapes of the infernal regions. This lurid fog was doubtless occasioned by the rays of the western sun shining obliquely on the dense mass of red sand or dust which had been raised from some distant desert, and was borne along upon the blast. I enclose you a specimen of the dust. The Arabs here think that it came from the Nejd. The storm seems to have travelled in a circular direction, having appeared first from the south, then south-west, then west, then north-west. After about two hours, it had so far passed away that we were able to open the windows again and breathe the outer air. It cannot have been a simoom, for during those which I have experienced in Arabia and Egypt the wind is hot and stifling. On the 20th the wind was high, but only oppressive from the dense mass of dust that it carried with it. " Professor J. Quekett, having examined a specimen of red dust from Bagdad, which accompanied Mr. Murray's letter, detected under the microscope only inorganic particles, such as quartz, sand, and, though a small portion of calcareous matter was present in the sand, yet he could observe no microscopic shells or other organic matter."
GWD-007 A DARK DAY IN WASHINGTON
Eells, M. ; Monthly Weather Review, 30:440, September 1902.
"Friday, September 12, 1902, was the darkest day that the oldest inhabitant of Hood Canal, in western Washington, ever knew here, owing largely to the smoke from heavy fires in western Washington and western Oregon. At Twana, in Mason County, it appeared as follows: The evening before was somewhat smoky, though not peculiarly so, with a few ashes occasionally falling. About 3 o'clock on the morning of the 12th the whole heavens were a very bright red, according to the statement of a young lady who waked up, as she supposed, about that time, the light being similar in appearance to a certain kind of northern lights only it covered the whole heavens. By 5-30 a. m. , when the writer first looked out, it had faded to a dull red. By 7 a. m. the reddish appearance had disappeared, it having turned to a gray color. At 9 a. m., it was possible to read in the house only by getting near a window, and even then it was quite trying to the eyes. By 11:30 a. m. the dull reddish color appeared all around, soon growing very bright in the north, but by 12-30 p. m. the brightest red was in the south. Between 12 noon and 1 p. m. was the darkest part of the day, it being utterly impossible to read out of doors. After 1 p. m. it began to lighten a little, the chickens, which had gone to roost, began to crow; 1:15 p.m. it was again possible to read out doors; at 2 p. m. there was considerable dull red in the sky, but it then disappeared to be seen no more, the heavens becoming again of grayish color. After 3 p. m. was the brightest part of the day.
What caused the reddish appearance has not been satisfactorily explained. Some attributed it to the light from the fires, but this does not seem possible. The writer attributes it to the sun's rays working through the darkness, until he learned that the brightest red was seen about 3 a. m. There certainly seems to have been a very peculiar state of the atmosphere that day, which can only be explained by wiser meteorologists than the writer, but the day will be remembered as one in a lifetime."
-from Corliss, William R. Strange Phenomena: A Sourcebook of Unusual Natural Phenomena. Volume G-2. Compiled by Glen Arm, Maryland: The Sourcebook Project, 1974.
Monday, May 9, 2011
Glowing Steps
GLD-013 [LUMINOUS FOOTPRINTS]
Anonymous; Nature , 12:564, October 28, 1875.
A correspondent of the Aberystwith Observer, the Rev. James Lewis, of Llanilar Vicarage, writes as follows to that journal:
--"whilst returning from service at the parish church of Rhostie, at about 8.15 p.m. on Friday, the 24th ult., in company with two members of the congregation, my attention was called to a remarkably strange phenomenon. In walking across a field on the farm of Cwmclyd, it was noticed that our footsteps were marked by a peculiar light, which could be traced back for several yards, each footprint being as distinctly marked on the ground as when one walks in snow. When we got into the adjoining field the light disappeared until we came near to the end of it, when it was observed that our footsteps were again marked by the same luminous appearance. In colour the light was similar to that of phosphorus rubbed on a wall in a dark room, or a mass of glow-worms, or which insect, however, there was no trace on the surrounding ground."Since no electrical storm or other atmospheric effects were mentioned, this luminous phenomenon may be chemical or biological in origin. There are, however, cases of terrain made luminous by some sort of electric discharge phenomenon.
-from Strange Phenomena: A Sourcebook of Unusual Natural Phenomena, compiled by William R. Corliss, 1973
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Fiery Whirl
GLD-040 THE NOTES OF CHARLES FORT
Fort, Charles; The Fortean Society Magazine, 1:12, Spring 1944
August 26, 1826. Fiery whirl. Carcassone (Aude), great heat in the morning. At noon massing clouds in the west. Then a thick black cloud suspended over a field. Crackling and hissing and air rushing toward the cloud. A loud detonation and an enormous column of fine hovered the field--throwing down walls and picking up and killing sheep. A strong sulfurous odor. Nobody said it burned anything.
-from Strange Phenomena: A Sourcebook of Unusual Natural Phenomena, compiled by William R. Corliss, 1973
(same source as in this post)
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Ball Lightning, an account
 
GLB-048 A FIRE-BALL
Hunneman, Mary E. ; Science, 86:244, September 10, 1937
      The electrical phenomenon know as a "fire-ball" is rather a rare occurrence. Therefore one that I saw at Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire, at 5 p.m. on August 10 may be worthy of record. I was seated on a second story porch enclosed with glass watching the storm. A radio aerial extends from a distant tree to a point on the side of the house some distance from the porch. Coincident with a crash of thunder, a fire-ball appeared. I cannot say that it followed the wire or came from the sky. It just came out of space and seemed to move directly toward the window and then fell as though to enter the cellar of the house. It was a round, bronze, glistening ball with gleaming rays shooting from the top and sides; by its beauty and brilliance reminding one of an ornament at the top of a Christmas tree. Such was my fleeting sight of a fire-ball. Probably at the same instant, all electrical fuses in the house blew out with unusual violence.
-from Strange Phenomena: A Sourcebook of Unusual Natural Phenomena, compiled by William R. Corliss, 1973
GLB-048 A FIRE-BALL
Hunneman, Mary E. ; Science, 86:244, September 10, 1937
      The electrical phenomenon know as a "fire-ball" is rather a rare occurrence. Therefore one that I saw at Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire, at 5 p.m. on August 10 may be worthy of record. I was seated on a second story porch enclosed with glass watching the storm. A radio aerial extends from a distant tree to a point on the side of the house some distance from the porch. Coincident with a crash of thunder, a fire-ball appeared. I cannot say that it followed the wire or came from the sky. It just came out of space and seemed to move directly toward the window and then fell as though to enter the cellar of the house. It was a round, bronze, glistening ball with gleaming rays shooting from the top and sides; by its beauty and brilliance reminding one of an ornament at the top of a Christmas tree. Such was my fleeting sight of a fire-ball. Probably at the same instant, all electrical fuses in the house blew out with unusual violence.
-from Strange Phenomena: A Sourcebook of Unusual Natural Phenomena, compiled by William R. Corliss, 1973
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